29 January 2018

Review: Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow by Jerome K. Jerome

Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome is one of my favourite books of all time and even recalling it now makes me chuckle. Having read it back in 2011, I thought it was high time to explore more from this eccentric and witty author, so I picked up Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow. Big mistake. Huge.

Do you ever worry you'll spoil your love for a book if you read another by the same author and it's a drag? When I read a dud by an author I revere, it inevitably diminishes my overall opinion of their work and it happens more often than I'd like.*

Unfortunately, this was one of those times and I just didn't enjoy Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow. There were moments of humour and cleverness, but by the end I was left wishing I'd never picked it up.

As a reader, I was greedy to recreate the magic of Three Men in a Boat where I should have been content to leave it as a standalone reading experience beyond compare. Have I learned my lesson though? Probably not.

My rating = **

Carpe Librum!

* Which is why I'm reluctant to read anything else by John Williams, author of Stoner.

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