Three Men in a Boat, to Say Nothing of the Dog

Author: Jerome K. Jerome
Genre: nonfiction (?), travel
Publication info: Time Incorporated, 1964 (originally published in 1889)
Pages: 211

Well, now I know where Connie Willis got a lot of her ideas. I picked up this book because of the many references to it in her To Say Nothing of the Dog (not the least of which is the title). The two books have a very similar tone; I can tell that this was a great inspiration for Willis.

The premise is very simple: Three men with a severe case of hypochondria decide that a boating trip up the Thames would do them good. So they rent out a boat and take their fourteen-day journey, of course bringing their dog, Montmorency, with them. The narrator describes in wonderful ironic wit all the troubles they come across on their journey, and all along the way he inserts little anecdotes that somehow relate to the present action.

It's a silly book, all in all---and I loved it. There isn't much of a plot, but it was very entertaining. What I think I liked most about it was the voice of the narrator. He is a fine example of the unreliable narrator with his subtle sarcasm and hypocrisy. For instance, at one point he talks about the fun of getting in the way of steam launches that think they own the river; a few chapters later, he complains about the ignorant boats that are in the way of the steam launch that is towing them. And he loves work---watching it, that is.

I recommend this to anyone looking for some fun, light reading, or to anyone looking for an escape. What better way to escape than taking a trip up the Thames? And even though it was written well over a hundred years ago, its humor can still be appreciated today.