Three Men in a Boat and Three Men on the Bummel

Three Men #1-2

by Jerome K. Jerome, Jeremy Lewis (Editor)

When J. the narrator, George, Harris and Montmorency the dog set off on their hilarious misadventures, they can hardly predict the troubles that lie ahead with tow-ropes, unreliable weather-forecasts, imaginary illnesses, butter pats and tins of pineapple chunks. Denounced as vulgar by the literary establishment, Three Men in a Boat nevertheless caught the spirit of the times. The expansion of education and the increase in office workers created a new mass readership, and Jerome's book was especially popular among the 'clerking classes' who longed to be 'free from that fretful haste, that vehement striving, that is every day becoming more and more the bane of nineteenth-century life.' So popular did it prove that Jerome reunited his heroes for a bicycle tour of Germany. Despite some sharp, and with hindsight, prophetic observations of the country, Three Men on the Bummel describes an equally picaresque journey constrained only 'by the necessity of getting back within a given time to the point from which one started'.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Humor, Travel, Literature, Comedy, British Literature

361 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1889

About the author

Jerome Klapka Jerome was an English writer and humorist, best known for the comic travelogue Three Men in a Boat (1889). Other works include the essay collections Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow (1886) and Second Thoughts of an Idle Fellow; Three Men on the Bummel, a sequel to Three Men in a Boat; and several other novels. Jerome was born in Walsall, England, and, although he was able to attend grammar school, his family suffered from poverty at times, as did he as a young man trying to earn a living in various occupations. In his twenties, he was able to publish some work, and success followed. He married in 1888, and the honeymoon was spent on a boat on the River Thames; he published Three Men in a Boat soon afterwards. He continued to write fiction, non-fiction and plays over the next few decades, though never with the same level of success.

Reviews

[Pavel Nedelcu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Top class British humour withstanding time. Minus some offensive jokes



This book is a collection of two very similar novels:

In Three Men in a Boat, three friends (and a humanised dog) decide to benefit from the opening of the river Thames to the public at the end of the 19th century and embark on a boat trip on their own.

Still, if the book had limited to telling this journey, it would have been nothing but boring. Jerome K. Jerome's prose describes much more than a boat trip: it is a humorous portrait of Victorian society, reading which the reader can only laugh and keep laughing.

In Three Men on the Bummel the same three friends (without the dog), two of which married in the meanwhile, go on a bummel (“a journey without an end”) through Germany. The humour shapes again this journey but some prejudices against women and German people also occur (not of the humorous kind) and might sometimes result in offensive generalizations to the modern understanding.

The novel is, however, typical of the British humour and should be taken as a satire towards society and travelling in general.

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is nothing useful this book. Nothing edifying, nothing instructive, or clarifying in this novel.

I read Three Men in a Boat last month and didn't learn anything at all! And this month I pick up Three Men on the Bummel and expected *AT LEAST* a concise travelogue with pretty pictures describing the joys of riding bikes down hills in sweet German countrysides and partaking of local cuisine and generally trying to make myself understood.

What I did get was a bunch of prattle about how to extricate yourself from collapsing in a mess with the locals, how many fines you have to pay when you walk on the wrong side of the street, stolen bicycles, mysterious dogs, and the fact that the narrator was kicked out of his own house because he's a twat.

I swear!

This is last time I pick up a travel brochure from that guy down by St. Denis square with the ratty top hat and that extensive collection of hair restorative products.

[Adam]

This is heralded as one of the classics of English literature in Turkmen textbooks. Turkmen children will ask you if you've heard of it, they'll write essays about how they like to read it (baldfaced lies), and some will be genuinely confused if you don't list Jerome K. Jerome as one of your favorite authors. All this in spite of the fact that not only has no one in Turkmenistan ever read Three Men in a Boat, virtually no one in the entire English-speaking world has either. At some point a Soviet or Turkmen education minister must've arbitrarily decided this was one of the greatest works in English literature, and now it's just common (Turkmen) wisdom about English, and can't be changed now.

Some fellow PCVs sent me a copy -- together with the sequel (?) Three Men on the Bummel -- around New Year's. I look forward to seeing what all the absolutely baseless fuss was about.

[Mmars · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are feeling nostalgic for the good old days of say, Charlie Chaplin - only British and not American, like pre-Titanic and pre-WWI, when if one were lucky enough to be well off enough not to work and not forced to grow up before the age of say, twenty-five, then this book may fit the bill.

It's not something I would have picked up on my own, but for these pages only. I started this as a free Kindle book but felt like I was missing something reading it that way. And was I ever. I picked up the Oxford World's Classic from the library and experienced a 180 degree turn reading experience. There were maps and a glossary, a chronology of Jerome's life, and of course an introduction. Let's hear it for the depth of knowledge! Hip-hip Hooray!

Today I read an article in the newspaper about a private school in my metropolis that emptied its library of books, save a few classics and magazines. I cannot tell you how sad that makes me. This private school that upper-middle class and above parents pay for is sending its students to the public library for books. Let's hear it for that school. Boo! Boo! Boo! On the other hand a "freelibrary" box has opened an a route I sometimes take.

But I digress - which, incidentally, the narrator does much of as he and his friends row a two-oared skiff down the Thames. Leisurely rowing on a slow flowing stream lends itself to that - mind wandering. But not on a river with locks and steam-powered vessels and fast curves! Jolted from thought, hilarous scenes pursue; there are some very good old fashioned slapstick scenarios here.

It's also a bit of a travelogue. Information is given on the history of the towns they pass, or on the landscape as it was in then, in 1899.

As a read, it was three stars for me. But I've gone with four because a) Jerome was able to maintain the humor from beginning to end and b) this Oxford edition is so well done. It should be since Oxford was their destination.

(This review is based on Three Men in a Boat. I did not read Three Men on the Bummel.)

[Emma Subțirelu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Această carte ce cuprinde două povestiri este una plăcută, în care am întâlnit multe pasaje amuzante. Subiectul cărții nu este deosebit de complex, fiind redus la niște povestiri interesante, care însoțesc firul pricipalul al călătoriei celor trei.

"Trei într-o barcă" am citit-o mai plăcut și mai interesată, mai amuzată de călatoria lor într-o barcă pe râul Tamisa, iar citind "Trei pe două biciclete", la fel despre cele 3 personaje cum pornesc într-o călătorie în Germania, m-a cam plictisit și uneori pierdeam firul povestirii, chiar și am citit-o mai greu. În a doua poveste am avut impresia că am învățat mai mult despre Germania, decât să mă surprindă călatoria lor.

Acestea fiind spuse, aș recomanda prima poveste a fi citită pentru o dispoziție bună. 🤗

[Althea Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since this book was an influence on Connie Willis' fabulous and funny novel (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), I figured I should read it and see what she was getting at.
It's a short, comic Victorian novel. The humor is based on the fact that none of the events of the book are of any importance whatsoever, but that the narrator makes every little thing out to be practically an incident from a heroic epic.
It's very short, and it is funny - but I think it's good that it's short, because I don't think that it could have been sustained much longer.
(Willis is funnier.)

[Alynus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unele pasaje au fost foarte amuzante, altele plictisitoare.

[Jamie Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this. It's laugh-out-loud funny in many spots.

Apparently Jerome had intended to write "The Story of the Thames", its scenery and history, with some "humorous relief", but the humor took over the book. (He had just returned from his honeymoon and "had the feeling that all the world's troubles were over".)

So it turned out to be mostly a set of funny stories about the three men (to say nothing of the dog) and their adventures on the Thames and other bodies of water. There is the occasional bit of history and scenery tossed in, and Jerome waxes poetic once in a while, but the effect is rather spoiled because I would get a paragraph or two into a poetic bit before realizing that he wasn't building up to a joke.

Three Men on the Bummel isn't quite as good, but has its hilarious moments. It takes place years later, when two of the three men have wives and children they must figure out how to ditch so that they can take a bicycling tour of Germany. It was written not long before WWI, and the references to the extreme orderliness of German society are discomforting. Jerome finds much to admire, but deplores their "blind obedience to everything in buttons".

[Prabhjot Kaur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three Men in a Boat - 4 stars

I loved this. It was brilliantly written and had me laughing throughout. This was supposed to be a travel document but it turned out to be a laugh-riot.

Three Men on the Bummel - 3 stars

In the second book, our characters embark on a bicycle trip to Germany. I really loved how the author captured everything about Germany but it wasn't as funny as the previous book in the series. It is still enjoyable.

[The Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say about this book. It is the funniest, best written comedy book ever to have been written. Sadly it makes all comedic writers, myself included, sound forced, clumsy and gauché.

Happily there has never ever been a film adaption that was anywhere approaching the quality of the writing and all have failed to reproduce the gentle mocking humour.

This book is a must read, it is more important that you read this book than any other one you could think of especially if you happen to like English culture from a time when there were gentlemen endeavouring to pursue 'gentlemen's pursuits' whatever they are.

One word of warning, do not under any circumstances read anything else by poor Jerome K. Jerome all of his other writings range from poor to terrible, 'Three Men in a Boat' was the pinnacle of his achievement, which is sad because it was, I believe his first book. So don't bother with the second book that they have rammed into this edition which is called 'Three Men on the Bummel' it is dreadful, buy or indeed download from Project Gutenburg 'Three Men in a Boat' and read it, then like me you will want probably want to go out and buy two special edition hardbacks because you will read one often and save one for your bookcase.

This book is like that it is a treasure and a treasure of the English language

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three Men in a Boat regularly had me looking away from the book, laying back in bed, and laughing uncontrollably. It's full of moments shared between the author and reader, where both are in on a joke in which the characters are blissfully unaware they are playing a part.

At times Jerome produces some magical scenes which are deeply touching and emotional, all the more so for being closely bound to fine humour. Although very easy to read, I would not say this was mere fluff. The world is a little better for the existence of this book.

Unfortunately, I found Three Men on a Bummel comparatively dry. It still has moments of humour that can be found in the first book, but takes a more serious view overall and to me was less satisfying in its plot and characters.
I did find the portrayal of life in Germany before either of the major 20th century conflicts interesting.

[Tom Hodgkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still laugh-out-loud funny after all these years. The central joke is the way our attempts to create idyllic situations seem doomed to fail. A group of us had great fun discussing this book at the first Idler Book Club. Jerome was the editor of The Idler magazine during the Edwardian era and also wrote many essays on idleness, collected in Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow and Second Thoughts of an Idle Fellow.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am amazed by how fresh and vibrant these works still read. Three Men in a Boat is essentially some of the cast of The Office, trying to have fun on a vacation on the river. Three Men on the Bummel consists of the same trio trying to find rest and relaxation away from their families on a bike trip in Germany. If you are newly married, you will find this extra hilarious.

[Gwynplaine26th · Rating 3 out of 5]

Si sa, i vittoriani amarono l'humor e umoristi furono, seppur con sfumature e modi diversi, Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll, Anthony Trollope. Scritto in modo garbato e limpido, Tre uomini in barca racconta dei preparativi per un viaggio tra amici, Tamigi - Oxford, un cane, una gita in barca per allontanarsi dallo stress della civiltà ed infine il rientro furtivo.

È un testo che nonostante l'età si mantiene d'umorismo giovane e frizzante, "barcamenandosi" tra le contraddizioni della vita umana stessa, il sensazionale umorismo e l'impareggiabile buonsenso nel far risaltare sempre e comunque il lato comico della vita. 

[Raj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three young men are ruminating together on their various imagined illnesses and how much they need a holiday. Together with the dog, Montmorency, they hire a boat and travel up the Thames from London to Oxford and hilarity, as they say, ensues.

I found this to be a delightful book, very easy to read, picturesque and hardly dated in the language and humour. While I was reading it, I found it quite striking how it intersperses the comic antics of the protagonists with beautiful descriptions of the surrounding scenery and sometimes even some quite serious observations on life. This sounds like it should jar, but it mostly doesn't and works together remarkably well.

The narrative about boating sounded quite delightful and makes me want to gather up some fellows and spend a month sitting on the river myself!


My edition also contained the sequel, which I'll review here as well:

Three Men on the Bummel, by Jerome K. Jerome

This is the sequel to Three Men in a Boat and follows the same three protagonists (older and maybe wiser), sans dog, going for a bicycling trip around the Black Forest region of Germany.

I found this humorous enough, but not nearly as good as its predecessor. The humour seems somehow more forced, and the constant stereotyping of the German character soon gets wearing. But what I found myself missing the most, and I found this somewhat unexpected, was the Thames. I hadn't realised just how much of a character that the river had become in Three Men in a Boat and although Jerome tries his best with the German setting, it's just not the same.

Worth a read for curiosity value, but not as good as the original. (Three stars)

[Kressel Housman · Rating 4 out of 5]

In many ways, these two books are the literary equivalent of the sitcom "Seinfeld" - comedies about "nothing." But instead of three guys and an ex-girlfriend going through the antics of daily life in Manhattan, the first is about three Englishmen and a dog going through ridiculous antics while rowboating up the Thames, and the second (written and taking place some ten years later) is about the same three men on a bicycle trip in the Black Forest of Germany. Written in late Victorian England, the jokes are a lot cleaner than Seinfeld's, and the overall tone is classically British tongue-in-cheek, but the scenes depict the challenges of ordinary life (ie putting up a tent, opening a can of pineapple) hilariously. I know "laughing out loud" is a computer-age cliche, but I promise you, my fellow commuters could hear me as I was reading these books.

The author does diverge from humor in spots, particularly in the second book, in which he makes observations about the German people that underline all the features that gave rise to the Nazi era, though notably, the author acknowledges getting swept up in pugilistic mob thinking himself. That, of course, is anything but funny, but you can't help but be impressed at the author's perceptiveness. The book was written 50 years before the rise of Hitler, though Kaiser Wilhelm was already in power.

All in all, though, the book is good, clean fun. Unlike many other books on my list, you don't have to be Jewish, or a Jane Austen fan, or a parent, or an aspiring writer to enjoy it. It really has universal appeal.

[Natlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Three Men in a Boat, to Say Nothing of the Dog because I was going to read Connie Willis's To Say Nothing of the Dog and wanted to know what the relation was. Three Men … is the story of three friends and a dog on a boat trip up the Thames from Kingston to Oxford, To Say Nothing … incorporates a boat trip up the Thames made by three men and a dog and dwells on the same types of small annoyances of boating and any endeavor (such as packing) and uses the same tone of muddling through with understatement always at the ready to say nothing of the frequent diversions that leads one to understand that arriving at the destination is not the point of the novel but traveling to it is.

While I found Three Men … to be amusing in small doses, an entire novel of these fops' shenanigans was a bit much. So much so that I must confess I skipped from page 115 to 158 just in time for the not-at-all surprising finish on page 160 (with a bit of a skim for the photograph business with the nose of the boat around page 148).

I don't think I shall read Three Men on the Bummel, the sequel, as I'm sure it features more of the same. But, who knows, if I'm ever in the mood for some amusing understated fluff, I might dip into it for a score or two of pages.

[Thekelburrows · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heck of a lot of fun for anyone who is willing to skim past the very 1890s attitudes toward social politics.

---

“It always does seem to me that I am doing more work than I should do. It is not that I object to the work, mind you; I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours. I love to keep it by me: the idea of getting rid of it nearly breaks my heart.

You cannot give me too much work; to accumulate work has almost become a passion with me: my study is so full of it now, that there is hardly an inch of room for any more. I shall have to throw out a wing soon.

And I am careful of my work, too. Why, some of the work that I have by me now has been in my possession for years and years, and there isn’t a finger-mark on it. I take a great pride in my work; I take it down now and then and dust it. No man keeps his work in a better state of preservation than I do.

But, though I crave for work, I still like to be fair. I do not ask for more than my proper share.”

[Steve]

George, William Samuel Harris, J. and Montmorency, a lively fox-terrier, boat up the Thames, take in the scenery and meet several memorable characters along the way. J. narrates a good time was had by all, especially by the dog. This is another story where I noted that some things never change. A close someone remarked a couple decades ago that work fascinates me, that I delight in watching it accumulate all day long. Now I know who authored that dig. I think that if we’re to be upbraided in life for our shortcomings, the words should be original, no?

Bummel I’ve now learned is the German word for a stroll. The same three men, minus the dog, travel through Germany in Three Men on the Bummel. I found the tale less humorous than the trip up the River Thames. Still, there’s enough here to leave me with a sense of enjoyment. I was unfamiliar with Mr. Jerome until recently. His witty reportage deserves a continued audience.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderfully refreshing read filled with elaborate daydreams, hilarious hijinks and utter ridiculousness. Depicting the everyday life of three rather bored middling men, who decide it would be a great plan to take a fortnight boating holiday from London to Oxford along the River Thames.

The characters ridiculous in the need to always outdo each other’s boasts and stories, and even their more humble stories are filled with hilarious moments of misdirection,miscommunication and a mistaken belief that they can easily do anything provided only a little amount of effort is needed.

[Janosch · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took a while to finish it. While being witty, and I certainly enjoyed the writing style and use of vocabulary, it is not that exciting. Without the constant flashbacks I might have enjoyed it a bit more.
The scenery described in the book was nice but after having finished a few pages and having put the book aside it didn't make me excited to come back to it, let alone wonder how the story might continue. Not my cup of tea.

[DoctorM · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing Of The Dog)"...simply put, one of the great comic gems of the last century and a half. (There's a late-'70s film version with Tim Curry and Michael Palin--- go find it...now!) Witty, clever, hilarious, a bit melancholy. In the tradition of "Tristram Shandy" more than Wilde. A major favourite--- and a very well-done send up of travel lit. Highly recommended.

[Katie O’Reilly]

4 stars for sheer joy & delight. The second book can be a bit chilling. They visit Germany on a bike tour a couple decades before WWI and WWII and rhapsodize over how orderly and well-behaved the Germans are. And how docilely they take orders and respect authority.

[Juniper · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly love this book. It's one of my "classics" : it's among the ones I turn to when I don't know what to read next, and it's always a pleasure to read it one more time. No matter how many times I read it in my whole life, I bet this story will always make me laugh.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘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 to drink; for thirst is a dangerous thing … Time to drink in life’s sunshine - time to listen to the Aeolian music that the wind or God draws from the human heart-strings around us - time to -

I beg your pardon, really, I quite forgot.’

Jerome K. Jerome’s two comic novels aren’t about anything in particular. In fact, calling them novels is a stretch, since they’re somewhere between semi-autobiographical travel narratives and a collection of light essays. They give the wonderful impression of being in the company of a very good friend of an evening, perhaps on a park bench in the summer or round a campfire, perhaps slightly tipsy, reminiscing and expounding on the meaning of life. The conversation ebbs and flows, veering from cackles of laughter to long somber silences.

’…it seems so full of comfort and of strength, the night. In its great presence, our small sorrows creep away, ashamed.’

What really makes Jerome funny is, as I think is often the case, the way he captures universal experiences that effortlessly draw us into our own recollections, our own escape up the river. One of my favourites is a little sketch in Chapter 12 about the frustrations of sharing a space with two people trying to hide their involvement with each other:

’Half an hour later, you think you will try a pipe in the conservatory. The only chair in the place is occupied by Emily; and John Edward, if the language of clothes can be relied on, has evidently been sitting on the floor.’

In fact, it’s actually quite difficult to pluck out sections of the text, as I’ve been trying to do, and really convey the humour of it all, because the prose flows in such a conversational style. You find yourself snorting with laughter, but in the same way that two friends both laugh at some absurd in-joke that’s impossible to explain to anyone else, and never necessary to articulate to the only other person who understands.

’”We must be careful,” I said, “I knew a man once -“

Harris looked at his watch.

“It won’t take half an hour,” I said; “it��s a true story, and -“

“Don’t waste it,” said George, “I am told that there are rainy evenings in the Black Forest; we may be glad of it. What we have to do now is finish this list.”

Now I come to think of it, I never did get off that story; something always interrupted it. And it really was true.’

Three Men in a Boat is perfect - there is something about the balance between the escapist balm of the trip to my own back yard in Oxford, the humour, and the more somber reflections that is perfectly pitched. Three Men on the Bummel, although still good, suffers from Jerome’s pervading disappointment that his serious works were never taken seriously, or even really noticed at all. There are some wry if rather maudlin nods to the reader as the textual, autobiographical Jerome has advanced in years and become a successful if unfulfilled writer. We must remember, of course, that Jerome himself did not have the independent means of the British literary elite - reluctant though he was to capitalise on the success of Three Men, a sequel must have been too tempting to avoid. It reminds me of discerning actors or directors caving to the Marvel paycheck.

’I wrote three paragraphs of a story, and then read them over to myself. Some unkind things have been said about my work; but nothing has been written which would have done justice to those three paragraphs. I threw them into the waste-paper basket, and sat trying to remember what, if any, charitable institutions provided pensions for decayed authors.’

Even with this tinge of sadness, Three Men on the Bummel still has some lovely moments. The description of an ill-fated hike in Bavaria mirrors many of my own family holidays, where overambitious excursions into the countryside end in encroaching darkness, in the pouring rain, after hours of desperate, hungry trudging towards a rest stop. I also like Jerome’s essay on the English mass-tourist, rising out of the growing affluence of Empire, becoming the ‘missionary of the English tongue’, as well as his unnervingly prophetic commentary on the German national character:

’… from what I have observed of the German character I should not be surprised to hear that when a man in Germany is condemned to death he is given a piece of rope, and told to go and hang himself. It would save the State much trouble and expense, and I can see the German criminal taking that piece of rope home with him, reading up carefully the police instructions, and proceeding to carry them out in his kitchen …

The curious thing is that [a German], who as an individual is as helpless as a child, becomes, the moment he puts on the uniform, and intelligent being, capable of responsibility and initiative. The German can rule others, be ruled by others, but he cannot rule himself … Hitherto, the German has had the blessed good fortune to be exceptionally well-governed … When his troubles will begin will be when by chance anything goes wrong with the governing machine.’

Well, what do you know?

(30/1/24)

[Sherry Sharpnack · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF’d after the Introduction and first chapter. Too many books; too little time. If I want to read a Victorian-era comic travelogue, I’ll stick w/ Twain’s “Innocents Abroad.” At least I didn’t have to consult the notes to see why something was funny in “Innocents.”

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun read! THis book follows 3 men over 100 years ago who decide to take a boat ride down the Thames River. The second book follows the same men 10 years later on a bike trip through the Black Forest of Germany. Since we lived in both of these places, I found Jerome's descriptions hilarious. The story was simple but was full of tangents ("That reminded me of the time that ...")and insights on life.

Here's a long quote I liked from chapter 3: "George said: "You know we are on a wrong track altogether. We must not think of the things we could do with, but only of the things that we can't do without."

George comes out really quite sensible at times. You'd be surprised. I call that downright wisdom, not merely as regards the present case, but with reference to our trip up the river of life, generally. How many people, on that voyage, load up the boat till it is ever in danger of swamping with a store of foolish things which they think essential to the pleasure and comfort of the trip, but which are really only useless lumber.

How they pile the poor little craft mast-high with fine clothes and big
houses; with useless servants, and a host of swell friends that do not
care twopence for them, and that they do not care three ha'pence for;
with expensive entertainments that nobody enjoys, with formalities and
fashions, with pretence and ostentation, and with - oh, heaviest, maddest lumber of all! - the dread of what will my neighbour think, with luxuries that only cloy, with pleasures that bore, with empty show that, like the criminal's iron crown of yore, makes to bleed and swoon the aching head that wears it!

It is lumber, man - all lumber! Throw it overboard. It makes the boat
so heavy to pull, you nearly faint at the oars. It makes it so
cumbersome and dangerous to manage, you never know a moment's freedom
from anxiety and care, ...
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, ... enough to eat and enough to wear, ...
You will find the boat easier to pull then, and it will not be so liable to upset, and it will not matter so much if it does upset; good, plain merchandise will stand water. You will have time to think as well as to work. Time to drink in life's sunshine - ..."

[Rob Mills · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is an interesting book to read as it transports you back in time 300 years. Great introduction in the Penguins Classics version that helps set the stage. Basically, the industrial revolution produced a working class and this was one of the first books written for the average working stiff. It basically reads like a sticom with lots of memes from the 1800s (eg. every pub claiming that Queen Victoria had been there). Very light fare and the jokes tell you a lot about the times. The jokes also have a la plus ca change element that I found enjoyable. Only three stars as I think you need to be somebody that likes the idea of being transported back in time for light reading about nothing in particular. Some fun jokes. This compendium has both books, each ~175 pages.

[Alex]

ROMANESTE
Acolo zice ca "finished the book", dar din pacate eu nu am "finished the book". Poate ii voi da o sansa candva in limba romana sau poate voi incerca inca o data in engleza.
Inaintez foarte greu, avand in vedere ca o citesc pe Kindle, aproape in fiecare fraza exista 2-3 cuvinte pe care nu le cunosc. Este vorba de acea engleza really, but really high class. De aceea cititul intainteaza dificil si trunchiat de cautarea intelesului la cuvinte.
Practic, trei prieteni se hotarasc sa efectueze o excursie pe Tamisa si, cel putin cat am citit eu, pregatirile sunt amestecate cu diverse amintiri haioase (cel putin episodul cu branza este haios bine de tot).
Am momente cand imi imaginez figurile unor gentlemeni plictisiti, dand ordine la servitoare, fumand trabuc, bogati, discutand ce sa mai faca ca sa le mai treaca plictiseala. Si in momentul ala, cartea nu mai imi place. Sunt prea de stanga pentru asa ceva.
Descrierile de natura (unde abunda adjective nemaipomenite pe care le citesc pentru prima oara) sunt frumoase, si ideile legate de natura etc sunt parca mai cinstit prezentate decat la Thoreau.
Nu am reusit nici cu P.G. Wodehouse (Jeeves and stuff...) - acolo macar nu mi-a placut de la inceput. Aroganta plictisita a personajului principal m-a lovit din plin de la prima pagina.

ENGLISH
There it says "finished the book", but unfortunately I did not finish it. Maybe I'll give it another chance sometime in Romanian or maybe I'll try again in English.
I hardly progress, given that I read on the Kindle and in almost every sentence there are 2-3 words that I do not know. It's about that English! That really really high class English. That is why reading is difficult and truncated by the search for the meaning of the words.
Basically, three friends decide to go on a trip to the Thames and, at least in the part I did read, the preparations are mixed with various funny memories (at least the cheese episode is funny all the time) and proofs of Murphy's laws.
I have moments when I imagine the figures of bored rich gentlemen, giving orders to maids, smoking cigar, and discussing what else to do to overcome their boredom. And at that moment, I don't like the book anymore. I'm too left for that.
The descriptions of nature (where great adjectives abound that I read for the first time) are beautiful, and ideas about nature etc are more honestly presented than at Thoreau.

[Dr Goon Taco Supreme · Rating 2 out of 5]

So these books are supposed to be funny, but I could barley stand them. I wish I would have just walked away and left this writing unread, but I have a difficult time not finishing the books I start.
Anyway, I forced myself to read every damn page of both "Three Men in a Boat" and "Three Men on the Bummel."

There were parts of this two-books-in-one-volume that were enjoyable, and I laughed once.

On the whole though, I would use the word tedious to describe these works.

Both of the books were dull and pointless.

In "Three Men in a Boat" these three friends and their dog go on a boating adventure down the river. It's supposed to be like a funny, ridiculous retelling of their mishaps, much like a version of "Dumb and Dumber"--only from back in the day.

Unfortunately for me, I absolutely loathed, "Dumb and Dumber" and I loathed this book too. There were simply too many pointless tangents that I didn't find interesting. There was history that I don't know. There were jokes that went right over my head.

I think I probably lack education, which is why I didn't get many of the jokes. I also have never been to England. I don't know that much of the history of the place.
The writing itself was good, but I just didn't enjoy the book. I made myself read it and it took me a solid month to do so.

"Three Men on the Bummel" was just as bad as the first book, and actually, I don't even know what to say about all the smack he wrote about Germany. I had no idea if what he said was true but I do know it was supposed to be funny, and yet (in my opinon) it simply wasn't.
I thought both books sucked.