Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Why do the English keep apologizing? Why are they so unenthusiastic about enthusiasm? Why does rain surprise them? When are they being ironic, and how can you tell? Even after eighteen years in London, New York Times reporter Sarah Lyall remained perplexed and intrigued by its curious inhabitants and their curious customs. She's now returned to the United States, but her "delectably merciless (yet affectionate) taxonomy" (Liesl Schillinger, Vogue), updated with a new introduction, is just as illuminating today--perhaps more so, in the wake of Brexit and the attendant national identity crisis.
While there may be no easy answer to the question of how, exactly, to understand the English, this book-- part anthropological field study, part memoir--helps point the way. "Lyall is a first- rate reporter. . . . She] is at her tart, observant best" (Matt Weiland, New York Times Book Review).