Santo Luigi Cilauro is an Australian comedian, television and feature film producer, screenwriter, actor, author and cameraman who is also a co-founder of The D-Generation. Known as the weatherman in Frontline, he is also an author and former radio presenter on Triple M, and achieved worldwide fame with the viral video Elektronik Supersonik.
This was kind of cute, a fake travel book about a fake country. If the first five minutes of the 'Borat' movie made you laugh, you'll probably find this worth keeping on the back of the toilet to dip into occasionally.
(The book, not the toilet!)
See? That joke right there? Was pretty much on par with most of what you'll find in this book. Though it does occasionally rise to greater heights, such as citing a 'UNESCO World Heritage site of significant monotony'. Or, 'Here you can trek the famous 'Lover's Walk' amidst the beauty of forested slopes covered in cyclamen, heather, gorse and used prophylactics'.
Bill Bryson found it 'brilliantly original'. I thought it was okay.
Molvania: A Land Untouched By Modern Dentistry is a spoof travel guide to a fictitious Eastern European country, written by Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner and Rob Sitch. The cover bears effusive praise from the Observer, the Daily Telegraph and Time Out ("It will be genuinely surprising if anyone publishes a funnier book this decade").
I have to admit I was severely underwhelmed by the reading experience - the book is stuffed full of cleverly set-up one-liners, but there is a limit to how many put-downs of eastern Europeans stereotypes (most of which are somewhat outdated, if the immigrant population of the UK is anything to go by!) I can read in one sitting.
The jokes are really quite funny:
"Taxis used to be a nightmare throughout the Eastern Steppes region but are now properly regulated. In Lublova all cabs must be licensed and fumigated at least once a month. Drivers are also obliged to have their photo ID on constant display, showing name, licence number and proof they've recently attended an anger management class." (to be introduced in London? Please?)
"When the imposing six-storey chateau Sucjevitaopened in 1996, Sasava did not have a single high-quality hotel. It still does not."
But in high doses (more than a page), the jokes become galling. The book would make marvellous toilet reading, or an excellent gift for someone you don't really know at all. Or serialised on one of those desk calendars.
Dreading your upcoming travel for the holidays? Pack along Molvania for when you're stuck in the security line, or hanging around the bus terminal as a sure cure for boredom. True, people will wonder why you're laughing loudly or snickering uncontrollably, but you will be enjoying yourself way too much to care!
I discovered this series while looking for genuine travel guides and did not realize for a moment that Molvania is a cleverly designed spoof. Every page has the feel of a travel guide from the hotel suggestions and pricing to attractions, but the resemblance stops there. When people with wild imaginations and a healthy sense of humor tackle travel the results are sidesplitting. I especially like their guide to common phrases and culture tips, such as this excerpt:
"This, coupled with a record number of silent letters, makes fluency a major challenge. You can, as some visitors have experimented with, simply try adding the letter ‘j’ or ‘z’ randomly to any word – but this will only get you so far.... Remember, too, that the syntactical structure of written Molvanian can be rather complex, with writers routinely using the triple negative. Hence,
"Can I drink the water?" becomes " Erkjo ne szlepp statsik ne var ne vladrobzko ne?" (literally, 'is it not that the water is not not undrinkable?')
Another effective feature are the photos, which are real, but the captions put a different spin on their meaning. Think of various scenes which look like eastern Europe, like a few men raising a toast with shot glasses, however, the caption warns against ever accepting the locals' version of garlic brandy! The Jetlag Travel website advertises several coming titles, although it seems that Phaic Tan and San Sombrero are the only actual publications to date. It's hard not to admire people so dedicated to travel that they even consider producing guides to Sherpastan or Gastronesia. Or is it not hard to not not admire people...??
A one-trick pony. Even in a short fake-travel guide, you can't tell the same jokes over and over. The form is repeated in every paragraph: build-up then one liner, build-up then one-liner. By the end you just want to get it finished. Some of the jokes are excellent; example: in one restaurant you can have boar roasted on a spit, or boar roasted in spit. There are about ten jokes of that quality in the whole thing.
Absolutely hilarious all the way through. The humor can get a bit repetitive at times but in my opinion, if you enjoy the first pages you'll enjoy the rest of the book as well. While the humor is based on Eastern European stereotypes, these are used in such an over the top fashion that the satire could hardly be anymore obvious. Don't feel bad for laughing at it.
What a great guide to this relatively unknown, rundown, and backward country. For the traveller who actually considers going to Molvania, this book is a must to keep in the backpack. There is a bit of everything ranging from the history of this cement loving country to tips on how to interact with locals. I personally love how the book starts. Paraphrasing here - Robust culture, magnificent panoramic views, unique flavourful foods, welcoming hosts, are all sadly, absent from Molvania. But, if you look hard enough the most adventurous traveller can have a one of kind travel experience. This tone resonates throughout the book. That of a harsh, but, realistic look at this country, yet, upbeat at the same time. The few, and far between, bright (or at least not pitch black) spots of Molvania are really brought to the forefront with this type of writing. It makes one almost want to plan a visit. The format of this book makes it really easy to either skim through and find specific information such as hotel recommendations in the East Mountains, or just read straight through and pick up a good base knowledge of the entire country and its people. I personally enjoyed the highlighting of specific words dotted throughout the pages. It gave me direction and was an easy way to emphasize some of the more important facts or themes the authors were trying to get across. For eg, I have pulled a few pages from The People and The Arts sections of the book and listed the highlighted words below :
blowing your nose barren plains chainsaws head butting public hanging cheap euro porn noticeable stutter Beta Video
See how just highlighting a few words can give the reader a much better understanding of the topic at hand. Don't you feel that much more enlighten on The People and The Arts of Molvania by just reading that list? I know I did while reading through this guide.
I will also applaud the hotel and restaurant recommendation section of the guide. The writers sure did their homework on this front and not only gave reviews of the somewhat Western friendly establishments, but, also the 'budget' places for those on a budget or for those looking for a more authentic experience. Personally, I'm happier knowing what restaurants serve horse meat. At least I know which ones to avoid right?
Scattered throughout the guide are tips, which I thought were not only useful, but gave even more insight into the strange and abnormal workings of the Molvanian mind. The tips ranged from common saying and greetings that one would need to know (in order to avoid physical assaults for eg), to what drinks to avoid if travelling the barren plains of the East (turns out many alcoholic drinks contain such things as gasoline and antifreeze).
After reading this guide I was struck with two thoughts. First, how awful a trip to Molvania sounded, what with the lack a hygiene, the constant threat of assault, and the smell. Then it struck me, this book could change all of that. Maybe, just maybe, a book like this will inspire some poor soul to take up the challenge and travel to Molvania. If they survive, there experience will no doubt cause more people (or at least the previous traveller's lawyers) to pay a visit to Molvania. And, maybe if enough people do this, the culture and laws of this country will change and allow it to become more tourist friendly. Then even a novice traveller like myself may consider spending a weekend in Lutenblaag. We can only hope.
While living in Bulgaria, a German told me about this book and how uncanny it described living in the Balkans. It is presented as a guide book to a fictitious country in Eastern Europe.
When I finally got a hold of it, I couldn't believe how true that was! I swear the pictures even looked like my experiences!
I have read reviews on other searches where readers are angered and call it insensitive, but this book is a satire and I would welcome reading one of my own country as well!
En varmaankaan spoilaa, jos mainitsen, että vitsi kantoi ehkä parinkymmenen sivun verran.
"Matkaopasta" tuli selailtua vähän kerrassaan. Suuri osa jäi lukematta, mutta niin tämän genren kirjoissa kai on tarkoituskin. Välillä oli ihan hauskaa, mutta enimmäkseen vaivaannuttavaa. Yleensä pidän parodiasta enemmän.
"Molvanian is a difficult language to speak, let alone master. There are four genders: male, female, neutral, and the collective noun for cheeses, which occupies a nominative sub-section of its very own." This book is funny throughout all 175 pages. Genius.
This was, without a doubt, the funniest book I've ever read. I can't count the number of times I cried my makeup off! The authors of this book COMPLETELY MADE UP this country, Molvania. And then wrote an entire guide book about it. If you were unfamiliar with geography, and just skimmed the inside and outside of this book, you would think this country really existed. Nowhere is there any hint this is a farce, until you start reading the book in depth. I guess I got such a kick out of this book because I've just been in the Czech Republic (Molvania is "located" in Eastern Europe). Bits of this book can be very similar to the former Communist lifestyle you can still see traces of in the Czech Republic. The photos in the book are completely unappealing. The people featured are missing teeth, wearing completely outdated clothing and dour expressions. All photos of the landscape are in shades of grey and brown. The cities are made up of Communist-era block buildings. In short, after viewing these photos, you'll be "dying" to visit Molvania! Not only do they describe the history and tourist sites of Molvania, but they also tell you where to stay and what to eat. These descriptions are, of course, fraught with potential disaster. I don't know how these writers can be so consistently funny. And where did they come up with this idea? It's brilliant! The end of the book describes upcoming volumes in the Jetlag series (Viva San Sombrero! Central American's Forgotten Jewel, Aloha Takki Tikki! The South Pacific's Forgotten Jewel, and Let's Go Bongoswana!) I would love to read more, but alas...since this whole book is a lie, I don't know what to believe! (I loved this so much I bought it as gifts for fellow travelers!)
Overall I did like this book but I read it over an extended period of time because after a while it's a bit of a joke gone on too long. I did laugh many times while reading this and particularly enjoyed the random pictures with the even more random explanations underneath.
Heel origineel, dat is het minste wat je van deze parodie kunt zeggen. Alleen verveelt het al vrij snel. Net als een echte reisgids, dient dit boek niet om helemaal uit te lezen. Hoogstens om op de stoel bij de kapper te leggen en er hier en daar wat grappige passages uit te pikken.
This is definitely not one to read all at once, as the joke can become quite stale. It's for flipping through on a dreary day, or when the Tube is delayed.
Anyone whose ever carried around a tattered copy of Let’s Go while backpacking through Eastern Europe will appreciate the wit and humor in this book. Absolutely hilarious.
Узнала об этой книге недавно из телеграма Knigsovet. Покупать такое я бы не собралась. Но мы зашли в магазинчик при городской свалке, и пока муж искал дешёвые запчасти для велосипеда (не нашёл) я покопалась в коробке с бесплатными книгами и нашла вот это. Значит, надо брать. Книга смешная от первой страницы до последней. Читать надо всё, включая карты и условные обозначения. Юмор базируется на стереотипах о Восточной Европе и Балканах: серость, нищета, алкоголизм, преступность. Хотя это очень примитивное и обобщённое представление о целом регионе, вообще-то всё справедливо - и потому очень смешно. Я когда ездила навещать родственников в России много лет назад, абсолютно каждый спросил меня, что на Западе думают о России, что о ней говорят, - и я терялась, потому что вообще никто из моих знакомых о ней не говорил никогда. Теперь я точно знаю, что отвечать на подобный вопрос: The highpoint of this museum is its display of royal artefacts, a collection of gold, silver and embroidery, dating mainly from the 16th century, which was hidden in the walls of the arsenal in September 1939 to protect it from Russian invaders. The collection was only discovered again in 1992, ironically by Russian tradesmen installing an air-conditioning unit, who immediately made off with most of the treasures.
Вот ещё об алкоголизме: The local drink in these parts is jzrnflek, a fierce liquor usually made from juniper berries and brake fluid. It is traditionally served before funerals (about two weeks before as a general rule, depending on the skill of the intensive care doctor) and it is considered quite an honour to be offered a glass. Rather than cause offence, the polite thing to do is accept a small amount and pretend to drink. If any of the liquor is accidentally swallowed there is no need to induce vomiting. This will happen quite naturally.
И о КГБ: Just off main square you'll find the historic Worker's Theatre where anti-government plays about social justice and political reform were frequently performed. The acoustics at this theatre were sid to be so good that one could whisper on stage and be clearly heard in the Information Ministry building across the road.
Мне очень понравилось. У них есть ещё "путеводители" по собирательным образам стран Азии и Латинской Америки, но в отзывах пишут, что шутки одни и те же, и что получилось менее удачно. Это будет жемчужина моей книжной коллекции (тем более, что от более-менее приличных книг я давно избавилась и перешла на электронные - конкуренции на полках составить нечему).
I saw this book on a bookshelf of a dentist’s waiting room, picked it up, and within about two minutes was laughing so hard that I had tears rolling down my face.
The concept is simple: it is a spoof travel guide to an Eastern European hellhole country. What is quite exceptional about it is the quality of the execution. It is simply hilarious. Unlike in a novel, in which comedy tends to produce diminishing marginal returns, the format lends itself to the book being picked up for just two or three minutes at a time, during which time I’ve invariably found myself laughing out loud at something.
My initial humour in the dentist’s surgery stemmed from the food section for one of the towns, and the recommendation of a restaurant in a nearby village. The guide explains that finding a cab in the village to take you home afterwards is difficult: “One option is to take a cab there and then invite your driver in for a light meal. Most are happy to do so in return for a bowl of soup and 2L carafe of house wine.” Turning randomly to a different page I then read of a small local museum where entrance is free but “there is a small charge for leaving”.
I have literally found something every couple of pages that will make me laugh out loud. The language section includes the useful phrases “What is that smell?” and “What happened to your teeth?”, as well as a more sophisticated entry about the complex syntactical structure of written Molvanian, with its routine use of the triple negative, an example being of the formal way to ask whether one can drink the water: “is it not that the water is not not undrinkable?”.
Literally, one of the funniest books I’ve ever read. Do whatever it takes to find a copy.
I hope it will not spoil anyone pleasure if I disclose, that it is a travel guide of a non-existent country. The idea was good and gave a scope for writing quite interesting/witty/surprising book. In my opinion 25% value of the book is carefully planned scenario for a travel guide, 15% for sense of humour. And what about remaining 60%. It was wasted on rather primitive vulgarities. I found it quite disgusting.
Just not funny. Tries too hard. Same, predictable joke over and over and over again. A lot of countries have bad teeth, for real. It's just like reading Lonely Planet, real life is funnier than this book.
With some occasional giggles, reading the same formula for a joke quickly becomes monotonous. This is meant to sit on a waiting-room table and skimmed through. Reading it in one go is pure drudgery.