I picked up this treasure today while scavenging my sister's bookcase. The last time I read it I was in my cynical teens and didn't see the humor. I'd been meaning to get back to it for ages since I first read Connie Willis' brilliant science fiction novel *To Say Nothing of the Dog.* That book richly deserves its own review, later. I knew that Willis was referencing the Jerome K. Jerome book, but my memories of it were few.
Today I entered its pages more slowly, taking time to smile over the short chapter introductions. "Three invalids--Sufferings of George and Harris--A victim to one hundred and seven fatal maladies----We agree we are overworked and need rest----George suggests the river--Montmorency lodges an objection--Original motion carried by three to one--"
No one, of course, can possibly enjoy this ancient book, written in 1889, no one at all, unless you have ever overly enthusiastically planned a trip, squeezed a suitcase shut and latched it, only to discover a pair of shoes have been left out, got up ominously late to catch a plane or a train, suffered through a camping trip marred by rain or a hideously uncomfortable tent, or twisted a foot over a small eager dog. For the dog, of course, "to get someone to stumble over him and curse him for an hour, is his highest aim and object; and when he has succeeded in accomplishing this, his conceit becomes quite unbearable."
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"to get someone to stumble over him . . . " I've known dogs like that!
ReplyDeleteMade me laugh!