• Homepage
  • Destinations
  • About Me
  • Contact
  • Blogs I enjoy
facebook twitter pinterest instagram

Mum's Gone To …

Travel tales of an empty nester
  • Homepage
  • Destinations
  • About Me
  • Contact
  • Blogs I enjoy
Home  >  Blog  >  Book Review: Are We Nearly There Yet? by Ben Hatch

Book Review: Are We Nearly There Yet? by Ben Hatch

Trish Burgess Posted on28/12/201128/12/2016 Book reviews 12 Comments

You know when you read a book and think, I wish I’d written that? This is such a book.  Damn you, Ben Hatch.

Ben and his wife Dinah accept the formidable task of travelling round Britain in a battered Vauxhall Astra to write a family guide book. They take off for five months with their two young children and pack in nearly as many family-friendly attractions as Dinah tries to secrete extra pairs of shoes in their luggage. They discover there are only so many ruined abbeys a family can ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ at and that hotels can be judged on the quality of their complimentary biscuits and whether or not you can get CBeebies on the TV.

The 8,000 mile adventure, seeking out a poo museum in Leicester (a big hit with the children, naturally) and a pencil museum in the Lake District (including possibly not the world’s largest pencil) is punctuated by family squabbles, toddler tantrums and the odd spot of danger. However, as the trip unfortunately coincides with the failing health of the author’s father, it becomes a voyage of self discovery as Ben Hatch reminisces about his own childhood and tries to make sense of the relationship he has had with his dad.

Most parents will read the book, laugh frequently and nod sagely, empathising with the joys and frustrations of travelling with kids. They should also jot down some of the fascinating places to visit. I, for one, am going to add Liverpool to my list, not least for the discovery that people in authority there have a healthy attitude towards ignoring petty rules.

Ben Hatch is a very talented writer; he has a natural gift for humour, dialogue and pace so the story rattles along with ease. The pockets of sadness in the narrative are all the more poignant because of the comedy in the rest of the book.

I bought Are We Nearly There Yet? just before Christmas in paperback (Amazon £5.03) but it’s also available in Kindle format at only 99p. Highly recommended.

>

Previous Article Whistling Carols and yet another round of Arthritic Charades
Next Article Regressing into Childhood

Related Posts

  • Meet Me in Monaco book

    Book Review: Meet Me in Monaco by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

    07/09/2019
  • The Excursionist JD Sumner

    Review of The Excursionist by J.D. Sumner

    03/05/2017
  • 36 Hours, 125 weekends in Europe

    17/01/2016

12 Comments

  1. Steve Reply
    28/12/2011 at 3:48 pm

    And I now have a Kindle so might just search this out for download!

  2. Trish @ Mum's Gone To ... Reply
    28/12/2011 at 4:08 pm

    Steve – I have a feeling this is just up your street. Definitely download it.

  3. Very Bored in Catalunya Reply
    28/12/2011 at 6:30 pm

    I'm currently 98% through this on my Kindle. Very good and very laugh out loud at places.

    I think I may also have found someone who drinks as much wine as me.

    PS they could have been nicer about Nottingham…

  4. Joanne Mallon Reply
    28/12/2011 at 7:01 pm

    Thanks for this! Reminded me that I have this sitting on my Kindle ready to read.

  5. Trish @ Mum's Gone To ... Reply
    28/12/2011 at 8:28 pm

    Very Bored – You, Ben Hatch and a few bottles of Cava: now that would be a good evening. Just don't mention the ugly buildings of Nottingham…

    Joanne – It's brilliant, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

  6. Sarah Reply
    29/12/2011 at 7:42 am

    What child (or adult) would not love the idea of a poo museum?

    And who would not pay 99p to find out that such a one exists?! I must pop on over to Amazon.

  7. Trish @ Mum's Gone To ... Reply
    29/12/2011 at 8:09 am

    Sarah – Glad to be of service. Can't believe we took Rory twice to the Space Centre in Leicester to snigger at a dummy astronaut sitting on a toilet and were unaware of even more lavatorial fun nearby.

  8. Curry Queen Reply
    30/12/2011 at 4:31 am

    Many thanks for the recommendation. Sounds like a great addition to my ever-expanding Kindle!

  9. Trish @ Mum's Gone To ... Reply
    30/12/2011 at 9:05 am

    Curry Queen – it's a great read, certainly worth downloading and at that price, it's a steal.

  10. thebabywife Reply
    30/12/2011 at 1:26 pm

    Have just ordered this – thanks for the recommendation 🙂 x

  11. Trish @ Mum's Gone To ... Reply
    30/12/2011 at 4:35 pm

    the baby wife – I'm sure you'll love it!

  12. Pingback: Book review: Road to Rouen by Ben Hatch - Mum's Gone To ...

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Follow Me

Random Visits

  • Choosing King’s Cross as a base for a weekend in London 10/04/2018
  • Holiday Plans for October Half Term 04/10/2011
  • Whistling Carols and yet another round of Arthritic Charades 26/12/2011

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
facebook twitter instagram pinterest youtube

Recent Posts

  • Riverside Walk, Leamington to Warwick
    Riverside Walk from Leamington Spa to Warwick 16/05/2022
  • Craiglockhart Hill
    Heading for the hills in Edinburgh 18/01/2022
  • Kelvingrove Art Museum and Gallery
    Come on, Eileen! Finding the weird and wonderful in museums 08/01/2022
  • Paired up with Barney and Trevor at Nidderdale Llamas
    Trekking with Nidderdale Llamas 14/09/2021

Recent Comments

  • William Sell on A Holbeach man, born and bred.
  • Trish Burgess on Trekking with Nidderdale Llamas
  • Bryce on Trekking with Nidderdale Llamas
  • Mark T Coupe on Miniatures in bronze: The sculptures of Joseph Hillier in Spalding
  • Trish Burgess on Dipping my toe back into blogging
  • Bryce on Dipping my toe back into blogging
  • Trish Burgess on A visitor’s guide to toilets in Japan
  • Tilly Jaye Horseman on Miniatures in bronze: The sculptures of Joseph Hillier in Spalding

Contact Us

To contact me, please visit my Contact page.

I'm on Twitter. Find me as @mumsgoneto
I'm on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/mumsgoneto
Instagram - mumsgoneto
Pinterest - Trish Burgess
Google plus - +TrishBurgess


Designed by 79DESIGN

UK WordPress Support

Website by 79DESIGN, Lincolnshire Web Designer