Round Ireland with a Fridge [Import] [Paperback]

Tony Hawks (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Ebury Press; New Ed edition (1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0091867770
• ISBN-13: 978-0091867775
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.7 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (96 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,384,141 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A light, entertaining read..., December 21, 2000

By 

Caz - See all my reviews

This review is from: Round Ireland with a Fridge (Hardcover)

This book doesn't claim to be anything but what it is: a rollicking good time. Hawks has detailed his misadventures with a fridge whilst traipsing around the Green Isle. It makes for a fun time, it really does.

The premise is so absurd it has to be real: the author makes a bet with a mate in the midst of a party... that he attempt to take a fridge all the way around the country of Ireland - and do it in 30 days or less. Hawks, not being of right mind, agrees. Then he gets sober and realizes the enormity of this £100 bet. The first hilarious mis-step in the adventure is that the fridge he bought for the trek cost him roughly what the bet was for.

From there things get better (or worse, if you're Hawks) and a great time begins. The book doesn't just reflect Hawks' strange experiences whilst hitching with a compact fridge - it also shows the generous and good-natured heart of the Irish.

I bought this book for my trans-atlantic flight home and it keep me fully entertained for the entire 8 hours. This isn't a challenging read, but it's darn good fun all the same. I give it a recommend.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Drunken "walk in the woods", March 20, 2000

By 

Erik (Fishers, IN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Round Ireland with a Fridge (Hardcover)

I picked up this book on a trip to London based soley on its cover, putting down a copy of another travel book by Bill Bryson. It seemed kind of dumb, but potentially funny. I was very pleased to find that this book was well-written with sharp humour, insight, and rich descriptions of the author's travels around Ireland with a small dormitory-style refrigerator. It did turn out to be quite a stupid idea, but that's what makes the book an enjoyable read; there's really nowhere to go but up from that point. The fridge goes surfing, gets blessed by a nun, and travels with a horse while Tony makes numerous friends along the way.

If you like the British flair in the novels of Nick Horby and Helen Fielding and enjoy travel writing, you should enjoy this book as well.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Funny and light -- a great summer read, July 10, 2000

By 

Amy Battis (Beverly, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Round Ireland with a Fridge (Hardcover)

I had no idea what a "laugh out loud" book this would be! Imagine, taking someone up on a bet to hitchhike around Ireland with a dorm-sized fridge, then writing a book about your exploits of fulfilling the terms of the bet. Tony Hawks did it, and here we have the fruits of his efforts.

From the beginning, he admits that it's a frivolous idea....but I think that's what makes it that much more interesting. In 30 days, Tony works his way around the perimeter of Ireland with the fridge on a dolly. We get to read of his encounters with various Irish, English and Americans who help him reach his goal. We see how the fridge becomes more of a celebrity than Tony (an ego-reducing reality!) and how people banded together behind this crazy idea.

I have traveled extensively in Ireland, and while some of the incidents and reactions may seem a bit over the top or overly charitable, I can believe that they happened. I haven't read a travelogue that more fully captures the true heart, spirit and imagination of Ireland better than this.

Bravo to Tony for completing the task...and for letting us accompany him on his journey.