After nearly two decades in Britain, Bill Bryson took the decision to move back to the States for a few years, to let his kids experience life in another country, to give his wife the chance to shop until 10 p.m. seven nights a week, and, most of all, because he had read that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another, and it was thus clear to him that his people needed him. But before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire, Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around Britain, a sort of valedictory tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home. His aim was to take stock of the nation's public face and private parts (as it were), and to analyse what precisely it was he loved so much about a country that had produced Marmite, a military hero whose dying wish was to be kissed by a fellow named Hardy, place names like Farleigh Wallop, Titsey and Shellow Bowells, people who said 'Mustn't grumble', and Gardeners' Question Time.
I still love this book, although on re-reading it really should be titled as "Notes from England", as there's very little mention of any of the other Union countries. Life in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are very different to the majority of what's described in this book, and it does contribute to the culture of Anglocentricsm that is so rife within the United Kingdom.
Still, Notes from a Small Island is a fun, easy read with lots of humour. It's not my favourite Bill Bryson book, but it's an enjoyable one nonetheless.
