Wsh_402. Thru the looking glass of English dis-ease
TASK1A: Read these readers’ comments from newspapers reviews.
·
Watching
the English . . . will make you laugh out loud ("Oh God. I do that!")
and cringe simultaneously ("Oh God. I do that as well."). This is a
hilarious book which just shows us for what we are . . . beautifully-observed.
It is a wonderful read for both the English and those who look at us and wonder
why we do what we do. Now they'll know. (Birmingham Post)
·
An
absolutely brilliant examination of English culture and how foreigners take as
complete mystery the things we take for granted. (Jennifer Saunders, The Times)
·
If you
like this kind of anthropology (and I do) there is a wealth of it to enjoy in
this book. Her observations are acute...fortunately she doesn't write like an
anthropologist but like an English woman -with amusement, not solemnity, able
to laugh at herself as well as us. (Daily Mail)
TASK1B: Share your gueses and thoughts about
what the book is about.
TASK2: Read this passage from a blog. How can you undertand the words? Anywhere you
have been in a similar situation? In what ways have your heard of Englishness
as a dis-ease?
The key
thing to remember is the quality of ‘social unease’ that clings to the English
when they are thrown together – whether among family or strangers.
It’s hard
not to feel awkward in English Company. So the first experience we had, on
meeting our Bed &Breakfast hosts – who were perfectly nice – was a feeling
of awkwardness and the need to pretend to be comfortable, even though the
accommodation was far from uplifting ….
TASK3: Read and react to these 4 reviews: from Goodread.com
1_ Natasha’s:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/595372177
2_ Samantha’s
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2461434270?book_show_action=true&from_review_page=1
3_ Sarah’s: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/460207950
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