Customer Reviews

The Xenophobe's Guide to the Californians (Xenophobe's Guides - Oval Books)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Wow!! California has been analyzed and humorized in this delightful book that will keep you laughing from beginning to end. Mr. Marais doesn't miss a beat as he rattles off one quip after another about this culture of characters that even Hollywood couldn't dream up! From pampered pooches to personal growth weekends, from smog alerts to freeway traffic jams, California has set itself up for this author's hilarious take on the "sunshine state". Enjoy!!

As a European who has done business in California for the past 14 years, I can say this is one of the funniest and truest books I've read on these people. No one traveling there should get off the plane without having read this little key. It is written in a humourous style that entertains while it informs. You'll laugh so hard at points that you won't believe it's true.

Are you just falling in love with a Californian? You had better read this extremely funny and informative Xenophobe's Guide, which, true to their nature, is outrageous and can help you to understand these "superficial images on the silver screen" - before it's too late! If after having read this book you are still dreaming about a future with him or her, you have become a true Californian at heart!

I began reading this book on my lunch break at work -- laughing out loud from the start! After work, I read it while walking to my car and while stopped at traffic lights on the drive home. Now, if that isn't a ringing endorsement! I've been to the Golden State a few times and I can vouch that the author describes Californians to a "T". This is a witty and insightful book that will be enjoyed even if you have no plans to visit. It's a lot of fun, give it a read!

So, I asked a sort of pen pal of mine who lives in Scotland what people there think of my country and she recommended I check out Xenophobe's. There happened to be one more specific based on geography though so I bought this one instead. Now my friend told me that, more or less, the US is far below her and her cohorts favorite country ... big surprise. That should have set the mood for what to expect when I got to finally read this book, however, I was expecting something a bit detailed and factual, perhaps even a few hundred pages thicker. My expectations set the stage for the disappointment I got after I read Xenophobe's.

Yes, it is written by a native californian who has traveled more extensively within this state than I have. No, he does not speak very highly of my/our homeland. Yes, it is what I should have expected to read after getting the recommendation from a girl who thinks along the same lines as the author of Xenophobe's - that is to say that Californians are, in fact, the stereotype that everybody thinks we are. In that respect the book succeeds.

Perhaps it is just me but throughout this book the author seemed to be focusing either far more than would be prudent on Los Angeles or succumbing to the average stereo-typical perception of what Californians are like. Almost during the entire course of reading it felt like he was writing about a land completely foreign to the one I know. To make it worst, there were constant contradictions. If that wasn't bad enough he used words like all, most, and entirely far to frequently, and, without giving near enough reasons for the readers to want to believe him.

A good book if you want to read what outsiders think of California.

A moderately okay book if you would like to read about the dramatized and overly publicized California.

A terrible book if you would like to read about what California is like for those Californians who aren't drug induced idiots, gang bangers, movie moguls and their disciples, or who just don't live in Los Angeles.

If this is what all of the Xenophobe books are like then I don't see much benefit in reading them. Good day sir!

This 60+ page guide to the Californians is a delight! A unique combination of witty, tongue-in-cheek comments and factual information about California culture, history and geography makes for a very enjoyable read. I highly recommend it to natives and foreigners alike!

I am a Californian, and I loved this little book that is filled with fact and wit that had me laughing out loud. The character differences between the Northern and Southern Californians were hilarious. All of the stereotypes of the golden state were well illustrated. This is a great gift for every Californian, those who visit California, or anyone who would just like a few laughs.

As someone who was born in the section of Los Angeles known as Hollywood, and raised at the beach, south of Mr. Marais' so called "Tan Line", I found his guide to the Californians insightful and extremely humorous. For anyone who lives in, knows someone from, or just wants to visit California, this book is a must read. I really think it captures the true essence of the Californian collective psyche!

After reading Marais' witty take on Californians, I have to agree with almost every single word. Indeed, after having spent some time in the golden state myself, I couldn't help but laugh at the quirks and habits that Marais pokes fun of throughout his book. Thanks to this guide I now know what I am getting into if ever I decide to move there someday.

Like the author, I was born in Los Angeles, and spent my childhood growing up
along the Pacific Ocean in Huntington Beach. I had a chance to read this
book, and I very much enjoyed it. I think it sums up all of the Californians'
different lifestyles perfectly. I especially enjoyed the chapter on "Leisure
& Pleasure." It covered the majority of Californians. Living in California
pretty much my whole life, I would have to recommend this book to anyone who
hasn't been there.