Daren
There is much familiarity with a Jerome K Jerome novel, and like Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog there is some great situational humour. This time, the author and friend "B." travel from their home in Britain to the Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany, via Belgium.
As a heathen with limited cultural knowledge, I have never heard of this passion play, but Google assisted in telling me that it is a play performed every 10 years, and has been in play since 1634 (with some exceptions). The play is a staging of Jesus' passion, covering the short final period of His life from His visit to Jerusalem and leading to His execution by crucifixion... The production involves over 2,000 people: actors, musicians, stage technicians, and others, all residents of the village... The play comprises spoken dramatic text, musical and choral accompaniment and tableaux vivants, which are scenes from the Old Testament depicted for the audience by motionless actors accompanied by verbal description. (Wikipedia) That's enough for me, look it up if you want more.
Anyway, as a result, there is some description of the play, but is largely played down by saying that there has already been so much written about it.
It was a quick 160 page read, with lots of great situational jokes about the trials of travel, lots of stereotypes examined and mocked.
For a book published in 1891, it is still a very amusing read. 3.5 stars.
I couldn't resist adding one quote from the book, from P29, as the pair share a train carriage with a bore:
After the dog story, we thought we were going to have a little quiet. But we were mistaken; for, with the same breath with which he finished the dog rigmarole, our talkative companion added:
"But I can tell you a funnier thing than that -"
We all felt we could believe this assertion. If he has boasted that he could tell a duller, more uninteresting story, we would have doubted him; but the possibility of his being able to relate something funnier, we would readily grasp.
But it was not funnier, after all. It was only longer and more involved. It was the history of a man who grew his own celery...
There is much familiarity with a Jerome K Jerome novel, and like Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog there is some great situational humour. This time, the author and friend "B." travel from their home in Britain to the Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany, via Belgium.
As a heathen with limited cultural knowledge, I have never heard of this passion play, but Google assisted in telling me that it is a play performed every 10 years, and has been in play since 1634 (with some exceptions). The play is a staging of Jesus' passion, covering the short final period of His life from His visit to Jerusalem and leading to His execution by crucifixion... The production involves over 2,000 people: actors, musicians, stage technicians, and others, all residents of the village... The play comprises spoken dramatic text, musical and choral accompaniment and tableaux vivants, which are scenes from the Old Testament depicted for the audience by motionless actors accompanied by verbal description. (Wikipedia) That's enough for me, look it up if you want more.
Anyway, as a result, there is some description of the play, but is largely played down by saying that there has already been so much written about it.
It was a quick 160 page read, with lots of great situational jokes about the trials of travel, lots of stereotypes examined and mocked.
For a book published in 1891, it is still a very amusing read. 3.5 stars.
I couldn't resist adding one quote from the book, from P29, as the pair share a train carriage with a bore:
After the dog story, we thought we were going to have a little quiet. But we were mistaken; for, with the same breath with which he finished the dog rigmarole, our talkative companion added:
"But I can tell you a funnier thing than that -"
We all felt we could believe this assertion. If he has boasted that he could tell a duller, more uninteresting story, we would have doubted him; but the possibility of his being able to relate something funnier, we would readily grasp.
But it was not funnier, after all. It was only longer and more involved. It was the history of a man who grew his own celery...