Round the Bend by Jeremy Clarkson

I picked it up simply because I saw a familiar face on the cover. Yes, Jeremy Clarkson's wrinkly frowning unsmiling mug. Do not ask me why I am attracted to it. Really, if I am to be totally honest, he resembles a bulldog. But this is a classic case of “do not judge a book by its cover” and simply because I like Jeremy Clarkson.

For the uninitiated, Jeremy Clarkson is one of the three hosts for Top Gear, a television programme that focuses solely on smashing old cars, making fun of cars manufactured in other countries, belittling other countries for even attempting to manufacture cars and poking fun at just about everything else non-car related. The other two hosts are Richard Hammond and James “Captain Slow” May. It is one of my favourite television programmes and the reason for it is not because I am interested in cars (not at all), but because I love all three hosts. They are enough for me to spend my weekend afternoons away watching Top Gear back-to-back. For a non-car lover like me! Between the three, Clarkson has the most acerbic tongue of all. His barbed comments and sardonic observations are wilfully humorous but laced with honesty, so you can and do take his word for it. Besides, he makes you laugh really hard that causes your stomach to cramp up. That for me is GOLD.  

Top Gear has been around since forever. They have filmed 19 seasons (Season 19 is shown in 2013) and is still going strong. Jeremy Clarkson pre-dates Top Gear so he is even older than you think. Besides being on television, he is also a motoring journalist. The book is a compilation of his 2008 and 2009 articles that he wrote for The Sunday Times. It is two years’ worth of motoring and car reviews. You will not be thrown in the face with motoring jargon and vehicular lingo  Instead, you are treated with real-life examples and experiences that are hilariously funny. He offers his unflinchingly honest thoughts and insights to the vehicles he tests or writes about.

Clarkson understands that majority of the population in the globe could not be bothered with the technical bits of a machinery unless you are buying it. Therefore, he relates those machineries to daily life. That is what makes it not boring. He turns mind-numbingly tedious car reviews into an interesting read. As much as I am not interested in automotive  it is relatable and easy to grasp. Of course, all that he writes is accompanied with his caustic humour. And of course, it all relates to daily life in England, so yes, he takes jabs at places that I have not heard about and pokes fun at practices that are different from ours, but hey, it is still good for a laugh (you can always Google the places if you’re so inclined). You will not find yourself scratching your head in wonderment, because frankly, you do not really care about the car, you just care about how he talks about the car. That is, if you are a reader and a fan like me.

If nothing else, just relish in his dry sarcastic humour and be happy that you are not at the receiving end.