Narrow Dog to Carcassonne (2005)

Ultimately unsatisfying anecdote about taking a canal boat across the English Channel and down to the South of France with a Whippet. Several amusing passages but it didn't add up to enough to satisfy this reader. ( )

Terry Darlington - as an author you will either like or loath his writing style. Yet for me, there is a charm to the way the book has been crafted together, Funny, very much so, but people who don't like his style somehow seem to miss the wry humour and pith. Daring or foolish in concept I have yet to make up my mind. But given the chance I would have been happy to stand at the tiller to cross the channel. Its not bedtime reading - because chuckles always bring a elbow nudge in the ribs from the wife if I disturb her sleep. This is a 50 nudge book. ( )

Ideal holiday reading, this is the slightly oddly (but lyrically) written account of a retired English couple taking their narrowboat and whippet from the Midlands to Carcassonne, via the Channel and all sorts of other rather alarming adventures. The style might be odd but the subject matter is engaging, especially if you know boats a little, and read-out-loud funny in many places. Pleasingly, there is a flamingo-viewing scene in Palavas-les-Flots, somewhere we have visited ourselves. ( )

If you don't have anything nice to say . . .
The source of the above quote is my mother. ( )

I didn't think it would be possible to write a book about narrowboating that would be totally boring. I was wrong.

edited to add:
My husband has now said that we will not discard this book, but that we will keep it on his shelves. He says my problem with it is that I haven't spent enough time in British pubs discussing things after several beers and other alcoholic beverages. ( )