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Library | Call Number | Status |
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Searching... McMinnville Public Library | 941.5 HAWKS | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Salem Main Library | 914.15 Hawks 2000 | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... West Salem Branch Library | 914.15 Hawks 2000 | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Have you ever made a drunken bet? Worse, still, have you ever tried to win one? In attempting to hitchhike round Ireland with a fridge, Tony Hawks did both, and his foolhardiness led him to one of the best experiences of his life. Joined by his trusty traveling companion-cum-domestic appliance, he found himself in the midst of a remarkable adventure, at times, emotional, at times inspirational, but more often than not, downright silly.
Only in the magical land of Ireland could such a notion lead to such fruitful adventure. Here is his record of the unlikely pair's fortunes as they made their way from Dublin to Donegal, from Sligo through Mayo, Galway, Clare, Kerry, Cork, Wexford, Wicklow, and back again to Dublin.
In their month of madness, Tony and his fridge met a real prince and a bogus one; they surfed together and entered a bachelor festival; the fridge was christened; and one of the pair had sex without the other knowing. And unexpectedly, the fridge itself became a momentary focus for the people of Ireland. As in the days rolled by, the fridge grew into a personality in its own right, developing its own identity and bringing people together wherever it went.
Round Ireland with a Fridge is one of the most inspirational stories you will ever read. Join the fearless duo as they battle on relentlessly toward Dublin and a breathtaking finale that is at the same time moving, uplifting, and a fitting conclusion to the whole ridiculous affair.
An international bestseller, Round Ireland with a Fridge is a hilarious travel adventure in the tradition of Bill Bryson with a dash of Dave Barry. Tony Hawks's ready sense of the absurd, his self-deprecatory charm, and his warm appreciation of the Irish and their traditionally immoderate characteristics combine to make this a resoundingly good read, offering a tantalizing glimpse of grassroots Ireland captured in a wonderful blend of perception and humor.
Author Notes
Tony Hawks lives in London and divides his time equally between writing, performing, and playing tennis. He makes regular appearances on British radio and is currently the host of The Best Show in the World.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
When British writer, performer and musician Hawks makes a drunken bet for 100 that he can "hitchhike round the circumference of Ireland, with a fridge, in one calendar month," he starts, in 1997, an unexpectedly wonderful adventure into the good-natured soul of the Irish people. Though the book begins inauspiciously as a bad parody of Dave Barry's travel books, with Hawks assuming a smug distance from the people and events he encounters, happily fate intervenes in the form of a jovial radio-show host who convinces Hawks to phone in daily to share updates about his travels with the fridge. Almost overnight, Hawks becomes a regional legendÄ"The Fridge Man"Äwith all sorts of people willing to help him achieve his goal, however silly it may be. What could have been a convenient contrivance actually allows a kinder and far funnier Hawks to appear, as his daily talks with his radio "fans" bring him unexpected delights, including encounters with an overenthusiastic innkeeper and his family, the amazing champion surfer Bingo, various musicians and lots of pub visits. In the end, Hawks's book becomes a lively celebration of contemporary Irish society and the goodwill of its people that neither revels in irony nor descends into mawkishness. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
A distinguished Oxford scholar and a British comedian each show us a contemporary Ireland blessedly leprechaun-free but, nonetheless, uniquely magical. Eagleton is one of the most renowned literary critics, but that doesn't keep him from writing with unusual clarity and wit. He proffers an A-to-Z of today's Ireland that is breezy but densely well informed and even, occasionally, footnoted, as if he can't help himself (those scholarly addenda prove pricelessly whimsical). Some entries betray his literary training: how many other references on Ireland cover Dracula ("the Irish have produced a number of monsters and bloodsuckers in their time, but this one is the best known") as well as "one of the country's major exports," Seamus Heaney? But from alcohol to craic to Liffey water to potatoes and all the way down to the Zoological Gardens of Dublin, Eagleton fills the book with odd tidbits of fact, ne'er so well and seldom so uproariously expressed. Whereas Eagleton's organizing principle is the alphabet, Tony Hawks' is the outline of Ireland. A drunken bet resulted in his standing by the Irish roadside with his trusty companion, a refrigerator (miniature, but still . . .). The wager had been that he and his fridge could make it, hitchhiking, around the island's perimeter in a month. He made it. But, in true Irish fashion, the fun isn't so much in the story itself as in the telling of it. The fridge goes surfing with its mate, goes to a bachelor contest, and spends a good deal of time in pubs, more in various vehicles. The Fridge Man learns some life lessons about trust and spontaneity but mostly goes along for the craic (see Eagleton for definition). Great craic it is: when Hawks plonks the fridge on a bar stool in Ennistymon, another patron laconically observes, "Ah, sure, it's nice enough to see it out of context." In this book, everything Irish gets decontextualized, nicely enough. --Patricia Monaghan
Library Journal Review
Yes, a fridge. People sometimes do the craziest things when they've had too many beers. Hawks, known throughout Great Britain for his humor and appearances on various radio and television shows, made a drunken bet with a friend that he could successfully hitchhike around Ireland with a refrigerator as his traveling companion. Once sober, he realized the magnitude of the task he'd set himself but agreed to honor the bet anyway. The result is a hysterically funny travelog, in which Hawks shares his warm regard for the Irish, his amusing contacts with the natives, anecdotes from places he stayed, and brief tales about those who gave him rides. Anyone who enjoys Bill Bryson or Dave Barry will greatly appreciate Hawks for a writing style that seems to be a stew made of one part Monty Python, one part Benny Hill, and two parts Barry. Highly recommended for public libraries and academic libraries with browsing collections.--Sandra Knowles, Henderson Cty. P.L., Hendersonville, NC (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.