This is deeply, thoroughly OK, middle of the road inoffensive book, unless you are a fridge in which case you will probably not approve of being moved around the countryside. Fridges like to settle down. They are naturally homebodies. Movement can cause bubbles in their coolant tubes which is generally bad news. So this is one of those gently amusing books arising from somebody deciding to do something stupid for a bet. Had Hawks tried to do this in a less prosperous part of the world a good part of the narrative would have been concerned with attempting to rescue the fridge as it was repeatedly stolen or impounded for alleged customs violations.However for reasons possibly not even known to the author, but alcohol may have been involved, he got involved in a discussion that terminated in the assertion that Irish people were so nice, what with that natural tendency to good natured kindliness of theirs, it would be possible to hitch-hike round Ireland with a fridge. Now that duelling is illegal this is the kind of assertion that can only be proven in one way. You may, particularly if you are from Ireland, find this book to be condescending in that it is based on the belief that Ireland is a wondrous country full of good natured people up for helping somebody out to win a ridiculous bet. You may on the other hand notice that the fridge is small enough to sit on a bar stool which I suspect was an important factor. The book written about the attempt to hitch-hike round Ireland with a mega-fridge imported from the USA, or one of those giant contraptions from the 1950s would be longer and filled with more cursing. As it is this the kind of book that the Irish Tourist Board should probably be surreptitiously promoting. Good for a wet afternoon.
What do You think about Round Ireland With A Fridge (2001)?
Too much fun! Really enjoyed this off-kilter account of a man, a fridge, and a bet to hitchhike around Ireland. I don't know much about Tony Hawks except for what the book jacket says, but he tells a good story! Following a late-night bar bet, Tony finds himself setting out from Dublin with a small fridge on a trolley, a rucksack and high hopes of hitchhiking around Ireland. Granted, he did get a bit of a boost from a nationally-heard radio show but his adventures, the people he met, time in pubs (LOTS of time in pubs), and sundry observations of people who were quite willing to join in a pretty pointless exercise, make for a very entertaining read. From getting the fridge out to meet a King, and taking it surfing, to pub quizzes, rainy roads and high hopes for a princess...well, it makes more sense when you read it. Some of the humor is a little crass; occasionally more than I really need to know about a few things, but generally a lot of fun.Kinda wish I'd read this before my visit to Ireland last year...but I now have a few new places to put on the itinerary for "next time." A good, off-centre companion to Pete McCarthy's "McCarthy's Bar."
—Barbara
What a delightful book! The Fridge Man had it far too easy, relying primarily off of his own publicity in order to get rides. I would have liked it if he had had to overcome more adversity in the horrors of rural Ireland. Or if he had at least gotten into a few fights. As it was, this book was a lighthearted testimony to the absurd. Which was pretty fine by me.The back of the book had promised that it would owe some to Bill Bryson, and I found that it did, but without some of Bryson's more endearing style. The book wasn't all that intellectual, and generally was light reading, but that aided rather than deterred from it's overall casual style.So, I'd recommend this as some fun summer reading to my more Irishly inclined friends. :)
—Hilary
The touching tale of a man and his fridge, this is the story of English comedian Tony Hawks who, for a £100 bet, hitch-hikes around Ireland in one month with a fridge.This book really shows the good of people and the lengths some will go to to help someone else with no thought of reward. It's sad to think that this sort of thing would increasingly be harder to accomplish as people turn more inwards and less likely to help one another.At times laugh out loud funny and at other times philosophical this book is a great read. The only downside was that it felt a bit rushed the whole way and I would have liked to have heard more about the people who went out of their way for Tony and the fridge.
—Kim
