Americanisation: Lessons in American Culture and Language

by Angus Woodward

In this comic novel posing as a textbook, Biti Namoeteri comes to the US for graduate school and gets tangled up in multi-level marketing, personal-injury lawsuits, and romance. Woodward spins an engaging rags-to-riches-and-back-to-rags tale.

199 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 2011

About the author

Angus Woodward was born to southerners in a northern state and moved to Louisiana in 1987. Angus' next novel, Oily, is due out from Spaceboy Books in October of 2018. His previous books are the short-story collection Down at the End of the River and the novel Americanisation: Lessons in American Culture and Language. The Oxford American hailed Americanisation as “a hilariously crafted postmodern novel.” Angus has two wonderful daughters, and he teaches writing at Franciscan University in Baton Rouge. 

Reviews

[Richard Derus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: Biti Namoeteri, an enterprising young man from "South America's Lichtenstein," comes to the US to get a graduate degree in Spiritual Geography, never expecting to become a multi-level marketer or to fall in love with a woman named Janet Broccoli. But he does just that, and then discovers that personal injury lawsuits can be the keys to both success and failure. Woodward's narrative strategy is both accessible and experimental in this comic novel posing as a textbook.

My Review: The son of goatherds from a country described only as "South America's Liechtenstein" comes to an unnamed American university in an unnamed American city to get a Master's degree in "Spiritual Geography." (Now I want a degree in Spiritual Geography, but not a one of the local universities seems to have such a major. Blast and damn it all!) He arrives, Candide-like, with nothing but a few clothes and a shaky grasp of English. Soon he falls (literally) afoul of the predatory and transactional nature of capitalist society's definitions of intimacy...falling in love (?) with the dreadful and materialistic Janet Broccoli; becoming a mule for smarmy, unctuous Paul Roasted's Amway equivalent Ponzi scheme; providing the memorably named slimy lawyer, Angelo Tongue, with several personal injury cases. But even without Dr. Pangloss, all comes out for the best in this best of all possible profit machines...but at what cost? You are never told...but you can guess.

I fear Angus Woodward. He sees too much. He's the one-eyed man in the country of the blind, and it's very hard not to flinch and squirm as he reports his visions to us docile, dimmed-down drudges.

This book, his first novel after a collection of short fiction set in South Louisiana, Down at the End of the River, appeared in 2008, is written in the vein of a foreign-language textbook, with "Dialogues" and "Vocabularies" and "Activities" that illustrate the author's caustic disdain for what is shown to be a hollow, anti-nurturing culture Americans have allowed to be created in their name. It's scathing. It's abrasively angry. It's impossible not to laugh at lines like "Lobster Shell: Crack!" which pepper the Dialogues, reminding the reader that the author is letting you in on a joke, not simply hollering at you to PAY ATTENTION FOR ONCE and notice the lack of spiritual value in the fake friendliness that we've allowed to kudzu its way into the place once held for friendship.

Seriously y'all...pay attention...or Angus Woodward will be forced to write again...and that's gonna be uncomfortable, yet memorable.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

So.. I was a little skeptical when i first picked this book up. It's a story without being formatted like a story. The formatting comes across almost like a textbook with different subjects being the "chapters." However, once I started reading it, I was captivated by the poor foreign man who is thrown into the ridiculousness that is the reality of the US at times. I was very impressed with how well the author captured the differences between the way we see things and word things and how they appear to a person who is not a native. I often don't think about the literal meanings behind what I say becuase I have taken for granted that majority of the people I deal with daily are native to the US and understand not to take something literally.


I finished this book and sent it on to my friend in London. He has been to the US several times so he is aware of the quirks of American language. I'm curious about his take on the book. Hopefully he will like it as much as I did.

Thank you Goodreads & Mr. Woodward for the free book! It was quite enlighting and enjoyable.

[Pauline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everyone at some point has taken a foreign language class in their lives. If they haven't taken one, they must remember in their English class the exercises that you had to complete for comprehension and vocabulary. Think about those classes and how the workbooks were structured. They usually started with a vocabulary list of relevant words you would use in the chapter. That was then followed by some passage of dialogue between XX and XY that related to the chapter topic. Finally it would end with some type of activity that would test your comprehension (fill in the blank, matching, conjugating verbs, etc). Now, take that and mix it together with a tale of an immigrant coming to the United States and you have got this book!

This method of writing out the tale of Biti and his life in America is quirky and unique. It points out a lot of the absurdities of the English language along with the idiosyncrasies of the United States. However, I didn't find the plot all that engaging and for me, that was its' downfall. Yes it was an innovative take on how to tell a story, but the novelty wore off when I was 3/4 through the book.

So, 3/5 stars for this one. Interesting, but not my cup of tea :)

Disclaimer: I won this in a Goodreads Firstreads giveaway

[Ceh131973 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was sent [Americanisation] by the author [Angus Woodward] since I had read and reviewed another book of his. This one was much different but just as good. I loved the tone of snarkiness that the author uses to portray "typical" American life from the eyes of a new immigrant. Sadly I don't think it was far from the truth.

[Christopher Shipman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really love this book! And I don't read much fiction. Most of the time I don't have time for novels, but this book is so fun time becomes an aspect of culture that is simply overlooked. Read the book to find out more of what I mean.

[Alex V. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed on the Oxford American site
http://oxfordamerican.org/articles/2011/sep/14/books/

[Fat Albert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dude you look like Woodrow Wilson

[Lyndsay Leggott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, light read! The format was totally different & very entertaining, lots of fun.