I’m A Stranger Here Myself

“I’m a Stranger Here Myself” by Bill Bryson is a hilarious change of pace from the usual seriousness of American affairs.

Bill Bryson grew up in Iowa, America but moved to Britain. There he met and married his wife, raised children, and absorbed the British way of life and culture for twenty years. After his two decade long stay in Britain, Bryson moves back to the United States. America has changed drastically, however, since the last time Bryson went. “I’m a Stranger Here Myself” is a wonderful three-way compare and contrast book between his American youth, British adulthood, and American adulthood. The book is filled with funny anecdotes, lessons learned, and funny observations that only an adult that’s been away so long could make. The book contains everything from haircuts to food to America’s ridiculous hypocrisy. It is a laugh-out-loud book that will keep the reader thinking about and criticizing American culture long after the book is done.

            The funniest chapter in “I’m a Stranger Here Myself” is “Well Doctor, I Was Just Trying To Lie Down…” The chapter is based entirely on how people are accidently injured by seemingly harmless items more than anything else, and that Americans are paying attention to the wrong dangers. Bryson makes the observation that, per year, more Americans are accidently hurt by pillows and beds than chainsaws, razors, axes, and trampolines combined. This is among the many shocking revelations Bryson discovers that makes the reader uncertain whether to laugh or to be worried.

            One of the most interesting parts of “I’m A Stranger Here Myself” is Bill Bryson’s three-way comparison. He often compares what it’s like to be an adult in America and Britain, but he also compares both of those to his American Youth. Such an example of this, is his passage on going to beaches. Bryson says, as a kid in Iowa, he hated the ocean because he was terrified of it, and liked going to a less chaotic lake. As he lived in Britain, he never really cared for the beach because there was really nothing to like about it. Then he goes on to explain his experience going to a beach in New England. This three way comparison provides an insight that is even farther in depth than the typical two way comparison. The three way comparison also provides more chances for funnier observations and anecdotes, making the book even funnier.

            One main problem with the book is that it seems to have little to no plot and gets a little long-winded at times. The book is based entirely on him and his family getting used to the American culture, but there is nothing else holding the two to three page articles together. The articles seem random and have little point to them other than how America is different than Britain. After 70 chapters, this point is proven a little too hard and the book starts to get stale. Had the book been cut to 30 or 40 chapters, this would not have been such a factor.

            All-in-all “I’m A Stranger Here Myself” by Bill Bryson is a great and hysterical book, and any American should read it.