A Tramp Aboard

A Tramp Abroad is my first 'factual' Mark Twain book and I'm not completely sure how I feel about it. Initially difficult to get into, the first few chapters are an odd blend of observations, hearsay, retelling of local myths and flannel. Once the style settles down, I thought the book flowed more but it's still quite hit and miss - a bit like watching a Monty Python episode. There are very funny anecdotes that are probably greatly exaggerated or mostly made up but with satirical grains of truth that I enjoyed. These are entertaining to read and raised a chuckle. However they are interspersed with other passages that are either bizarrely odd or simply dull. A mountain climbing expedition is so overegged that it becomes boring, but an American trying to strike up conversation on a boat trip made me giggle. For a foot tour of Europe, Twain only actually visits Germany, Switzerland and Italy, and most of the book is Germanic travel. He obviously is a walker as several of his reminiscences are understanding of the activity and its way of promoting thought and conversation, but if there is a chance to go by any other method, he seizes it every time. I can't say that any of Twain's travelogue has inspired me to follow in his footsteps and I had hoped it would. Perhaps this is a poor example of his non-fiction writing or perhaps I should stick to reading his fiction.