nglofile's review against another edition
3.0
Though it may appear that I am damning with faint praise, the phrase that keeps coming to mind as I think about this book is "not bad". There are moments of witty insight, and the author's style is likable. My disappointment is of my own making, I suppose. I was expecting a personal narrative to anchor the story, but it is very much a "field guide" approach that picks up a topic, examines and illustrates, and sets it down again.
nit-picks: The cover art is just silly and annoying. Moreover, I found it jarring to begin with the chapter on attitudes towards sex. This would have been better placed further into the book.
audiobook note: an enjoyable read by Cassandra Campbell
nit-picks: The cover art is just silly and annoying. Moreover, I found it jarring to begin with the chapter on attitudes towards sex. This would have been better placed further into the book.
audiobook note: an enjoyable read by Cassandra Campbell
pemuth59's review against another edition
3.0
A very funny book, but not necessarily recommended for the Anglophiles in your life. As a NY Times reporter living in London and married to a Brit, Lyall does not suffer the British gladly, especially in the early going. Her opinions soften eventually as she comes to understand why the Brits are so very different, but Lyall does some mighty funny smiting all the way through.
kricketa's review against another edition
3.0
some of sarah lyall's observations and critiques of british culture and behavior were pretty entertaining in the car, but there were a couple of chapters (the house of commons was one...) that bored me to sleepiness. maybe it would have worked better to actually read a print copy while i wasn't operating a motor vehicle?
but yes- most of the book is pretty funny and insightful, and probably offensive to brits- but they could (and probably have) write one worse about americans.
but yes- most of the book is pretty funny and insightful, and probably offensive to brits- but they could (and probably have) write one worse about americans.
judyward's review against another edition
4.0
Lyall is an American journalist who moved to London for love during the 1990s. She is married to an English editor and author and is raising two daughters in England. As a reporter for the New York Times, Lyall contrasts her American self with the more reserved and repressed English men and women around her. A very humorous look at or "field guide to the British" as she puts it. I found that several of my English friends quite fit the bill of the national character she describes. A delightful read.
dja777's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting and entertaining view of the British -- though I'd be most interested to find out what her British readers thought of the accuracy.
erica_lynn_huberty's review against another edition
2.0
While I admit I did laugh out loud many times while reading The Anglo Files, I found it an incomplete and distorted examination of British life, culture, and people. I’m part English and have a lot of family in England; none of us are upper class (solidly middle-to-working, actually), and we span the generations of post-second World War Britain to very young ‘New Britain.’ Having read Lyall’s hilarious list of the differences between Britishisms and Americanisms in the NYTimes, and knowing Lyall is a good writer, I was looking forward to reading The Anglo Files.
There are parts that are very funny, and ring almost embarrassingly true (the number of apologies uttered per day is astounding, and I’m not exempt from this strange little habit). But by halfway through, it was clear that Lyall is exaggerating British behavior and psychology, possibly for entertainment’s sake, but possibly because she has only been exposed to a smidgen of England's population (and therefore seems to have a hard time making sense of a small group of rich eccentrics). The examples she gives—and the book feels, at times, like a long list of examples—are almost bizarrely focused on upper class, nouveau wealthy, or titled white English people. It is as if, in Lyall’s decades-long experience of living in London, she never once was exposed to Russell Brand, Kate Atkinson, Sacha Baron Cohen, Stephan Moffat, or Hilary Mantel; nor does she seem to have come across any 'regular' person (her kids’ teacher? her hairdresser? the people down at the local garden nursery?). She attempts, for example, to analyze all of British sexuality by citing upper-class boarding school peculiarities and deprivations, but has to back-peddle a bit by noting that these “practices” no longer really go on--and maybe only went on at Oxford and Eton. It’s a shame Lyall lived in such a bubble during her time in England. She might have seen some of the more interesting and admirable facets of its culture and people, as well as the quirky and irritating angles. It’s great to laugh at oneself, and tear things apart to analyze them, but to do it by using twenty percent of an entire culture as the sole example is bad journalism, and not particularly rewarding for the reader.
There are parts that are very funny, and ring almost embarrassingly true (the number of apologies uttered per day is astounding, and I’m not exempt from this strange little habit). But by halfway through, it was clear that Lyall is exaggerating British behavior and psychology, possibly for entertainment’s sake, but possibly because she has only been exposed to a smidgen of England's population (and therefore seems to have a hard time making sense of a small group of rich eccentrics). The examples she gives—and the book feels, at times, like a long list of examples—are almost bizarrely focused on upper class, nouveau wealthy, or titled white English people. It is as if, in Lyall’s decades-long experience of living in London, she never once was exposed to Russell Brand, Kate Atkinson, Sacha Baron Cohen, Stephan Moffat, or Hilary Mantel; nor does she seem to have come across any 'regular' person (her kids’ teacher? her hairdresser? the people down at the local garden nursery?). She attempts, for example, to analyze all of British sexuality by citing upper-class boarding school peculiarities and deprivations, but has to back-peddle a bit by noting that these “practices” no longer really go on--and maybe only went on at Oxford and Eton. It’s a shame Lyall lived in such a bubble during her time in England. She might have seen some of the more interesting and admirable facets of its culture and people, as well as the quirky and irritating angles. It’s great to laugh at oneself, and tear things apart to analyze them, but to do it by using twenty percent of an entire culture as the sole example is bad journalism, and not particularly rewarding for the reader.
seattleserina's review against another edition
3.0
If it weren't for that bit about the sun never shining, I'd be living there already...
lazygal's review against another edition
4.0
Another series of essays on the British, this time far less angry than those in A.A. Gill's [b:The Angry Island|342320|The Angry Island Hunting the English|A.A. Gill|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356449279l/342320._SX50_.jpg|2406016]. Lyall's tone, while claiming to be an American voice explaining the British to those of us on the Western side of "the Pond" sounds more like Madonna's accent than an authentic American voice.
Other than that, it's a good, funny read. The index is sparse, but that's not a major detraction (why an index is needed is another question, one beyond my area of expertise to explain). She covers British sports (although not in great enough detail to really explain them, which is perhaps the point), teeth, food, education, and their penchent for leaving soap on cleaned dishes.
Other than that, it's a good, funny read. The index is sparse, but that's not a major detraction (why an index is needed is another question, one beyond my area of expertise to explain). She covers British sports (although not in great enough detail to really explain them, which is perhaps the point), teeth, food, education, and their penchent for leaving soap on cleaned dishes.
davidlz1's review against another edition
4.0
This book was informative and entertaining all at the same time. There were moments of laughter accompanied by moments of enlightenment. To begin with, I am obsessed with all things British (barring the teeth). So, this book was a real treat. It starts off talking about the repressed society with regard to sex, forwardness, etc. and moves on to its politics and personal habits. Mrs. Lyall does a great job of dispelling a number of myths and putting things into perspective. Coincidentally, I just finished a Mediterranean cruise and ran across a number of British people (middle class as well the less posh). This book made my interactions with them even more enjoyable. And there is also a section devoted to their teeth. Highly recommended!
coffeecass's review against another edition
2.0
While it was humorous, it was extremely biased and has not aged well.