Jerome K Jerome: Three men in a Boat

A delightful little nineteenth century novel. Almost a 1880's road trip. Basically, three men embark on a river boat ride down the Thames enjoying various scrapes and jaunts along the way. It is humorously written, and at times poetical in description following 'J', his disreputable dog Montmorency, Harris and George as they wind their way along the riverbank. It isn't meant to be a social commentary but does reflect the times in which he wrote and expectation of ease which men of a certain class enjoyed. The fact that they are so disparate in personality and yet have to endure a small boat in which to live thus highlighting their differences even more only serves to strengthen the image of the middle man. It is a beautiful story written in first person by J. He tangents off at times to recollect antics by his uncle, friends and family to bring more clarity to the tales involving the trip at hand. You can try doing the trip yourself if you like, and it would be interesting to see the places so concisely described by Jerome.

In one sentence? A nineteenth century male road trip

In three themes?

1. Back to nature
2. Friendship
3. Description