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An Idiot Abroad: The Travel Diaries of Karl Pilkington
 
 
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An Idiot Abroad: The Travel Diaries of Karl Pilkington [Kindle Edition]

Karl Pilkington (Author), Ricky Gervais (Author), Stephen Merchant (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (409 customer reviews)
Print List Price: £8.99
Kindle Price: £2.99 includes VAT* & free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet
You Save: £6.00 (67%)
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Product Description

Review

'The funniest man on the planet' --Spectator

'Not many idiots could make something this funny.' --The Guardian

'Move over, Michael Palin.' --Empire

Product Description

Presenting the Travel Diaries of Karl Pilkington: Adventurer. Philosopher. Knob head. Karl Pilkington isn’t keen on travelling. Given the choice, he’ll go on holiday to Devon or Wales or, at a push, eat English food on a package holiday in Majorca. Which isn’t exactly Michael Palin, is it? So what happened when he was convinced by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant to go on an epic adventure to see the Seven Wonders of the World? Travel broadens the mind, right?  You’d think so...
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Product details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 13415 KB
  • Print Length: 296 pages
  • Publisher: Canongate Books (3 Sep 2010)
  • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B0043VDNCO
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray: Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (409 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,604 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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Karl Pilkington
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
59 of 67 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars What you would expect 20 July 2011
By Hans Bobbletoff
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.... Read more ›
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38 of 45 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A Buffoon with a Head as Round as the Planet Itself 23 Oct 2010
By Ruth Page
Format:Hardcover
My brother gave me this book for my birthday yesterday, as I've been a fan of Ricky, Steve & Karl since their XFM days. I've actually finished the book already; it was that funny, I couldn't put it down!

It was a good, interesting, &, in its own unique Karl-type way, insightful read. To those readers familiar with the trio, & who haven't watched the TV series, it quickly becomes clear that Karl's small production unit are colluding with Ricky & Steve to set Karl up in situations which they know will irritate him - e.g. getting him to film with a gay man on a nudist beach in Brazil.

In each country, Karl generally stays or travels with a local resident, most of whom are incredibly poor. Despite their hardship & daily circumstances (one delightful young man in India, Ashek, lives in what is essentially a garage), these people are extremely generous with their time & hospitality. In some cases, however, these parts of the book left me rather saddened for some of those who opened their homes to Karl - he was so rude & offensive to them. In one case in particular, Karl mentions how he pushed some food into the face of an elderly Chinese lady whilst shouting at her (in her own home, after she & her family had welcomed him in & cooked for him), just because she was trying to encourage him to try a bit of a different dish and this irritated him.

Plus, Karl was never actually that impressed by the Wonders - I hoped he might have ultimately learned to appreciate something, as there was a quote from his last wonder (Machu Picchu) at the beginning of that chapter in which he said "Magnificent. I'm speechless.... Read more ›
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Very funny! 13 Mar 2012
By Langy J.
Format:Kindle Edition
I'm having a good run of LAUGH OUT LOUD reads. First, I read the hilarious The Morello Letters by Duncan McNair, then the hysterical dark thriller The Dealer by Tony Royden and now this! I'll be honest and say that I have never really seen the TV show (I was put off by the animation), but I'll be watching from now on. This is a very funny read! Ideal to take on your holiday.
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48 of 57 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Funny 31 Oct 2010
By Nicole Wandolowski
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.
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15 of 18 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant. 1 Oct 2010
By S. Barnett
Format:Hardcover
More great stuff from the round headed genius. Listened to Ricky, Steve & Karl right from the early days of XFM, and I stuck with them all this time. So glad Karl's finally got his own show!

I love the series, and I love this book. Buy it now.

I just LOVE KARL PILKINGTON!!!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic
Great great great again makes u feel like ur there with him great guy love it new book in September from him can't wait
Published 2 days ago by Stacy
5.0 out of 5 stars Karl at his best!
Loved every page of it. Karl is so funny even though he doesn't mean to be. It's a must buy if you watched the series.
Published 2 days ago by adele smith
5.0 out of 5 stars It's good.
Top notch, I'm afraid at how much a relate to the things karl has to say. Four more words. Bye
Published 4 days ago by Danny Williams
5.0 out of 5 stars Karl an idiot!!
Amusing ,funny, shows the side of counties/cities we never see(unless we take a left turn by mistake)...a must just like the TV programme....
Published 5 days ago by Mark
5.0 out of 5 stars Typical Karl!
Thoroughly entertaining and honest read of different cultures, customs and traditions, told with the realistic view of a British who likes his home comforts!
Highly recommend
Published 7 days ago by S. Waugh
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent companion to the TV series
It has to be said, Karl Pilkington is a comedy genius, even if he does not realise it himself.

I bought this book after watching the TV series, but it is well worth the... Read more
Published 8 days ago by J. M. P. Ayres
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant book great reading idiot abroad
Loved every second of this book will read the next one hope it's as funny. Keep them coming well done
Published 16 days ago by Korlos
2.0 out of 5 stars trying too hard
turns out this book is rarely funny, its all too often lacking as some kind of travel guide. Gervais has his stench poured all over the chapters and misses the original concept he... Read more
Published 18 days ago by ManicMyna
3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining
But I think it's done better on the television to be honest (and I don't often say that when it comes to books/tv).
Published 23 days ago by MissMcG
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Holiday Read
Great holiday read, it goes through all the same things as the series does, word for word, no extra bits.
Published 26 days ago by K1234
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