Sign in with Facebook
Thomas Stroemquist's Reviews > Diddly Squat: A Year on the Farm
Diddly Squat: A Year on the Farm (Diddly Squat, #1)
by
by
So, being utterly and completely uninterested in cars*, I have obviously not a clue of who Jeremy Clarkson is and what makes him famous**
* Well, I mean, no-one is completely uninterested in cars, are they? I mean, who's unaffected by the Aston Martin DB5 zooming through the Furka Pass in Goldfinger or the improved Ford Falcon raced across Aussie desert highways by Max Rockatansky? What I mean is that when someone starts talking about torque differences between the new WV Golf 4.3 and the 4.33 QUAT and the 4.zzz..
Also, when someone thinks it's an enviable knowledge to know this by heart (or even more when someone says cr*p like "I was able to test the new automatic because thankfully I was able to shift gears manually and I'm much better than any automation") this is what makes me simultaneously roll my eyes hard enough to lose balance, laugh so hard so I lose my breath and fall asleep from pure boredom. In short - it's not good for me.
** Well, obviously I know quite well who Jeremy Clarkson is, in the part of the world where I live, I'd have to live under a rock not to, wouldn't I?
Anyway - apart from Clarkson being "the car guy", the little I knew of him I had a sneaking suspicion he'd be into a bit of Benny Hill innuendo and slapstick and crude and far-fetched puns. Or what in Sweden is known as "Gothenburg humour" or "maybe if I continuously bang my head on the table it will go away?".
As an aside - I surprise myself by having quite a bit of patience with the English version of this humour, but I think it may have to do with the fact that it's not told in the horrible Gothenburg accent. And just to not be too hard on Gothenburg, it needs to be said that I spent most of my mandatory military service there and that probably coloured my perception of it (not really, seriously, stay away!)
So, imagine my pleasant surprise when I realised that not only can the man write, he's actually often both insightful, witty and funny! Even the annoying, sexist, toff, embarrassing-old-uncle remarks are delivered with such a healthy dose of self-awareness and -mockery so they work quite well. A quick, charming and even laugh out loud fun read with some quite serious nibbles of food for thought.
* Well, I mean, no-one is completely uninterested in cars, are they? I mean, who's unaffected by the Aston Martin DB5 zooming through the Furka Pass in Goldfinger or the improved Ford Falcon raced across Aussie desert highways by Max Rockatansky? What I mean is that when someone starts talking about torque differences between the new WV Golf 4.3 and the 4.33 QUAT and the 4.zzz..
Also, when someone thinks it's an enviable knowledge to know this by heart (or even more when someone says cr*p like "I was able to test the new automatic because thankfully I was able to shift gears manually and I'm much better than any automation") this is what makes me simultaneously roll my eyes hard enough to lose balance, laugh so hard so I lose my breath and fall asleep from pure boredom. In short - it's not good for me.
** Well, obviously I know quite well who Jeremy Clarkson is, in the part of the world where I live, I'd have to live under a rock not to, wouldn't I?
Anyway - apart from Clarkson being "the car guy", the little I knew of him I had a sneaking suspicion he'd be into a bit of Benny Hill innuendo and slapstick and crude and far-fetched puns. Or what in Sweden is known as "Gothenburg humour" or "maybe if I continuously bang my head on the table it will go away?".
As an aside - I surprise myself by having quite a bit of patience with the English version of this humour, but I think it may have to do with the fact that it's not told in the horrible Gothenburg accent. And just to not be too hard on Gothenburg, it needs to be said that I spent most of my mandatory military service there and that probably coloured my perception of it (not really, seriously, stay away!)
So, imagine my pleasant surprise when I realised that not only can the man write, he's actually often both insightful, witty and funny! Even the annoying, sexist, toff, embarrassing-old-uncle remarks are delivered with such a healthy dose of self-awareness and -mockery so they work quite well. A quick, charming and even laugh out loud fun read with some quite serious nibbles of food for thought.
Sign into Goodreads to see if any of your friends have read
Diddly Squat.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
Comments Showing 1-4 of 4 (4 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Petra: hiatus, finding it hard to communicate
(new)
-
rated it 5 stars
Apr 05, 2022 08:28PM
I'm glad you enjoyed it almost as much as me! My heart beats faster at the mention of Aston Martins, but not so much a Golf! I did enjoy his story of the fancy tractor though. I think beneath the rich-toff with hobby farm is a very hard-working man who doesn't mind what he has to do to succeed at whatever he is driven to do.
reply
|
flag
Think you are absolutely right Petra. That hinted, but very present self-depreciation also speaks a lot of someone very much more aware and intelligent than the funny and fumbling persona presented.
GR didn't tell me of your comment... I thought he was very readable and I would read another book of his.
I liked his information for consideration by the aspiring farmer: You sometimes watch astronauts attempting to restart broken satellites and you think, 'Ooh, that looks dangerous.' But compared to tractoring, it's like being a schoolteacher in Godalming. Imagine covering yourself in baby oil then playing Twister in a Burmese sawmill.
