Bill Bryson's writing style

In terms of writing style, Bryson's characteristic is that British and American humor are often combined in one. Many critics, including Bryson himself, have repeatedly mentioned the profound influence of British culture on Bresson, saying that he has learned to "tell jokes with a straight face, leaving room for sarcasm and speech." As an American who has lived in the UK for over twenty years, it makes sense that this characteristic would be the first to be noticed. According to some interviewers, Bryson was soft-spoken, neither hurried nor slow, and had a gentle manner, quite like a Confucian scholar. However, the author can see from his works that this person's American nature is deeply rooted and will still be revealed from time to time. Bryson calls British sarcasm "cerebral humor", which is characterized by twists and turns of ridicule and narrow-minded banter that make you smile knowingly. Indeed, if readers carefully read the following quotations, they can see that Bruce is experienced in this way; but at the same time, the American funny humor that is direct, bright, exaggerated, and not afraid of vulgarity is often compared with the British "smart humor" Side by side:

Italians are too busy driving to pay attention to the road conditions in front of their cars. They were busy honking their horns, making all kinds of exaggerated gestures, blocking others from overtaking, having sex, turning around to teach the children in the back seat, and eating meatballs bigger than cricket bats. And often doing these things at the same time. As a result, by the time they first noticed you, you were slumped on the road behind their car, in their rearview mirror.

I was desperate to pee and wanted to rush to the bar, but this 12-year-old hotel waiter was a conscientious person and insisted on introducing you to everything in the guest room. , and wants you to follow him and watch him demonstrate how to operate the lotus, water dragon and television. "Thank you, I wouldn't have been able to find the closet without you," I said, stuffing a thousand lire tip into his bag and pushing him out the door with a bit of violence. I don't like to be rough with people, but right now I feel like the Hoover Dam is about to burst.

(The above two paragraphs are excerpted from "Nowhere to Belong")

I got on the boat drenched in sweat and felt a little scared. I'm not good at water, and I get dizzy even on a pedal boat. Now that we were on this ferry called "Shake, Shake" (must be the abbreviation of "Shake forward, turn over"), and entrusted our lives to such a steamship company, the situation was naturally worse. The company's record is far from perfect, and it often forgets to close the bow door, which is the equivalent of forgetting to take off your shoes when stepping into the bathtub during a voyage.

(Translated from "Notes from a Small Island")

She kept nagging, only taking a break to clear the Eustachian tube. The so-called unblocking is to pinch one's nose frequently, and then emit a burst of explosive snorts, which can make people jump and scare the dog enough to jump off the sofa and escape under the table in the adjacent room.

(Translated from "A Hiking in the Forest")

My sleep is not silent, and my appearance is even more unsightly. While most people look like they're dozing off in a way that indicates they need a blanket, I looked like I needed a doctor's attention. I sleep as if I've been injected with a powerful experimental muscle relaxant: my legs are spread wide, as if I'm tempting someone to do something bad. My head tilted forward from time to time, like a nodding toy duck, and about a quarter of my mouth full of sticky saliva poured out into my lap. Then I tilted my head back and started to refill the saliva, making a kind of toilet tank sound. The sound of filling water.

(Translated from "A Place Scorched by the Sun")

Interviewers often ask Bryson about the extent to which he is influenced by other travel writers, but Bryson often evades. He said that "travel literature is like the sum of the contents of postcards sent back home by tourists from a certain scenic spot, which naturally varies from person to person." But at the same time, he admitted that he was very fond of Paul Theroux's landscape writing. Heath had participated in the "Peace Corps" and had far more experience than Bryson. His understanding of the two continents of Asia and Africa was far beyond Bryson's. In addition to travel notes, he also wrote novels. Only in the aspect of "fascination with fresh air" (the intended translation of the title of Herox's work Fresh Air Fiend) are the two similar.

In October 2000, Bryson compiled a collection of "The Best American Travel Writings". Perhaps readers can see from it whether he admires Will Ferguson or David Cedar. David Sedaris?