12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Could have been worse..., May 15, 2001
I purchased this book while I was engaged to my British husband, in an effort to adjust to the cultural aspects of living in another country after our wedding. This book was *not* very helpful. It didn't help at all in the *adjustment* process. Also, if you live (or plan to live) outside of London don't waste your money. Sure, it talked about some of the things that people coming to the UK might need to know, like differences in language, but if you're American, this book can be a bit confusing because the author is a speaker of Asian English (I think Hong Kong), which is much closer to British English than to American English.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Poorly written but helpful..., March 24, 2004
This review is from: Culture Shock! Britain: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette (Paperback)
I picked up this book awhile back as I was planning on visiting Britain (though not living there). I just finished it yesterday and thought it was worth the notable effort to get through the book. Particularly worth mentioning:
- The author does a good job of pointing out possible faux pas (asking seemingly harmless questions like "Where do you live?") and non-issues (like how formally you dress). He mentions some important social rules - like not speaking on public transportation, not making a scene anywhere, not bothering your waiter unnecessarily, expecting gruff answers at certain spots, etc.
- In the midst of colorful details and random accounts, you can pick up helpful info - like tip 10% everywhere, the fog in Dickens/Holmes material was caused by the industrial revolution (and is now mostly gone), when restaurants/pubs tend to be open, etc.
- The author notes things that are changing with the times. If you read alot of historical British works (even from the 40's) then you might have some outdated notions of the importance of a high accent or dress. This is all clarified.
- Buried in the book is a rough history of England, history of the royal family, history of the government and historical places to see. All these things were helpful, if somewhat poorly written and hard to keep track of.
- Overall the guide is very positive and laid back. As such, I think you come away feeling relaxed and ready to engage this charming society.
- HOWEVER, the writing was poor - especially towards the end. By this I mean that the sentences were hard to read, punctuation was haphazzard, alot of information was repeated several times over, and the overall organization was poor. I kept thinking that there must be another way to get the same info across.
- Also, I found it very odd that for such a personal account (for that is what it is), you don't know alot about the author. It wasn't until the very end that I realized that the author was from Singapore - which, of course - threw a whole new light on all the information about race & discrimination & his neurotic attempts to "adapt." This also explains why he kept using terms I didn't know; he was explaining the British terms some, but then used other terminology I didn't know, so I felt that I was no better off. Finally, I'm not really sure if the author is a he or a she. I use "he" but I'm not sure. It's a little unnerving in this type of personalized narrative.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
A Painful Read, July 19, 2001
Getting ready to go on international assignment, I picked up a copy of this book. The author's breathless inanities ran along the lines of (a paraphrase), "wow, some British men used to wear bowler hats." I found very little useful in this book to prepare me for the transition, and was occasionally offended by his borderlne racist generalizations. I was expecting sociology and got sleaze instead.
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