(EDIT: paragraphs didn’t come out in the original post) I haven’t written one of these book reviews in a little while, but I just finished my second read of the year, “Three Men in a Boat” by Jerome K. Jerome, and honestly, it was probably one of the better reads I’ve had in a long time.
The book at its core is about simplicity and peaceful living amongst a world that is full of complexities and intricacies, and I think that that was a message that I really needed to hear coming from someone that has been living neck deep in grad school applications for a while now. On top of that, I’ve been reading a lot of sad reads recently? or books that deal with heavier content, so it was nice to be able to read a book that was a lighter in tone.
If I had to choose one word to describe this book, it would probably be serene or tranquil– it’s just the story of three men in a boat and doesn’t try to be anything more than that. I’ve heard from other people that read this book that they didn’t love the mix of the humour and prose but I honestly disagree. I think that the prose adds quite a bit of heartfelt emotion to this book and gives it a charm that it wouldn’t have been able to accomplish with just the humor. At the same time, I found the humour to be quite funny, which I don’t often find in books in general, I think that the two elements worked really well together.
The camaraderie between J and George and Harris felt very genuine in a way where, even though they didn’t always get along, They had a sense of understanding with each other and belonging within their group that made you really want to integrate yourself within this friend group. overall, if you’re looking for a More peaceful book that — for lack of a better description — reads like floating down the river Thames, I would probably pick this one up. I’d love to hear what other people people thought of this book!
by penguin-47284
3 Comments
It’s one of my favorite books. I always think of it along with Cold Comfort Farm, even though they’re very different in so many ways, because they both are genuinely funny and at the same time have such charm to them.
This book is a classic within our family and we make references to it all the time. I think it’s also a timeless description of city folk wanting to go “back to nature” and enjoy “the simple joys of country life” – and getting into all kinds of trouble.
epic book tbh