Sanctuary from the Mad World

The Life and Times of The Thunderbolt Kid

Aug 20, '07 4:34 AM
for everyone

Category:	Books
Genre:	Biographies & Memoirs
Author:	Bill Bryson

Unlike the previous Bill Bryson's books, including the rather technical A Short History of Nearly Everything, this is his first book that I couldn't finish in one sitting. I was lucky I went with my instinct and waited for the paperback instead of splurging on the hardcover.

Style-wise, he remains funny and different but the story is so spread all over the place that I can't really say what this book is all about: his childhood? Sure. America in the 50s? That, too. Thunderbolt Kid? Who the hell is he?

Maybe I am not familiar with America of that era so I cannot relate but I don't think that's the problem. A good book should be able to engage me regardless of time and place and this book doesn't. Furthermore, unlike his other books, it's really difficult to understand whether he was kidding or being serious. Some were obvious (cigarettes were deemed to be good for you then and people smoked in droves) but some were less (like the story of the kids who stole, at first a container full of beer then a whole warehouse without anyone watching).

The recommendation on the cover is certainly exaggerated. In this book, he is not being 'laugh-out-loud' funny but 'I-can-never-tell-whether-he's-serious-or-just-being-nasty' funny. And the arc about the Thunderbolt Kid is just annoying: this kid pops up unannounced and ruins the thread for no purpose at all.

I gave it a three just because it's a Bryson's. Or maybe it deserves a two because it is a less-than-standard Bryson? Alright, a two it is.

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