A Tall Man in a Low Land

Belgium has had its share of defining moments: the treaty of Vienna after Napoleon, two world wars and, rounding out the 20th century, contaminated Coke come to mind. In A Tall Man in a Low Land the curmudgeonly comic Harry Pearson grabs this theme in his teeth and, growling through the lowlands, asks "what the bloody hell am I doing here?" Along the way, Pearson bumps into some curiously sympathetic observers, the Belgians themselves. His meandering path of puns and one-liners describes the land of the Flemish and the French Walloons: two worlds for the price of one.

Pearson wisely skirts Brussels, the home of the 17th-century statue of the Manneken-Pis, Belgium's unfortunate guidebook equivalent to Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower. Instead he heads into the countryside, taking a poke at sights no guide would have the guts to mention: the life-threatening preoccupation with electrical DIY projects and a Flemish landscape of garden ornaments littering every nook and cranny. Such observations are fuelled by Pearson's ability to deliver detail with a punch line though he doesn't approach Bill Bryson's story-telling ease.

Pearson began the trip in search of insight into one of Europe's most densely populated countries and concludes that the Belgians suffer from low self esteem. Then, with the wit that defines a traveller's tale over a guide book, Pearson reveals their common bond: 100 different beers and 35,000 cafes. After all, as Pearson reminds us, how can you not love a country that gave the British bitter, ale and chips? --Kathleen Buckley

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belgian waffle - that's a compliment not a putdown. - Rated
Having been to Belgium only twice in my life, this country had me intrigued. It is small and often overlooked and its waffles with chocolate sauce are to die for. Yet it is famous for more things and more people than i realised (I could only name Hercule Poirot as a famous Belgian prior to reading the book!). Harry Pearsons book made me want to jump on the eurostar to Bruxelles/Brussels and hug a walloon/flemish person. it is a well written book that is neither a travel guide nor a history book nor a vehicle for harry pearsons comedic writing - it is all of them rolled into one and well balanced too.
I highly recommend this book.

Blinkered view of a beautiful country - Rated
This book was given to me as a gift, as I am a frequent and enthusiastic visitor to this country of unknown treasures. The quirky views that most Britons have of Belgium are more confirmed rather than dispelled in this book, where the writer has tried to find the amusing eccentricities that could realistically be found anywhere in the world. Another reviewer comments that Pearson has visited every corner of the country. Oh no, not at all. He left the wonderful Ardennes virtually untouched in his travels, the Luxembourg region of Belgium containing some of the most beautiful countryside and towns in Europe. Please don't let the book put you off visiting this gorgeous part of the world - there are far more facets than Mr Pearson has found.

Pleasant stroll through a small country - Rated
After reading Pearson's superb journey through the football of the North East of England in 'The Far Corner' I was suitably impressed enough to follow his exploits in Belgium. Despite being a travel book, his journey seems to have had little organisation as Pearson route through the country can best be described as haphazard. A line of his journey would resemble a zig-zag more than anything.

Yet this is how Pearson views his stay in Belgium. Rather than being a straightforward walkthrough of linear progression, Pearson actually resides there for a time, allowing himself to wallow in Belgium culture and gradually absorbing the makeup of the nation and it's various eccentricities as well as getting to know the Belgians and their various peccadillos.

While I wasn't particularly interested in Belgium to begin with, Pearson's beguiling Palinesque bemusement in a foreign land is endearing and helps to connect the reader with the subject. The author has a wonderful store of metaphors collected from his upbringing which are liberally sprinkled to keep you laughing.

While I enjoyed the book I don't have much of a fondness for Belgium than I already possessed. The author for me was the interest in the book, much more interesting than the subject.

A great bedtime read - Rated
I was given this book for Christmas by my Aunt, who had seen it in a local book shop when looking around, and had noticed it from the subtitle "Some Time Among The Belgians" and thought it would appeal to me. Harry Pearson was hitherto known to me for his "Fever Pitch"esque book about life in the North East as a Sunderland supporter, covering the 1993/94 season, and also for his contribution to When Saturday Comes - the half decent football magazine.

Having lived in Belgium myself, I was able to empathise a lot with Pearson's point of view, notably his comment that their "passion for DIY electrics leaves a permanent smell of singed eyebrows in the air". Whereas books like "The Xenophobes guide to the Belgians" is very upbeat, with myths dispelled and Belgium generally promoted, even if they are guilty of producing Atomium underpants (hmm...), Harry Pearson portrays it as it really is, namely that it's grim in Belgium.

If you are planning a trip to Belgium, you might be dissuaded from the accounts of general lack of pride, self-esteem and shoddyness, especially shown by the frequent mentions of DIY prowess. You may dismiss this as a caricature or cameo of what Belgian life is like, thinking that Pearson has just done the usual and flitted around the country and left. However this is not the case, as Pearson, along with his partner and their daughter, has seemed to have been everywhere there is to go in Belgium.

The book is broken down into ten chapters, each of which tends to focus around a different group of places, or a different facet of life, whether it be bureaucracy, cycling, architecture, or the murderous Leopold II. There are some carefully selected black and white photos in the middle of the book, each wittily captioned, although to get some of the jokes, you will have needed to have read the book beforehand.

The book takes a look into the Belgian psyche, the institutional figures, the traditions, their general outlook, modesty and general way of life, in a way that you would not usually expect to hear from a foreigner. Pearson has obviously got very close to the Belgians, rather than casting askance glances across tables in cafés and trying to overly prey on their smalltalk.

As well as discussing trivialities, Pearson cleverly juxtaposes a trip to a museum filled with the spoils of Leopold's "Conquest" of the Congo, with an insight into one of the most evil rulers of the modern world, and a trip to the Museum of Wallonian life, to go into Wallonian militants, and how they forced the abdication of Leopold III in 1950, after his Nazi sympathising. This then allows Pearson to cover the issue of the day in 1990, when Belgium temporarily became a republic when King Baudouin didn't want to sign an abortion bill.

The insight into this book is incredible, but it still remains a lighthearted read, with politics interspersed with pleasure, and travel with torment, with biographies of some of Belgium's most famous sons. If you are about to go on holiday to Belgium, don't be offput by this book too much, but take it as lighthearted reading. It is a great book...

A cracking good read - Rated
As a fairly regular visitor to this part of the world, I bought this book anticipating it would be a Brysonesque wander through the major towns and sights of Belgium, but no, here Pearson has managed to capture the spirit and soul of small town Belgium, on all sides of the linguistic and geographical divide. He gets inside the Flemish and Walloon mindset very well, not easy at the best of times.

Go buy and read, certainly.