Don't Lean Out of the Window!: The Inter-rail Experience

Review by Philip Blazdell

Don't Lean Out the Window!

As the evil-smelling, foul-mouthed and flatulent lads criss-cross Europe they manage to insult just about everyone. They are without doubt exceptionally poor ambassadors for the UK but, like Bill and Ted for the back-packing generation, they are hysterically funny. If this book doesn't make you cry out loud with laughter you had best check your pulse because you are probably dead.

Nothing is sacred and if you are homosexual, German, French, Welsh or European in general the boys have something rude to say about you. For example in Venice:

'Finally out of the station, we saw our first canal. It looked like a brown, stagnant pond, but I could tell it was moving because some of the boats were being overtaken by the drifting bottles and cans. There were brown tide stains on the stone sides of the buildings opposite, but pigeons were doing their level best to paint the place white. It was a beautiful sight.

"Mmm," I exclaimed, breathing in deeply, "this fragrance must be Canal Number Five.?"'

Not at all interested in European culture, unless, of course, this includes getting into Dutch girl's pants, they take blissful pleasure in avoiding the cultural highlights of Europe and instead concentrate on the finer points of busking for food and locating the nearest McDonalds.

On one level this is a stupendous book. It's rude, crude, honest and painfully well-observed. It's everything a travel book should be. It challenges preconceptions, shows you a side of Europe most people are too afraid to mention and makes you want to get on a train and follow in the boy's footsteps. However, on another level the boy's behaviour is shocking and they typify many of the social problems present in the UK at the moment. Meeting them on the road, I imagine, would be fun for a few moments, and then terribly stressful. This aside they have produced a true travel-classic and one which should be on every traveller's reading list.

• Don't Lean Out of the Window!: The Inter-rail Experience by Paul Bassett and Stewart Ferris