Keep Australia on Your Left: A True Story of an Attempt to Circumnavigate Australia by Kayak

Rating:
Summary: Whiny man-boy gets in over his head
Review: While, I can't say this book was a bad read, I can say that it was uninspiring. For me the biggest problem with the book is that Mr. Stiller comes off as whiny, confused, self-centered, and childish. The superfluos details of his failed love interest is a case in point. Did the guy think he had any real hope of maintaning a relationship with a bartender he hooked up witht he night before he left? More time spent on the imapct of being away from family and serious, life-freinds would have shown a greater depth of feeling. Also, the breif periods of non-whiny self-reflection are not well integrated and don't show any actual growth of charater. I know this is real life, but in a book this long drama counts.
Also, Mr. Stiller is no Hans Junger or John Krakuar(sp?). His descriptive flare burns out after the first few pages. The beauty of the landscape and the diversity of the people are skimmed over. Instead we get mundane details and whiny self-indulgence. Endless descriptions of Stiller's bitch sessions about his paddling partner, obsessing over planning, and the vain hope of picking up a letter from the bartender, who dumps him.
The account of the trip--which I must point out involves TWO people--is poorly balanced. Tony Brown gets the short end of the stick and that is really too bad. Tony Brown must be one hell of a guy to put up with Stiller for as long as he did. Also, it seems to me that Brown was actually "into" experiencing the trip as an adventure. I'm pretty sure that with a paddling companion like Mr. Stiller I would have bailed much earlier that Tony eventually did.
For a good tale of kayak expeditioning read On Celtic Tides by Chris Duff.

Rating:
Summary: Whiny man-boy gets in over his head
Review: While, I can't say this book was a bad read, I can say that it was uninspiring. For me the biggest problem with the book is that Mr. Stiller comes off as whiny, confused, self-centered, and well childish in almost all respects. The superfluos details of his failed love interest is a case in point. Did the guy have any real hope of maintaning a relationship w/ a bartender he hooked up witht he night before he left. More time spent on the imapct of being away from family and serious freinds would have shown a greater depth of thought. Also, the breif periods of self-reflection are not well integrated and don't show any actual growth of charater. I know this is real life, but in a book this long drama counts.
Also, Mr. Stiller is no Hans Junger or John Krakuar(sp?). His descriptive flare is flat. The beauty of the landscape and the diversity of the people are skimmed over.
The account of the trip--whcih I must point out involves TWO people--is poorly balanced. Tony Brown gets the short end of the stick and I'm pretty sure that with a paddling companion like Mr. Stiller I would have bailed early also. Where is Tony's commentary and perspective?
For a good tale of kayak expeditioning read On Celtic Tides by CHris Duff.