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An Idiot Abroad: The Travel Diaries of Karl Pilkington
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
Genius or mental case? Prepare to be amazed. --Esquire
Move over, Michael Palin.
--Empire
Enjoy rib-tickling scribblings, previously unseen photos and hilarious extracts. --Shortlist
Not many idiots could make something this funny. --Guardian
The funniest man on the planet.
--Spectator
Move over, Michael Palin.
--Empire
Enjoy rib-tickling scribblings, previously unseen photos and hilarious extracts. --Shortlist
Not many idiots could make something this funny. --Guardian
The funniest man on the planet.
--Spectator
Review
'He'd have been happier in medieval times in a village where you didn't travel beyond the local community.' Stephen Merchant
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a really funny book, and so easy to dip in and out of. It doesn't follow the order in which the TV programme showed the countries, however this doesn't spoil the enjoyment of the read.
29 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
If you have listened to the Ricky Gervais podcasts or the XFM shows, or seen the animated TV series, or read Karlogy or any of his previous books, then you know exactly what you are going to get here. Karl hasn't changed, and it is doubtful he ever will. If you haven't experienced Karl before, then I suggest listening to one of the podcasts before reading this book. Karl's monotone, put-upon, Mancunian accent is a quintessential part of his character, and I can't imagine going through this book without mentally assigning that voice to his words. It will also be useful in understanding the dynamic between Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant and Karl. Essentially, Gervais and Merchant are performing experiments on poor ol' Karl to learn how his brain works, although sometimes they just mess with him for fun.
'An Idiot Abroad' is the most ambitious of these experiments they have put together. Karl gets to travel and see the seven wonders of the modern world, and the results are documented in a TV series and this book, which is Karl's travel journal combined with numerous photos of the places he has been. He spends time with generous people in some of the poorest regions of the world, and gets to see the Wonders in ways inaccessible to a lot of people (he gets to go inside the burial chamber of one pyramid, and has a helicopter ride around the Christ the Redeemer statue). Karl hasn't written a huge amount about his experiences, but what there is is beautiful in a way only he could achieve.
The appeal of Karl is not merely that he says stupid things, or that his concerns are petty - anyone could do that - it is that there is some semblance of logic in his thinking, and, personally at least, it mirrors a part of myself. The part of me that is more concerned with immediate comforts than new experiences, and is underwhelmed by things that I have been told I should find spectacular. Karl takes these feelings and runs with them to their absurd conclusions, so that a book about the wonders of the world spends much of the time detailing toilet concerns.
That is not to say that Karl doesn't have quirks that are entirely his own. The little 'facts' and anecdotes he gathers from sources unknown are sometimes ludicrous (although the ones that end each chapter in the book appear accurate), and his desire to 'get rid of' pretty much everything are just more fascinating glimpses into his mind. Sometimes he will do or say something that has the appearance, briefly, of genius - the toilet chair springs to mind.
As much as I love this book (and I should add the Kindle version that I downloaded is amongst the best formatted ebooks I have found), it is the podcasts that I will forever hold dear. There is something about his voice that adds so much more to his character, and the written word will never really capture that.
'An Idiot Abroad' is the most ambitious of these experiments they have put together. Karl gets to travel and see the seven wonders of the modern world, and the results are documented in a TV series and this book, which is Karl's travel journal combined with numerous photos of the places he has been. He spends time with generous people in some of the poorest regions of the world, and gets to see the Wonders in ways inaccessible to a lot of people (he gets to go inside the burial chamber of one pyramid, and has a helicopter ride around the Christ the Redeemer statue). Karl hasn't written a huge amount about his experiences, but what there is is beautiful in a way only he could achieve.
The appeal of Karl is not merely that he says stupid things, or that his concerns are petty - anyone could do that - it is that there is some semblance of logic in his thinking, and, personally at least, it mirrors a part of myself. The part of me that is more concerned with immediate comforts than new experiences, and is underwhelmed by things that I have been told I should find spectacular. Karl takes these feelings and runs with them to their absurd conclusions, so that a book about the wonders of the world spends much of the time detailing toilet concerns.
That is not to say that Karl doesn't have quirks that are entirely his own. The little 'facts' and anecdotes he gathers from sources unknown are sometimes ludicrous (although the ones that end each chapter in the book appear accurate), and his desire to 'get rid of' pretty much everything are just more fascinating glimpses into his mind. Sometimes he will do or say something that has the appearance, briefly, of genius - the toilet chair springs to mind.
As much as I love this book (and I should add the Kindle version that I downloaded is amongst the best formatted ebooks I have found), it is the podcasts that I will forever hold dear. There is something about his voice that adds so much more to his character, and the written word will never really capture that.
44 of 50 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Karl Pilkington is both an idiot and a genius - again. He's able to make the most banal instances interesting, and at the same time ignore the big events. For instance, he devotes the same amount of pages to questioning the sexuality of his Brazilian tour guide and complaining about what's for tea as he does to Christ the Redeemer.
This book is a genuinely fun travel guide and personal diary. There are colorful hand-drawn maps, transcribed phone conversations with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, and gorgeous pictures of the Seven Wonders and, better yet, the local geography, architecture, and people of each place Karl visits. The thing that excited me the most was the fact that there's so much new, fresh material in this book. I suppose it would be hard to travel the world and NOT find something new to say. If you're worried that this is just another compilation of Karl's greatest hits, don't be - by my count, Auntie Nora only comes up once and I don't recall him even mentioning the paper round he had when he was a boy.
This book is a genuinely fun travel guide and personal diary. There are colorful hand-drawn maps, transcribed phone conversations with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, and gorgeous pictures of the Seven Wonders and, better yet, the local geography, architecture, and people of each place Karl visits. The thing that excited me the most was the fact that there's so much new, fresh material in this book. I suppose it would be hard to travel the world and NOT find something new to say. If you're worried that this is just another compilation of Karl's greatest hits, don't be - by my count, Auntie Nora only comes up once and I don't recall him even mentioning the paper round he had when he was a boy.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Laugh out loud funny
I saw the series so naturally had to buy the book! Fantastic! A good giggle in a quiet moment and a must have!
Published 1 day ago by MISS KEWISH
Laugh out loud
An Idiot Abroad: The Travel Diaries of Karl Pilkington I thought this book would be funny, having seen some of the TV episodes. I was not dissapointed. Read more
Published 3 days ago by DRJ London
cant wait to read it
very quick delivery, good value for money, would definitely recommend. I bought this book after watching the tv series and needed something to read whilst on holiday... Read more
Published 5 days ago by caz1203
Thoroughly fun read
I was not sure if I would like this as it's not normaly the sort of thing I read. I thought I was a happy traveller....however I found myself agreeing with Karl 99% of the time. Read more
Published 7 days ago by Angela Snow
A literal genius; An Idiot Abroad!!
Having seen and enjoyed a couple of episodes of the TV series I thought I`d give this a chance:
How pleased I was, I spent many an hour gaining strange looks from people... Read more
How pleased I was, I spent many an hour gaining strange looks from people... Read more
Published 7 days ago by Pablo
Brilliant!
This is a fantasti companion book to the tv series. very funny and really extends the fun from the show. i can't wait for a third series and another book. Read more
Published 19 days ago by NateK
as good as the programme
this is book is so funny i was literally laughing all the way through the book, its just as funny as the programme on the tele
Published 21 days ago by doyley123
Marvellous tragi-comic travel tales
I raced through this one. Laughed my head off. Have seen the series, so a lot of book seems to be lifted straight from the programmes, but if you need cheering up, then this is... Read more
Published 26 days ago by AL
The Travel Diaries of KArl Pilkington
I enjoyed reading the diaries, it made me laugh. I did watch some of the TV series, which was hilarious. The diaries just give you an insight into what happened on his travels. Read more
Published 29 days ago by Mrs. Brenda M. Kelly
Not really that funny
I didn't laugh, but I smiled a bit.
If you loved the TV series, you might like it, otherwise, it is an OK book but nothing special. Read more
If you loved the TV series, you might like it, otherwise, it is an OK book but nothing special. Read more
Published 1 month ago by G. Heywood
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