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A review of Round Ireland with a fridge

by Tony Hawks

A stand up comic takes his fridge hitch hiking around Ireland for a bet.

Reviewed by: Alan McClymont
About Alan McClymont

Round Ireland with a fridge Have you ever made a drunken bet with your friends in a pub? What's the worst thing that happened when you did? Did you regret it in the morning? Well I am almost certain that I would be right if I said that by accepting the bet you have never had to carry a small kitchen appliance whilst hitch-hiking around a country.

Whether I'm right or wrong the weirdness of the idea and the comic genius of the writer make this book a wonderful read. The basic premise of the story is just as I have said. The writer makes a bet and sets off on his journey around Ireland with a small fridge.

The book basically tells of the people that he meets, the places that he visits and the almost surreal events which take place along the way. Throughout the book I was laughing almost continuously (although I was pushed towards tears once or twice) and when I eventually finished I immediately started thinking up ways in which I could carry out such a ridiculous stunt. The best compliment I can ever give to an author is that when I finish reading about their adventure, I want to do it myself.

Tony Hawks is a very good stand up comedian in his own right but this book seems to take his comedy to a whole new level. The main reason which anyone would have for reading this would surely be to give them a good laugh at the sheer wackiness or at the way in which Hawks describes the world which he sees around him. It is also, however an interesting tour around rural Ireland and also a pretty good sociological study at the same time (i.e. how many people would pick up a hitch-hiker carrying a small fridge?)

Click here to buy this book, or read more about it at Amazon.com: Round Ireland with a fridge

Copyright © by Alan McClymont, 2003

Reviewed by Alan McClymont :
-- Dead Famous - by Ben Elton
-- Neither here nor there - by Bill Bryson
-- Lucky Jim - by Kingsley Amis
-- Round Ireland with a fridge - by Tony Hawks
-- The River at the Center of the World - by Simon Winchester
-- The Rape of Nanking - by Iris Chang
-- Timeline - by Michael Crichton
-- How to Be Good - by Nick Hornby
-- Notes from a Small Island - by Bill Bryson
-- Player Piano - by Kurt Vonnegut
-- Wilt - by Tom Sharpe
-- Number9dream - by David Mitchell









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