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    A Tramp Abroad
    A Tramp Abroad
    A Tramp Abroad
    Ebook586 pages12 hours

    A Tramp Abroad

    By Mark Twain

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    The success of Twain's first collection of travel memoirs, The Innocents Abroad, inspired a return to Europe for another look at some of the countries and landmarks that initially dazzled the author and his companions. In A Tramp Abroad, Twain's abundant humor waxes as freely as ever; this time, however, his amusement bears a more cynical cast, as he regards the grand tourist sights in Innocents through older and more experienced eyes. The seriousness of the author's second impressions provides an interesting subtext to the overall jocularity of his narrative, making this volume a milestone in the Twain oeuvre and a must for his legions of admirers. Appendix.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDover Publications
    Release dateMar 13, 2012
    ISBN9780486117119
    Author

    Mark Twain

    Frederick Anderson, Lin Salamo, and Bernard L. Stein are members of the Mark Twain Project of The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley.

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    4/5

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    • 4/5
      When Twain visited Germany in 1879 he was suffering writers block. His great work Huckleberry Finn was stuck mid-stream and he was too. What better way to shake the cobwebs off then a trip to Europe. Twain struggled through the writing of A Tramp Abroad and it shows in the sort of uneven quality and changing direction. Nevertheless it contains some excellent material. The first part about Heidelberg is the best - Twain didn't actually float a raft down the river and wreck (like what happened to Finn), this was made-up, but the descriptions of scenery and place makes it easy to follow on Google Maps and gain a sense of the place. The second best is in Switzerland as he recounts some climbs of renown up to the time, one gets a good sense of climbing culture and life in 19th Century. This is my first travel book by Twain.
    • 3/5
      The third of Twain's "travel books". Not as funny as the first (Innocents Abroad) and the writing also doesn't seem as fluent, but I still enjoyed the read. Some great little insights into life and travel 150 years ago.Read Nov 2016
    • 4/5
      A Tramp Abroad gives an account of one of Mark Twain's journeys through Europe. It is one of the author's travelogues in which he shares his observations while 'tramping' through Germany, Switzerland, France and Italy. 'Tramping' here includes the ascent of Mont Blanc by telescope. With a book as this you cannot really tell what exactly it is about apart from saying what I just said. You'd either have to tell it all or just leave it. I decided to leave it for the interested readers to explore. Just imagine an American traveling through Europe at the end of the 19th century.To my mind there are certain things that make this book an interesting, if unconventional, read. First, there is Twain's gift for humorous depictions of people and places. Twain manages to tell his stories in a lighthearted fashion that actually makes you laugh out loud at times. Second, A Tramp Abroad contains various drawings made by the author himself to support his stories with some sort of 'proof'. Those drawings further contribute to the satirical way this book is written in. Eventually I have to say that I liked how Twain constantly tries to convince the reader of the truthfulness of what he's telling. At numerous points in the book, the author uses footnotes to heighten his credibility. There is even an appendix to fit in all the accounts Twain could not get into his main narrative. This last aspect is somewhat ironic as the main narrative is just an unconnected telling of stories in which the narrator often digresses into things that are only remotely relevant to his story. To give potential readers some idea of what I especially liked about this book and about Mark Twain in general I chose some quotations that I find quite revealing as to Twain's style. Personally, I think Twain is a genius. I have since found out there is nothing the Germans like so much as an opera. They like it, not in a mild and moderate way, but with their whole hearts. This is a legitimate result of habit and education. Our nation will like the opera, too, by and by, no doubt. One in fifty of those who attend our operas likes it already, perhaps, but I think a good many of the other forty-nine go in order to learn to like it, and the rest in order to be able to talk knowingly about it. The latter usually hum the airs while they are being sung, so that their neighbors may perceive that they have been to operas before. The funerals of these do not occur often enough.(on opera visits, p. 50) The Germans are exceedingly fond of Rhine wines; they are put up in tall, slender bottles and are considered a pleasant beverage. One tells them from vinegar by the label.(on German wine, p. 84)Now, in the end I was not sure how to rate this book in terms of stars. A Tramp Abroad is certainly an interesting and funny read. However, I think to really enjoy it you have to have been in one of the countries that are depicted in the book or have some knowledge about Germany and Switzerland. Otherwise, you just would not enjoy the book that much, I assume. Living in Germany, though, I find the book highly recommendable. Finally a note on the reading experience. A book with little above 400 pages that is divided into 50 chapters and an appendix is nothing like the usual reading experience you have with novels. But then again A Tramp Abroad is not a novel. So you might need some time to get used to the structure of the book. It is more like some fifty plus separate stories as Twain usually tells more than one story per chapter. All things considered, I would rate the book with 3.5 stars.
    • 2/5
      An uneven read. Some parts are genuinely funny--other parts rather tedious.

      Interesting seeing long ago countries and peoples through the eyes of a tourist of that time, even if he does tend to go overboard for his audience.
    • 3/5
      A quirky little book. Some very clever Twain humorous observations. Other parts quite bland. It was written (or he gathered material) while he was traveling with his family in Europe (mainly Germany and Switzerland) 1878-9. He makes some amusing observations about the German language, even recommendations on how to simplify it.
    • 4/5
      "A Tramp Abroad", like any dated satire, is made difficult to appreciate when society is no longer innundated with the thing being satirized; in this case, 19th century travelogues from Americans travelling abroad who used a narrow lens to arrive at their impression of other cultures. Consequently I had no idea when he was kidding or not. To understand Europe in the later 1800s you'll have to seek elsewhere. Did German students pointlessly duel to the point of mutilating each other (doubtful)? Could a ship actually navigate the entire length of a winding river by dragging a chain through its belly (maybe...)? I had less patience for the chapters that were too obviously false from start to finish, like his tackling the Matterhorn.It worked best when I read each chapter as if it were a blog entry. That format would have suited Mark Twain admirably. While I was reading his travelogue in this way, I didn't mind that the chapters felt like a mostly disconnected series of episodes, some about what he saw and did on his travels, some digressing into retelling the legends he picked up, personal foibles, etc. Then I was able to fully enjoy the obvious kidding, his talent for description, and be amused with wondering how much was farce and what was fact (is there a study guide that sorts this out?). Less frequently, it felt like the days when someone invited you over to see a slideshow of their trip. Then it was someone naddering on and on about where he went, what he did, look how beautiful this bit of scenery is, here's a shot of a person we met and let me tell you her life story, etc.There's no denying Twain's skill for telling any kind of story about anything. A blog by Mark Twain would have had me reading daily and, sure, even an invitation to a Mark Twain slideshow would win my attendance. I'm not sure this book is the best way to sample him, but it is a way, and you'll definitely obtain a sense of his style. Remember to read the often quoted appendices relating to Heidelberg Castle, and the German language.
    • 5/5
      1/4 brilliant and hilarious. 1/4 wry and sometimes sophomoric puns and gags. 1/4 repetitive attempts at humor. 1/4 late 19th century travelogue. The French dueling description was a scream and the observation of German students (hacking each other up during fencing challenges) was spot-on accurate. 'Well worth the time it took to get through all this, from the perfect side story and behavioral description of a Blue Jay, all the way through the appendices. I love Mark Twain and this is one of his better works.
    • 3/5
      Twain writes a strong travelogue, and A Tramp Abroad is no exception. His xenophobia is in rare form here. While perhaps not as strong as The Innocents Abroad, it's an entertaining ride just the same. You'll never look at Germany and Germans the same way again. I'm told that Germans love The Simpsons, this book is our chance to return the good natured laughter.
    • 4/5
      As Dave Eggers says in the introduction, this book is funny. Sure, there are times when Twain's descriptions and narrative run a little long, but the many humorous vignettes in this book make up for those portions. The chapters detailing the humorously exaggerated epic ascent of a mountain when they really were just lost in the fog. The longest running joke throughout the book is how Twain and his companion hardly ever walk anywhere in their "walking tour." The appendices are also very funny as stand-alone pieces, especially the one on the "awful" German language. Overall, a very enjoyable read, even if you are not a Twain fan.
    • 3/5
      if you are not a twain addict, which I am, I'd recommend leaving this one alone. It's basically a travelogue and basically boring. What saves it are Twain's silly symphonies of scarcasm, sardonicism, and satire located in various little stories throughout the book, along with his relationship with Harris, his agent. Whether Harris is his book agent or travel agent never is clear, but Twain subjects this poor man to every test that comes along -- parachuting off a mile high cliff with an umbrella, for instance. (It doesn't happen. Chill.) I skimmed about half of the book and still took a week to read it.

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    A Tramp Abroad - Mark Twain

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