In A Sunburned Country (Jacob Macko)

Title: In a Sunburned Country
Author: Bill Bryson
Publisher: Broadway Books
Length: 335
This book was recommended by a cousin.

In a Sunburned Country is about the adventure that Bill Bryson (the author) experiences in his journey through the outback of Australia. He begins his journey in Sydney where he first meets up with some new friends that take him boogie boarding in a bay filled with Deadly Jellyfish and Rip currents or “A rip”. From Sydney he would take the Indian Pacific Railroad 2,720 miles through the Outback. On rest stops he would explore the different towns and meet new people. This trip was intended to be about getting to know “The Real Australia”. Another experience that he would undergo is a 2 day, 4 wheel drive trip though the outback that few tourists get to experience. A theme that Bryson brought up in every chapter was the danger that hid behind every corner; ranging from poisonous snakes and spiders to the daily summer temperature of 118 degrees. Bryson concludes his adventure in Perth with a better understanding of “The Real Outback”.

The audience for this book is anyone who likes to travel and has a sense of humor because this book is about understanding the Australia that few know about and Bryson has the ability to make the dullest subject funny and interesting.

Bryson writing style is to be humorous. Throughout this book there have been moments where I broke out in laughter and this has been one of a few that have ever made me do that. “’A Bluebottle”, she explained, and pointed to a small jellyfish of the type (as I later learned from browsing through a fat book titled, if I recall, Things that Will kill you horridly in Australia, volume 19) known elsewhere as a Portuguese man-of-war. I squinted as it drifted past. It looked unprepossessing, like a blue condom with strings attached” (17)

“When Aborigines killed a convict named McEntire, Governor Phillip in an uncharacteristic fury dispatched a band of marines on a punitive expedition with orders to bring back six heads-any six. The marines tramped around in the bush for a few days, but managed to capture just one aborigine, and he was released when it was realized he was a friend. In the end they capture no one and the matter seems to have been quietly forgotten.” (53)This struck me because in desperation people can resort to many things, revenge being one of them. But after realizing the single person they captured was actually a friend and having bigger problems to worry about, revenge wasn’t a big priority anymore.

*Bryson asking a group of teenage skateboarders restaurant suggestions*
“There’s a McDonalds right around the corner.’ Gently I explained that it was not actually a condition of citizenship that I eat the food of my nation. ‘I was thinking of maybe a nice Thai restaurant,’ I suggested. They looked at me with that flummoxed, dead-0end expression that you have to be fourteen years old to produce with conviction. ‘Or perhaps an Indian?’ I offered hopefully, and go the same no one home look. ‘Indonesian?’ I went on. ‘Vietnamese? Lebanese? Greek? Mexican? West Indian? Malaysian? Italian?’ I said. “There’s a Pizza Hut on Lonsdale Street,’ piped op one with a look of triumph.” (89) This struck me because this shows how Americanized the world has become. Australia, a country which is located directly under the Pacific Ocean and close to many countries that are diverse in their foods and the best answer an Australian native can give for restaurant recommendations are McDonalds and Pizza Hut.

I drifted into the vicinity of three aboriginal people, two men and a woman, all staring at nothing. I gave them a nod and respectful g’day smile as I passed, but failed to signal to establish eye contact. It was as if they were somewhere else, or I was transparent. (230) I was struck by this because there seemed to be racial tension between the aborigines and Bryson. Bryson never brought up any racism in this book, but it may still be prevalent.

I interacted with this book in many different ways. First is that I have a dream of traveling to different places of the world and while I am there I want to meet new people, see new places, and try new foods. I idolize people who can achieve this in their lives, but Bryson made it seem like I was there accompanying him on this adventure. Second, is that I enjoy the humor that Bryson uses in his writing and I can connect with it because I use a similar style in my own writing.