|
My Dam Life (Condon) (Travel Literature) | 
 enlarge | Author: Sean Condon
Publisher: Lonely Planet
Category: Book
List Price: $13.99
Buy Used: $2.22
You Save: $11.77 (84%)
New (33) Used (20) Collectible (1) from $2.22
Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 106993
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 248
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 0.7
ISBN: 0864427816
Dewey Decimal Number: 914.920473
EAN: 9780864427816
ASIN: 0864427816
Publication Date: February 1, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: ***ex-library with usual stamps and markings*** other wise good condition All Day Low Prices! Buy From Us, Sell To Us, We Do it All!!
| |
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Sean Condon has moved to Amsterdam. He got married, and hes unemployed (whats worse, so is his wife). Sean is back and funnier than ever, this time exploring the strange habits of the Dutch. He also keeps a watchful and wonderfully self-deprecating eye on the whole strange business of writing about yourself doing, well, nothing much, in this post-modern age. Seans uncanny ability to find the absurd in everyday life misses nothing and My Dam Life will strike a side-splitting chord with anyone who has ever been unemployed, been married or tried not to be deported from a foreign land.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
 Agonizingly self-absorbed November 29, 2006
14 out of 17 found this review helpful
What a thoroughly irritating book. If you are seeking a useful perspective on Amsterdam, the Netherlands, or the Dutch, there is very nearly zero content of interest.
That Condon could live in one of the most interesting cities in Europe for 3 years, write a book about it and say so little about the place is astonishing - a true testament to his self absorption.
I found myself cringing at the relentless focus on his apparent worthlessness, handled without insight, and with lame attempts at humor that rarely work.
The only two interesting characters in the book, his wife and Keith, are barely covered. I found myself wishing to hear more about them, only from someone else.
One can only wish that someone would return his video games and take away his word processor.
Having said all that, I did give him 2 stars instead of 1 because of his few brief asides regarding the oddness of his occasional interactions with celebrities were insightful and interesting. It mirrored some of my own experiences and really captured the tone.
Writing is a job too September 26, 2006
0 out of 6 found this review helpful
This book is hilarious! And somewhat tounge-in-cheek. Relax and enjoy it! (This should have been a 5-star review, alas I clicked on the wrong star and I'm not able to change it.) A couple of reviewers and an acquaintance of mine are quite bothered by the fact that in My Dam Life Condon is unemployed and that his poor wife has to make up for his "laziness" by "struggling to make ends meet." Sean Condon is an author! What good would he be in an office from 9-5 everyday? This isn't his first successful book and no doubt he's pulling in the dough just as well or better than his wife.
 Amsterdamnation March 17, 2006
2 out of 8 found this review helpful
Sean Condon gives us a precious gift; his own idleness. If he actually had something meaningful to do and an interesting life to write about, he'd be off doing it without so much as a see ya later.
But instead, he's forced, not altogether happily, to find meaning in the word soup of sound-bites, daily exchanges and media droppings that form the soundtrack of the inside of our heads in this day and age. And it's brilliant.
I mean, Sean and Sally land in the most quirky, sexy, kinky, interesting, liberated city in Europe. And you know what? The dialogue inside Sean's head, about the minutiae of everyday life, is kinkier, sexier, quirkier and more interesting than the Amsterdam it finds itself in.
So buy his book, but don't buy too many copies, because he might become rich and successful and then he'd have to find another schtick. Sean would turn into another Larry David, pretending (unconvincingly) that his fabulous life annoys him. So enjoy Condon's books, but let's try to keep him a failure, because it's just better that way for all concerned. Prospective readers can borrow my copy to preserve the bitter, penniless Sean Condon we love. OK?
My 'dam pathetic unemployed life October 14, 2005
18 out of 21 found this review helpful
I found this book to be a complete waste of time; the only reason I even bothered to finish it was because I had some of these (seeded?) positive reviews lingering in my mind and I kept expecting it to get better.
Although the book does offer some insight into a certain sub-culture in the Netherlands (with a sprinkling of humor here and there), I should have taken the hint from some of the previous reviews before I ordered. As others have alluded, this is more of an autobiography than a book about the city or the culture. And a worthwhile autobiography it is not - I wasn't particularly impressed with the way the author chooses to live his life as a lazy unemployed slob while his wife struggles to make ends meet.
I feel generous giving it two stars - the second star appearing mainly for the catchy title and the sporadic bits of humor.
'Dam Right February 16, 2005
5 out of 10 found this review helpful
Sean Condon has written a funny, realistic picture of what it is like to live in Amsterdam. I have lived in Amsterdam and all the things he talks about are right on the money. While living in Europe's most beautiful city can be difficult, painful and frustrating, it is all worthwile to call this great city home.
This book will give you a personal insight into the Dutch culture and people. I highly recommend this for expats or anyone that enjoys travel.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
