Customer Reviews

Postcards from across The Pond

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been following Mike's blog for years and have enjoyed his whimsical observations about the differences between his (now, not so) new life in England and his former life in Upstate New York. I highly recommend this book if you're looking for a fun read!

Michael is the most entertaining writer I've come across for a long time. His observations on UK life keep you laughing and thinking about your own culture! As an expat living over here myself he is "spot on" and knows how to juxtapose American/British cultures so well! WELL DONE and hip hip hurray to you Michael. Keep soldiering on...... and definitely Keep us posted on the 2nd book!

I don't know if it's because I made the equivalent opposite journey to Harling's own US-UK transplanting, but this is the funniest book I have read for a long time. Like him, I am at my best when complaining about things, and so it's tremendously entertaining to read such a well-written deconstructing of things that I thought were just the way the world worked. Separate hot and cold taps; business storefronts with no street numbers on them; shaver sockets that aren't like normal wall sockets. One by one he effortlessly dispatches these bastiens of my childhood while still maintaining the voice of a bon-vivant explorer in a country he obviously likes. Everyone he playfully lambasts gets the last laugh, and it's always Harling himself who ends up the victim.

Harling's mastery of the running theme in these articles makes the book, in my opinion. I'm not a person who laughs whilst reading books, but I have to admit that my wife told me to shut up twice while I was reading this one (well, admittedly, the second time was when I attempted to read two entire pages about the layout of a British kitchen to her).

Occasionally I felt a little as if I was following Harling's own story by reading between the lines. As he says himself, the book is intended simply to be a series of observations, but he makes such a good job of befriending the reader that I'd love to know a bit more about how he was getting on with his new life.

You know you've read a good book when you get a slight sense of disappointment afterwards, in the knowledge that writing isn't as easy as you'd secretly hoped it was. I get it every time with Kurt Vonnegut, too. Maybe a bit more with Vonnegut. But hey, he's dead, and Mike Harling is still alive. I can't wait for the next installment.

At first I was irritated by this book. It seemed so out of date in its complaints of not being able to find things, pubs that shut in the afternoon etc. Things have moved on since then, especially drinking times!

However, I do like being able to dip in and out of the book without losing the thread and the author seems to know when to stop. His affection for his adoptive country also makes me feel better about him, as I think he really was bemused by the differences he found, not just picking them out for the sake of it.

All in all an easy read, which improves as you go on.

Postcards From Across The Pond is a lively collection of vignettes and observations that will appeal to readers on both sides of the Atlantic. The prose is engaging, the commentary is witty and the off-beat subjects are diverse enough to keep any reader looking forward to the next chapter. I enjoyed it immensely and hope to see further pieces by Mr Harling.

Having lived in England for three years, Postcards From Across The Pond was completely relatable. I found myself commenting aloud--I know, right?! Michael Harling has keen observation skills and a terrific sense of humor (which, let's face it, is needed to be an expat). I'm looking forward to also reading the follow-up book, More Postcards From Across the Pond.

I was looking forward to reviewing this book having made Michael Harling's journey in reverse; traversing the pond from east to west. Like him I'd assumed life couldn't be so very different when the two nations spoke the same language and came from common stock. How clueless we both were.

Harling comes from a place beyond small town America and became an "accidental expat" when he met and married a Brit (a man of taste obviously), moving his settled and ordered life to Sussex, England. His observations on the oddities and absurdities of his new life were originally documented in his blog; a method of scrutiny guaranteed to save his sanity in his early days of cultural adjustment.

Harling will inevitably be compared to Bill Bryson but they are two different people with diverse experiences. I am a huge fan of Bryson so had great expectations of Harling and wasn't disappointed.

I found his detailing the differences in the minutia of daily life riveting - bath taps, storage heaters, television and daily shopping; things we can all connect with. I also understood that feeling of familiar things being slightly off-balance and skewed, never allowing you to feel entirely settled or at ease.

He relates with gusto his inevitable brushes with bureaucracy and left me feeling every country is bad as the next when it comes to form-filling and paperwork; from getting a social security/national insurance number to opening a bank account in the US with a non-American spouse. If you fit the guidelines all is well; be different in any way and chaos ensues.

What Harling has is a unique skill to make wry and humorous observations without causing offence to anyone. His curiosity and sense of the absurd shine through the writing as he comes to understand why Brits do things they way they do.

His growing affection and understanding of his adopted country are obvious in the conversational and engaging style of his writing. This is a great read you can pick up and put down which will leave you feeling upbeat and positive.

The spirit of Harling can best be described by something he wrote himself, "being amazed by your life is a great way to live." I'll second that.

Sometimes home becomes a place one never expected it to be. "Postcards From Across the Pond: Dispatches from An Accidental Expat" are the ramblings of one Michael Harling, an American who found himself living in the United Kingdom permanently, although he never wanted to do so. Filled with humorous stories and anecdotes of one man changing scenery, "Postcards from Across the Pond" is a fine and recommended read.

I wasn't able to read this book for a while after I got it, because my husband began leafing through it and was soon laughing out loud. You don't have to be an anglophile to enjoy these experiences of an American in a strange land. The most engaging thing is that even though he finds them strange at times, you can sense that the author likes and admires his new countrymen. His daily life is a never-ending challenge to figure out seemingly ordinary tasks where nothing is familiar. If you're looking for amusing writing and keen insights, this is the book for you!