How to Be an Alien in England: A Guide to the English

by Angela Kiss

Ten years ago, Angela Kiss arrived in the UK without a word of English. All she brought with her was a small bag, a sense of adventure, a desire to work and a copy of George Mikes's classic 1940s humour book about the peculiarities of the British, "How to be an Alien."

Through every dodgy flat share, low-paid waitressing job, awkward date and office mishap, Angela held tight to George's wit and wisdom. With his help, she began to understand how to live amongst the English - with their eccentricity, spirit and singing train drivers - and fell in love with a land rich in green spaces, pubs and puddings.

A wry, often affectionate view on the English, and how to navigate our national personality.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

195 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

Angela Kiss was born in Hungary, she has lived and worked in London for ten years.
She has had three books published in Hungary, one of which was her memoir, "One Way Ticket to London", which has been translated in English and self-published as an ebook.
Her latest book "How to be an Alien in England" is a wry, often affectionate view on the English, and how to navigate their national personality.
Angela Kiss lives in Italy now, working on her new book:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/author.Angel...
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/miss.angela...

Reviews

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was hilarious and 100% accurate. // 4,5 stars

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having already read Angela's first book One Way Ticket to London, I was looking forward to Angela's next release. Reading this from an Englishman's perspective gave me many laugh out loud moments and has made me realise just how English I am! An engaging, humorous and insightful read, highly recommended.

[U · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an expat in London I found this book utterly funny, interesting and inspiring.
The author takes you through the character of English as seen by an expat, pointing out all their peculiarities in a witty and sharp, yet hilarious way, with lots of Lough-Out-Loud moments.
The book is shaped into a number of short chapters, resembling a manual to survive the English and is conceived as a rework of George Mikes classic from the '50.
The editorial quality is top class and feature illustrations by Steph von Reiswitz.
A book that will surely entertain both English and expats living abroad (not necessarily in England) since rich of interesting observations and situation which relates to anyone who deals with cultural contamination.

Definitely recommended!

[Andreea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can definitely relate to most of the stories as I am myself an expat living in London.
It’s a funny and relaxing read, but a bit clichéd sometimes. At least the English people I met are so different from one another that you can’t generalise.
All in all, not too bad :)

I received a copy of this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

[Juraj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really nice little book. Both funny and witty, full of interesting insight into the life of The English. I myself have been living in England as an alien for over 5 years now, and I must admit, I have found myself smiling over and relating to many stories mentioned in the book. The chapters are quite short and I feel like this book would be a perfect gift for anyone living here in the UK.

[Bryan Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is all jolly good fun, and it would be churlish to point out that an interminable series of stereotypes can easily become wearisome. I compliment Ms Kiss on her final chapter on the difficulties of being an Alien in Hungary and thank her for the many astute observations and amusing anecdotes that show her to be a worthy successor to George Mikes.

[Agnes Galla · Rating 5 out of 5]

My opinion of Angela's book is:
“I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it's the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It's probably the most important thing in a person.”
Audrey Hepburn

[Blondi.Potter · Rating 4 out of 5]

True story about living in the UK. Really enjoyed it :-D

[Moryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very very funny book!

[Dhananjay Kulkarni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some chapters are definitely 5-star! Hilarious.

[Dessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of underlying truths presented in a very funny manner. I'd recommend it to people who've moved to the UK, the book wouldn't make a lot of sense to others.

[Tamila Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding

I told all my friends about this book. It gives such a positive view of how to be an alien in England. Thank you Angela. Please keep writing.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspired by George Mikes's 'How To Be An Alien' from the dawn of the Sixties...(& massive social changes in England!)...fellow Hungarian wit & humourist, Angela Kiss, a 21st century woman with a dream (a type we all recognise in our middle-years!)...delivers a sketchy but positive verdict on contemporary England & the English...whatever that means in 2016 when this book was SELF-PUBLISHED, though very solidly-based in London & its suburbs...so not really an accurate or acute picture of the nation...such as it is!...when over 50% of London's residents are not English in any shape or form!...
Kiss is mildly scathing about many English customs & traditions & quite obsessed with the usual negative tropes about our climate, queuing & our nutritional food! (look at the queues of obese chumps at the meat counter in the supermarket drenched by the short walk from the car park in steady drizzle!).
She happily betrays her confusions & her consternations...queuing up behind her literary hero, George Mikes to ridicule our native eccentricities & lack of public, emotional outbursts of animal instincts; she will get the picture more focused eventually by spending more time in the heart of England rather than its gaudy capital city with its growing global, social media reach.
Anyone & everyone has a grudging view of the English which veers towards utter incomprehensiblity...& Angela's friendly kiss on the flabby navel of England is given with a look and a word of doubtful anticipation of ever consumating a perfect social intercourse with the English!
Tea, anyone?

[Shania · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was gifted to me by a friend, and I loved the title of this book. Reading this as 'an alien', I was amused about some of the clichés A. Kiss touches on. Sharing her experience from moving to Hungary to London, she talks about the habits English people have and certainly doesn't hesitate to makes jokes about British culture.

Although a lot of things were very entertaining, I couldn't relate to everything I've read. I guess that's fairly normal because my experience of moving to London is probably very different, but this made it seem a bit un-relatable and over the top. It felt a bit pressured at times to be particularly funny. Though, I definitely enjoyed reading this one. 2.75 🌟

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I'm in the UK now I might as well start learning about the English :P
While I enjoyed reading this book - lots of bite-size, funny chapters full of anecdotes from an outsider - I feel like I didn't really learn very much. The one exception is small talk about the weather - I hadn't noticed just how much English people talk about the weather until I read the chapter, and now I can't stop noticing and it's annoying xD

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good fun. As a normal American, some of the jabs she took at us seemed a bit personal. Obviously the American crowd she’s taking a jab at would not be reading this book. Other than that, it was a comforting read. Took gaps in reading it but when I did, it was at least 20 pages at a time.

[Sybiee · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the funniest and most wonderful books I have read for a while. I laughed the whole way through! By that, of course I mean that I read it with a completely dead pan expression and occasionally barking when something was to funny to contain behind the Britishness!

[Prafulla Kelkar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once picked up, it's difficult to leave this book without finishing it. A wonderful blend of humour and serious facts and all of it in simple easy language.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cute look at English culture from an outsider's perspective. The author is a Hungarian expat who has lived in England for ten years.

[J. Palacios · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is full of deadpan, sarcastic humour about living in England.

[Philip William · Rating 5 out of 5]

A funny and affectionate look at the English from the point of view of a Hungarian living in London.

The title is derived from the book by George Mikes "How to be an Alien" written in 1946.

[Juliet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Początek ciekawy, potem nuda.

[Dogeared · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sometimes funny, but the short chapters mean that just as your appetite is whetted, it's on to another chapter. And by the middle of the book (kissing), I found myself rapidly souring because the cliches about the English started being straight of out Movies 101, and I started wondered if she'd even met any English when writing this, despite living here 10 years.