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reading (Pies and Prejudice)
Jun. 11th, 2012 07:39 pmI finished Stuart Maconie's "Pies and Prejudice" yesterday evening. While I was in England, I picked up this book, solely on the cover blurbs and name, something I do occasionally to find new authors or break out of my rut.
First let me say, I don't think I'm the right audience for this book. This book has more in-jokes than a hallway conversation at a Star Trek convention. I'm from the wrong side of the pond to get all the references, or even a quarter of the references. Now I usually fare pretty well. I know it can be good to snog a bird on the bonnet. But this is a completely different level, with lots of recent history surname dropping and reference that you'd catch if you've read the Guardian for the last 20 years. This book really is for the natives. Despite my inability to understand many of the historic references, I did manage to get the "I'm so cool" references, they're hard to miss.
It's not about finding the nature of the people of the North, but more about drawing contrast between the different cities and the people who inhabit them. Based on the descriptions some of them I might really like to visit, even though it sounds like the entire region has had the shit kicked out of it by economic progress.
So, overall, not the fun filled experience I expected it to be. But as I said up front, I'm the wrong audience. To a native this book may be as funny as a Bob Marley joke about Jolly John getting in a misunderstanding in Ogunquit. "Hi, ho!"
21. Stuart Maconie "Pies and Prejudice: In Search of the North"
First let me say, I don't think I'm the right audience for this book. This book has more in-jokes than a hallway conversation at a Star Trek convention. I'm from the wrong side of the pond to get all the references, or even a quarter of the references. Now I usually fare pretty well. I know it can be good to snog a bird on the bonnet. But this is a completely different level, with lots of recent history surname dropping and reference that you'd catch if you've read the Guardian for the last 20 years. This book really is for the natives. Despite my inability to understand many of the historic references, I did manage to get the "I'm so cool" references, they're hard to miss.
It's not about finding the nature of the people of the North, but more about drawing contrast between the different cities and the people who inhabit them. Based on the descriptions some of them I might really like to visit, even though it sounds like the entire region has had the shit kicked out of it by economic progress.
So, overall, not the fun filled experience I expected it to be. But as I said up front, I'm the wrong audience. To a native this book may be as funny as a Bob Marley joke about Jolly John getting in a misunderstanding in Ogunquit. "Hi, ho!"
21. Stuart Maconie "Pies and Prejudice: In Search of the North"
