Narrow Dog to Carcassonne [Paperback]

Terry Darlington (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 25, 2008

"We could bore ourselves to death, drink ourselves to death, or have a bit of an adventure..." It was absurd. It was foolhardy. And it was glorious. When they retired, Terry Darlington and his somewhat saner wife Monica—together with their dog, a whippet named Jim—chucked their earthbound life and set out in an utterly unseaworthy sixty-foot canal narrowboat across the notoriously treacherous English Channel and down to the South of France.

Aboard the Phyllis May, you’ll dive through six-foot waves in the Channel and be swept down the terrible Rhône. You’ll meet the French nobody meets—poets, captains, scholars, madmen; they all want to know the couple on the painted boat and their narrow dog. You’ll visit the France nobody knows—the backwaters of Flanders, the canals beneath Paris, and the forbidden routes to the wine-dark Mediterranean Sea. Aliens, trolls, gongoozlers, killer fish, and the walking dead all stand between our two-person, one-whippet crew and their goal: the ancient, many-towered city of Carcassonne.

A tale of travel, travail, dubious wine, a balky pump, and a boat built for only a few feet of water, this exuberantly inventive and hugely entertaining odyssey of the spirit, senses, and heart will enchant lovers of France, England, and all that lies between.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As husband-and-wife pensioners, Brits Terry and Monica Darlington sail their barge down the English canal system, along the Thames, past London, to Paris on the Seine and down the Rhône to Carcassonne, France. Along the way, they introduce the folks who make their homes on the water. They avoid teenage vandals, fail to teach their beloved whippet, Jim, to hunt rabbits and sail across the English Channel after nearly every informed acquaintance advises otherwise. The mixture of British vernacular and boating terms in this book originally published in England will leave some readers adrift. Yet the style echoes the author's clear zest for living in the moment. Frequent flashes of wit and poetic prose capture poignant emotions. The addendum of French phrases entitled French in Fifteen Minutes nicely sums up differences in the French and British cultures and makes clear the author's own mistakes while navigating a foreign language and culture. (Apr.)
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From Booklist

When they retired, Terry Darlington and his wife, Monica, decided to take a trip. The Welsh couple, along with their dog, a whippet called Jim, set out in a 60-foot narrow boat across the English Channel and down the Rhone River to the south of France. In this memoir of “travel travail, and dubious wine,” they describe the places they saw and the people they met. In a brief final chapter, they insist that the only way to learn to speak French “is to go somewhere where you have to speak the language or starve and do without sex.” This is followed by 18 phrases and a suggestion that at times of high excitement your action should be similar to a man standing beneath a tree catching plums. The book, which includes color maps and illustrations, no doubt is one of the most hilarious travel memoirs ever written. --George Cohen

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 325 pages
• Publisher: Delta (March 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038534208X
• ISBN-13: 978-0385342087
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.9 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #454,256 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Narrow dog...wide fun, July 16, 2008

By 

TRBill (Oklahoma) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Narrow Dog to Carcassonne (Paperback)

I must admit that I have been to the UK and have been on a narrow boat. This book is hilarious, warm, endearing and I cannot wait to get the new book. Anyone who has ever traveled, either with a dog or children to someplace completely unfamiliar will appreciate the author's experiences. If you have been on one of the uniquely British narrowboats you are even more enraptured with the book. If you have been on a motorhome for a long trip, especially with children, you will appreciate Jim (the narrow dog). I must admit that Americans will have trouble with some of the English usage but it is well worth it. Wonderful book, wonderful story, wonderful people.
WH

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars enjoy narrowdog, June 5, 2008

By 

BarbV "BarbV" (Niagara Falls, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Narrow Dog to Carcassonne (Paperback)

If you like travel and/or boats and/or dogs and/or a writer with humor and quotes from classics to films, this book will be right up your...canal. Funny and disarming, showing the downside moments as well as the champagne highs of taking a narrowboat across the Channel and, even more scaringly, down through France, not a dull page in the lot.

I can't wait to see what happens when Terry and Monica and Jim the Narrow Dog come to my home country in the US.

I read it in two sittings.
BarbV

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, smart, silly, touching....grand!, January 29, 2009

By 

T. Davies "coffeekid" (In My Head, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Narrow Dog to Carcassonne (Paperback)

Narrow Dog is a keeper...and while I read a LOT, I don't keep many.

Things that help to enjoy Narrow Dog to its fullest:

A basic understanding of British terms, and a respect for British humor...Terry Darlington is a master of smart, and silly, wit, but if you don't like how the Brits turn a funny phrase, then don't bother (and that'll free up another copy for me to gift to less myopic folks, thanks!).

Access to Google Maps.
I found myself referring to the book's hand-drawn maps frequently...which only spurred me to Google maps for a better sense of the geography of the trip. Darlington made me curious about places and people not yet on my radar. He's wrecked my perfectly set holiday plans for the next 2 years. Well played, Terry!

Cool liquids, paper towels, wipeable surfaces.
I live in a comic world and so have a high threshhold for outright laughter. This book, at points, had me choking on hot coffee, dribbling tea, and spitting soup. Please learn from my trials and drink only cool liquids while reading this book. Perhaps you can save your good wood desk's surface from ruin by soup with some towels kept nearby.

Access to Wikipedia.
This book is layered. One layer is quite literary, and although I was an English major, I found myself drawn in to the quotes and references in Narrow Dog, and used Wikipedia as a starting point for learning more.

Narrow Dog seems like a light snack of a book, but in reality is a delicious, hearty stew of ingredients and flavors.

Excellent, excellent, excellent!

I WILL be reading the 2nd travelogue, "Narrow Dog to Indian River." Often, it's the tourists/visitors who more completely see a place. I can't wait to know what Terry's eyes make of my home state, Florida.

Darlington is trying his hand at a mystery next...Narrowboat to Death, perhaps???