Most British travel writers head south for a destination that is hot, exotic, dangerous or all three. Harry Pearson chose to head in the opposite direction for a country which is damp, safe and of legendary banality: Belgium. But can any nation whose most famous monument is a statue of a small boy urinating really be that dull? Pearson lived there for several months, burying himself in the local culture. He drank many of the 800 different beers the Belgians produce; ate local delicacies such as kip kap (jellied pig cheeks) and a mighty tonnage of chicory and chips. In one restaurant the house speciality was 'Hare in the style of grandmother'. 'I didn’t order it. I quite like hare, but had no wish to see one wearing zip-up boots and a blue beret.' A TALL MAN IN A LOW LAND commemorates strange events such as The Festival of Shrimps at Oostduinkerke and laments the passing of the Underpant Museum in Brussels. No reader will go away from A TALL MAN IN A LOW LAND without being able to name at least ten famous Belgians. Mixing evocative description and low-grade buffoonery Harry Pearson paints a portrait of Belgium that is more rounded than a Smurf after a night on the mussels.
- 'Pearson is as tall as he is funny and, believe me, he is very tall' THE FACE
- 'funnier than Bill Bryson' Pete Davies, THE INDEPENDENT
- 'Pearson is really funny. Do not read this book in a public place' Jonathan Sale
- ' Well written and insightful… erudite and canny… Mr Pearson's splendid travelogue.' Douglas Kennedy, THE TIMES
- 'Pearson's observations are both fresh and funny.' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
Paperback:
£9.99
Published 02/09/1999