Watching the English: the Hidden Rules of English Behaviour: Amazon.co.uk: Kate Fox: Books

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Simply a small masterpiece. Mark our words, Miss Fox is the next big thing

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Kate Fox consistently reveals us to ourselves. She is meticulous, illuminating and very funny indeed

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Customer Reviews

125 Reviews

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3.8 out of 5 stars (125 customer reviews)

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40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars People-watching at its best, 31 Jan 2005

By

A Common Reader "Committed to reading" (Sussex, England) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE) (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Watching the English: the Hidden Rules of English Behaviour (Hardcover)

Kate Fox is a well-known anthropologist who now turns her attention to the very strange behaviour of the English people. The book's chapters cover various aspects of this one by one, including mobile phone use, dress codes, food rules, rules of sex, driving and many other topics. Her basic conclusion is that the English are a buttoned-up race who use many displacements behaviours to cover up their essential embarassment in all social situations. Remove from us our dogs, our gardens, our pubs and our "weather talk" and you uncover a people who would run a mile rather than engage realistically with their fellow humans.

Kate Fox intersperses her study by telling the reader about the research she undertook and it is amusing to read of occasions when she deliberately bumped into many English people to see whether they would say "sorry" (the invariably did). Her visits to pubs result in some instantly recongisable behaviours which seem to have the force of law behind them for woe betide anyone who transgresses.

I enjoyed reading how humour suffuses all English social situations. It is impossible to interact with the English without making jokey, ironic comments, as anyone who works on a daily basis with English people will testify to.

The book is itself humorous and light-hearted but is by no means light-weight for it has some serious messages which will interest anyone who is English or who has to deal with the English in daily life. By the end I admired Kate Fox for providing us with what is really quite a scholarly study, but one which draws you on chapter by chapter, smiling at her insights as you read.

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, funny and easy to read..., 4 Feb 2009

By

Scarabo (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Watching the English: the Hidden Rules of English Behaviour (Hardcover)

Have you ever wondered why it is that when you bump into someone, they say sorry? Or why we appear to be obsessed by the weather? Or mused about the fact that where the rest of Europe has bars, we have public houses? If you have, then this is the book for you.

Kate fox is the daughter of a sociologist of some note, apparently, but as what you might refer to as a talented amateur, her book is by no means a dry scientific tract. I bought it because I quite like to read about social conventions and how they differ from place to place, but in fact although it is that, it's also funny, wry and well-observed, and written more in the tone of someone having a discussion in the pub than in the lab. As I read it, I did find myself going "Oh no, I do that!" at regular intervals, and watching the unravelling logic behind such social randomness as not contradicting people when they say the weather is bad was something I personally found fascinating.

It is in chapters and chunks, so if you think it might be a bit much all in one go, it'd make a great book for reading on the train or in the bath; but I personally found it very amusing.

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130 of 139 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice weather if you're a duck., 11 May 2004

By

C. Robson (Mayfair, London, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Watching the English: the Hidden Rules of English Behaviour (Hardcover)

When I heard there was a book coming out about English "quirks" I knew I had to get it. I love people-watching and love the idea that certain traits are inherent to the English tribe.

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I wasn't disappointed. This is a hefty book, and I'm not a "read-the-book-in-a-night" person, preferring to dip in and out whenever I get a chance, but I have found myself preferring to pick up the book rather than watch the TV. I've even missed breakfast a few mornings this week, preferring to sit with a cuppa and read so it must be good!

Have you ever wondered:
* Why we talk about the weather so much?
* Why we can't accept compliments without embarrassment?
* Why WE apologise when someone bumps into us?
* How we use humour/irony as a defence mechanism

And did you know, men gossip as much as women? The proof is in here!

The one that has made me laugh the loudest so far was the section on gossiping / bitching.

This is low-brow anthropology but don't get me wrong, it's not for stupid people! There's a lot of academic terminology, which can at times be confusing, but Kate follows this up with clear examples and definitions to clarify her points. The characteristics covered thus far, I have to admit, ring too true. Getting off the phone to realise I have just fulfilled so many "English" stereotypes is shocking but amusing. Kate’s style of writing is conversational, but not patronising. It’s intricate but not complicated. Her accurate observations are alarming, entertaining, and really quite fascinating.

I would recommend this to anyone with an interest in culture; tribalism; communications; sociology; or simply the English and our eccentricities.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Goes on and on!
This book would be more readable if it stopped trying to be an academic tome. It should have been cut by 50%. Some relevant points are made but avoid the psychology, please!