A sampler:
“You can never rouse Harris. There is no poetry about Harris—no wild yearning for the unattainable. Harris never ‘weeps he knows not why.’ If Harris’s eyes fill with tears, you can bet it is because Harris has been eating raw onions, or has put too much Worcester over his chop.”
“Throw the lumber over, man! Let your boat of life be light, packed with only what you need—a homely home and simple pleasures, one or two friends, worth the name, someone to love and someone to love you, a cat, a dog, and a pipe or two, enough to eat and enough to wear, and a little more than enough more to drink; for thirst is a dangerous thing.”
“In the church is a memorial to Mrs. Sarah Hill, who bequeathed $1(pound) annually, to be divided at Easter, between two boys and two girls who ‘had never been undutiful to their parents; who had never been known to swear or to tell untruths, to steal, or to break windows.’ Fancy giving up all that for five shillings a year! It is not worth it.”
“George got out his banjo after supper, and wanted to play it, but Harris objected: he said he had got a headache, and did not feel strong enough to stand it. George thought the music might do him good — said music often soothed the nerves and took away a headache; and he twanged two or three notes, just to show Harris what it was like.
Harris said he would rather have a headache.”
Such a delightful little book about three young men and a dog named Montmorency, who scull up the Thames in a boat. I probably never would have picked it up had it not been for another delightful longer book by Connie Willis, To Say Nothing of the Dog. I recommend both in succession.
Other book bloggers say:
Word Lily: “If you like dogs. Boating. England. History. Humor. Performing. Camping. Resistentialism. Traveling. Cheese. A fondness for any one of these, I think, would be enough to commend this book to you.”
Lisa the Correspondent: “This is a gentle read, and by no means a page turner. It is not so much what they do on the river as how the author tells it, and if you are fond of classic British humour, you will enjoy the telling.”
SCB at Wear the Old Coat: “In due course, the three young men (and the dog) determine that the way to deal with their maladies is to spend two weeks boating down the River (the Thames), and the book is the hilarious account of their trip.”
