The funniest book about travel you will ever read: a travel guide to the fictional European republic Molvania, birthplace of the polka and whooping cough.
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Editorial Reviews
From The New Yorker
The Republic of Molvanîa, known as the birthplace of whooping cough and the Molvanîan Sneezing Hound, has been largely ignored by the backpacking set in its sweep through post-Communist Europe. This may have something to do with the country's miserable landscape, miserable weather, miserable food, and miserable, surly populace; on the other hand, it may have something to do with the fact that Molvanîa doesn't exist. In format and page layout, this inspired send-up of a travel guide looks exactly like the real thing, and it displays an acute feel for all the clichés of the genre, including testimonials that instruct how to have an uncomfortable "authentic" experience, rather than a "bland, westernized" one. The nation's new national anthem is set to the tune of "What a Feeling," from the movie "Flashdance" useful phrases include the Molvanîan for "Please," "Thank you," "May God send you a sturdy donkey," and "What is that smell?"
Copyright © 2005 The New Yorker
Copyright © 2005 The New Yorker
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I would have never thought those comprehensive Lonely Planet guides would be ripe for parody. However, this book is hilarious, an observant mock-guidebook to a fictitious Eastern European country named Molvania, which sounds like a cross between the Marx Brothers' Freedonia from "Duck Soup" and the duchy of Grand Fenwick from "The Mouse That Roared". So backward is this new backpacker destination that "visitors can share a glass of locally brewed zeerstum (garlic brandy) while watching a traditionally dressed peasant labourer beat his mule". Sadly the country suffers from "bleak post-war cities and deforested hills", but at least the adventurous traveler can revel in the capital city of Lutenblag, where one can enjoy a traditional Molvanian puppet show or use the particularly unique female urinals installed all around town. Surely any book that provides the complete list of asbestos-free restaurants has to be considered essential preparation reading.
What I enjoy most about this book isn't so much the imaginative and rather sadly destitute world the co-authors created, but the way they capture the condescending tone that mimics accurately the smugly conveyed expertise of the writers behind the Lonely Planet and Rough Guide books. For example, in explaining the complexity of the Molvanian language, the co-authors state in pseudo-helpful prose: "There are four genders: male, female, neutral, and the collective noun for cheeses, which occupies a nominative sub-section of its very own. The language also contains numerous irregular verbs, archaic phrases, words of multiple meaning and several phonetic sounds linguists suspect could represent either a rare dialect or merely peasants clearing their throat." Priceless stuff here. The aptly named Jetlag Travel editors apparently have an entire library of upcoming titles, which sound equally amusing. I can't wait. So pack your toilet paper and bring those water filter tablets, as the good, dentally challenged people of Molvania will welcome you with a hearty "Zlkavszka!". Just make sure you read the instructions on how to leave before you get there. Bon voyage!
What I enjoy most about this book isn't so much the imaginative and rather sadly destitute world the co-authors created, but the way they capture the condescending tone that mimics accurately the smugly conveyed expertise of the writers behind the Lonely Planet and Rough Guide books. For example, in explaining the complexity of the Molvanian language, the co-authors state in pseudo-helpful prose: "There are four genders: male, female, neutral, and the collective noun for cheeses, which occupies a nominative sub-section of its very own. The language also contains numerous irregular verbs, archaic phrases, words of multiple meaning and several phonetic sounds linguists suspect could represent either a rare dialect or merely peasants clearing their throat." Priceless stuff here. The aptly named Jetlag Travel editors apparently have an entire library of upcoming titles, which sound equally amusing. I can't wait. So pack your toilet paper and bring those water filter tablets, as the good, dentally challenged people of Molvania will welcome you with a hearty "Zlkavszka!". Just make sure you read the instructions on how to leave before you get there. Bon voyage!
34 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"Kyunkasko sbazko byusba?" tops the list of useful phrases in this well-conceived parody of overly stuffy travel guides (like Fodor's), and, of course, translates into "Where is the toilet paper?" The book is essentially a realistic looking satire of real-world travel guides and carries the joke to the extremes of realism including fake maps, photographs (real, yet surreal), phrases, lists of eateries and hotels, etc.
The guide details such attractions as the "Museum of Medieval Dentistry" (Muszm Dentjk Medjvl), which features a 150 minute presentation on Inflammatory Gum Disease. Details like that and the fact that the Molvanian diet is largely based on parsnips and pickled herring contribute to the faux-authenticity of this book, which is further aided by the realistic "Jetlag Travel Guide" binding.
At least one reviewer took offense that this book mocked Eastern Europe, but I don't agree: the book specifically invented a fictional country to avoid ridiculing a real nation. There is certainly no mistake that Eastern Europe is economically behind the west, but given that this book was clearly written as satire, I think in general that a reader would have to be unusually sensitive to be truly offended by this work; I agree with noted travel author Bill Bryson: "this book is brilliantly original and very, very funny." The book is a bit redundant and lengthy, which are the main detractors, in my view. It is a "one joke" book, but it is a good joke, and a very well executed one at that.
The guide details such attractions as the "Museum of Medieval Dentistry" (Muszm Dentjk Medjvl), which features a 150 minute presentation on Inflammatory Gum Disease. Details like that and the fact that the Molvanian diet is largely based on parsnips and pickled herring contribute to the faux-authenticity of this book, which is further aided by the realistic "Jetlag Travel Guide" binding.
At least one reviewer took offense that this book mocked Eastern Europe, but I don't agree: the book specifically invented a fictional country to avoid ridiculing a real nation. There is certainly no mistake that Eastern Europe is economically behind the west, but given that this book was clearly written as satire, I think in general that a reader would have to be unusually sensitive to be truly offended by this work; I agree with noted travel author Bill Bryson: "this book is brilliantly original and very, very funny." The book is a bit redundant and lengthy, which are the main detractors, in my view. It is a "one joke" book, but it is a good joke, and a very well executed one at that.
40 of 47 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Yes, this is a one-joke parody. It's not so much what they say but how they say it. It is a brilliant parody of travel guides. However, just like a real travel guide, it quickly becomes boring to linearly read through. The best way to read it is just pick it up and open it to a random page. Read a few pages and then set it aside while you are still chuckling.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Funny!
It is quirky and weird! I laughed like a crazy man with every new page! I hope they make more of these. Couldn't put this book down!
Published 6 days ago by doodlebug
5.0 out of 5 stars
Molvania -- the tour book
A book I WILL NEVER SELL and not a book to read while traveling on an airline or after having stomach surgery. Read more
Published 1 month ago by bonsaiherb
5.0 out of 5 stars
Molvania: A Land Untouched by Modern Dentistry
This hilarious book was included in my daughter's Wish List. It arrived on schedule and in fine condition. Read more
Published 3 months ago by linda6770
5.0 out of 5 stars
A hoot
Friend recommended this. Total spoof of Fodoer's, etc. Cannot read many pages at once, but it is a great thing to leave out at a party, for people to read and giggle about.
Published 4 months ago by Bamboo lover
5.0 out of 5 stars
Funny and original
This is one of my favourite books as it is very funny and the concept is quite original. The book itself arrived in good time and in immaculate condition. Read more
Published on May 11, 2010 by Dennis Rettke
5.0 out of 5 stars
Some of the funniest stuff I've ever read
This book is like a written version of Borat -- without the creepy stuff that, while funny, made one cringe at seeing it onscreen. This "guide" however, is virtually guilt-free. Read more
Published on December 6, 2009 by PTR
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great gift!
My brother in law is one of those annoying people who has everything and is content in life (go figure, lol) so he is EXTREMELY difficult to shop for. Read more
Published on December 3, 2009 by M. Turner
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very Funny
Molvania is one of the most hilarious books that I have read. I started reading it after pensively reading War and Peace, and Union Moujik. So it was very relaxing. Read more
Published on December 13, 2008 by S. Ekweh
4.0 out of 5 stars
Funny, but...
Funny, it is. This is good light reading. You can put it down easily and pick it again later. However, this is pretty much the same joke, over and over. Read more
Published on May 22, 2008 by HawkMech
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Fake Travel Guide For Eastern Europe -- Hilarious
Molvania is one of series of fake travel guides. This one focusing on the fictitious Eastern European country of Molvania. Read more
Published on February 18, 2008 by F. Chloupek
