Three Men on the Bummel, with eBook cover art

Three Men on the Bummel, with eBook

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Three Men on the Bummel, with eBook

By: Jerome K. Jerome
Narrated by: David Case
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About this listen

 When three late-Victorian gentlemen escape from their claustrophobic suburban life to go on a cycling tour in the Black Forest of Germany, their trip turns into a comic expedition.

Many of their humorous adventures and mishaps relate to the nuances in language and customs; one attempts to board a train unconventionally to avoid German procedures; when riding the Bummel in Dresden one butts and rolls into German passengers who, being familiar with the route know how to brace themselves and don't see the humor, "the dull lot"; another tries to buy his aunt a cushion and gets angry after he pays for it because he gets only a kiss from a young girl instead. Three Men on the Bummel is one of the most popular classics in English comic fiction.

©1991 Phoenix Recordings (P)2004 Tantor Media, Inc. Classics Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Fiction Witty Comedy Funny
All stars
Most relevant
Its true, people never change.

I have a lot of dealing with German people through business, and if you would not have told me the author, I would have assumed this book was written last year - not last century. The book is a pleasure to experience purely because of the authors excellent style and many diversions in the book. I have heard many say its a poor sequel to the 3 men on a boat, I'm having none of it. Its far better.

On the downside I think the narrator could have been more upbeat and put more effort into the characters. It was difficult to distinguish between Harris and George until the narrator told us who was speaking - but this was a minor point as the story outshone this.

This could have been written last year !

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Like everybody I know I always liked both of the three men books by JK Jerome in Czech translation but of course,it is even better in the original.

Fun

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An enjoyable yarn with lots of interesting observations but the narration deadens it. Hopefully Martin Jarvis will read this in the future & bring it to life.

Enjoyable

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The book is not, in my opinion, as good as Three Men in a Boat. But, if you are a fan of TMIAB, you will get some enjoyment from revisiting these characters.

Enjoyable moments

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I enjoyed three men in a boat and this is the sequel. Three men are older and leave wives and children to cycle around Germany. I was frustrated about the lack of plot which meanders about with a lot of deviations into various anecdotes not connected with the story. The organisation of the trip and the departure are covered in a lot of detail. Then the book moves on and the holiday, the cycling and the return home is barely mentioned instead there are long descriptions about typical Germans, and making fun of them. Actually I found it very funny and surprised that even when the book was written in 1900 there were the German stereotypes of organisation and order, rules and bylaws for seemingly the most petty misdemeanours, as well as plenty of excessive beer drinking especially by students who had to tie an address label to their coat to ensure that they would be deposited at the right address when they were found slumped comatose on a floor or a gutter. The book is also interesting for describing the early days of cycling enthusiasts.

Making fun of Germans

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