Antipathy (The Antipathy Series Book 1)

Oct 14, Wendi rated it liked it Shelves: Pay careful attention to the subtitle of this memoir: An American Family in Swinging London. Anita Miller and her husband did take their three boys to live in London for three months in And London itself was, quite likely, swinging. But by the end of their time there, Miller and her family pretty much wanted to hang themselves or, preferably, many of those they dealt with in London Anita and her husband Jordan had previously visited London and loved it, so Pay careful attention to the subtitle of this memoir: Anita and her husband Jordan had previously visited London and loved it, so when the opportunity to live there for three months came up they jumped on it, proclaiming that it would be a great trial run because they "might want to live there some day".

But for Anita and her family, London was an extremely rude awakening. There's the paranoia and rude and accusing behavior of their landlady, the inexplicable personality change of an old friend who was a warm Brit back in the States but a miserable and stressed woman in England, and the absolutely terrifying Hamlet's Uncle in Madame Tussauds' Wax Museum.

A Mortal Antipathy by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

Cultural differences like a deep seated distrust of refrigerators, the British hatred and suspicions of Americans, and differing parenting techniques are alarming and baffling for the Millers. Of course, there's two sides to every story, and since this is Miller's memoir, we don't much see what the Brits thought of them. I saw glimpses, here and there, of some possible complicity in the culture war on the side of the Miller family.

Potential offenses for not understanding or respecting the Brits' relationship with their Queen. Their landlady seems ridiculously paranoid that they're going to destroy her home and belongings from the moment they step foot in the house and on the whole her concerns do seem ludicrous but then there's the scene where Miller has a large party at the home during which one of the guests sits in the landlady's antique chair and breaks it, then moves on to another chair to break that, too, and the Millers and their guests laugh uproariously at this.

There is some repetitiveness here, as it's mostly a collection of different incidents the Miller family experienced, but the interactions often have the same results. This memoir is funny and very interesting to see the cultural differences and frustrations, some of which seem to be particular to the time and some of which I've seen echoes of or still in practice today during the time I've spent in England.

Jan 23, Julie rated it really liked it Shelves: An exaggerated and comical memoir about an American family's summer spent in London in Jordan Miller had tried to open a branch of his business in Britain, but spending so much time away from his family while trying to save the business seemed doubly stressful. So in the summer of Jordan rented a townhome in the ritzy Knightsbridge section of London and brought his wife and three sons to stay.

Editorial Reviews

This is Anita MIller's memoir of that summer. Anglophile though she was, with a Master's in An exaggerated and comical memoir about an American family's summer spent in London in Anglophile though she was, with a Master's in English Literature, and excited as she was, her experience was less than positive. It seemed that nothing would go right for Anita or her family.

She couldn't get the hang of shopping or cooking or even ordering when eating in restaurants. The weather was disagreeable and there were no nice children with whom her children could play.

In spite of previous visits to London, Anita went through some rather serious culture shock. Much of the time it seemed as if she was having Alice down the rabbit hole kinds of experiences. Nobody is shown at their best in this book. Clearly there was some serious culture shock. Anita seemed unwilling or unable to adapt to cultural challenges, and she very much wanted things to be like there were in the US.

Jordan was entirely caught up in business and unwilling or unable to recognize that Anita was struggling. The children were, well, children, and not terribly flexible, but then the parents didn't really push them.

One example was that they were always trying to get restaurants to prepare special food that was not on the menu for the kids. Apparently she also did not encounter a single polite or helpful individual in her entire three months in Britain. Their housing situation was miserable, but I felt that there was still an awful lot of complaining in this book. However, there were some very entertaining moments - the anti-English Irish housekeeper, Eric's fear of Hamlet's uncle, the incredibly eccentric landlady, and an actual Beatles sighting.

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I'd didn't love this book, but I did like it. Probably more of a 3. I received this book as a Goodreads first-reads giveaway. Dec 15, Shay VanZwoll rated it really liked it. In the s, an American family of five decided to spend a summer in England, culminating with this book of their adventures - written approximately 50 years later. Somehow both deadpan and filled with intentional humor, this book is a great look back at a clash of cultures.

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Anita and her husband Jordan, along with their three sons, were excited to spend time in England. Anita and Jordan had always loved the idea of England, and after Jordan had established a business in London they decided to s In the s, an American family of five decided to spend a summer in England, culminating with this book of their adventures - written approximately 50 years later. Anita and Jordan had always loved the idea of England, and after Jordan had established a business in London they decided to spend a summer together.

Unfortunately, a short vacation a few years before had failed to prepare Anita for the realities of actually living in London. After moving into a rented townhouse and having to battle the landlady for slipcovers and sheets, Anita finds that nothing is easy - not even picking up a prescription or grabbing a meal at a cafe. The author is able to tell their story in a way so that you feel you are actually there at the time, rather than looking back at something that happened half a century ago.

From the excitement of being in the same restaurant as the Beatles to the disappointment of being on a five hour "tour" bus that shows you nothing, you can sympathize with the characters as they find that sometimes home really is the best place to be, and that sometimes your "dream" locations are best for vacations only. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Jan 22, Bertha rated it it was amazing.

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Tea and Antipathy is a very funny account of an American family living in the posh London neighborhood of Knightsbridge in Never have I read a book where one minute I was laughing out loud and the next minute I was yelling for the author, Anita Miller, to tell these people off. I would love to visit London but if I had an experience like Anita did I would be spending most of my visit telling these rude people off. I don't know how she kept her cool. If Anita Miller writes another book on he Tea and Antipathy is a very funny account of an American family living in the posh London neighborhood of Knightsbridge in If Anita Miller writes another book on her English adventures I'll be the first to read it.

I won this book on Goodreads. Aug 02, Chris rated it really liked it. What happens when you embark on what you think will be the trip of a lifetime, and it turns out to really sort of suck? I don't envy the Millers for the frustrations they had to endure and the eccentric to downright hostile characters they had to deal with, but it makes very entertaining and hilarious reading for us. Carolyn rated it it was amazing Dec 09, Beth Ahimsa rated it liked it Dec 31, Holly Vine rated it liked it Oct 22, Lisa rated it liked it Feb 23, Jeff rated it really liked it Jan 04, Lifeisadance rated it liked it Aug 08, Samantha rated it liked it Jul 17, Emma Palmer rated it did not like it Apr 07, Sophia Tallon rated it it was amazing Jan 02, Jillian rated it it was ok May 11, Carla Bayha rated it really liked it Aug 21, Cyber rated it it was amazing Feb 14, Vicki Burnette rated it it was amazing Feb 26, Ezra Velazquez rated it liked it May 26, Janet Leonard rated it really liked it May 25, Jeremy rated it liked it Jan 16, Karin Glenn-Miller rated it liked it Apr 30, Ayesha Nishtar rated it really liked it May 04, June 21, Sold by: Share your thoughts with other customers.

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