Rating: 
Summary: Not much happiness here.
Review: Mean spirited and critical, Theroux's account of his voyage around the pacific suggests he would have done better to stay at home. Polynesians are broadly depicted as lumbering, shiftless pickpockets with Theroux choosing to include a quite shameful story about a stolen travellers cheque which he countersigns for a Samoan woman. I taught at a college in Tonga in the early nineties and have visited most of the places Theroux covers, including Western Samoa. I only ever found the most gracious and noble people who went well out of their way to be of assistance with everything and whose fundamental decency I still recall. This anti-Jap, anti-Wog romp masquerading as a travel journal will be offensive to many people. Theroux's racism is subtle and it is all the more dislikeable for its subtlety. I came away from The Happy isles Of Oceania with a fresh view on Theroux as well a sudden, irrational impulse to take a shower. This clever, unpleasant book is not a literary island I intend to visit again.
Rating: 
Summary: A tortured soul paddles the South Pacific.
Review: Mr Theroux did it the hard way in a collapsible kayak but his own emotional turmoil alienated him from the beauty through which he struggled. His description of the physical environment was, at times, piercingly accurate but his perception of it appeared to be distorted by chronic loneliness and a dismal lack of self esteem; indeed most references to the humans he tried to avoid were severely skewed toward the sinister. I have lived and worked in many of the places he visited yet never experienced the kind of desperation he exudes. The culture of the South Pacific is highly developed and far more complex than the "paradise" European Artists and glossy brochures would leave you to believe - it's attractiveness is as much social as visual, but a deeper understanding is required . Mr Theroux's tortured emotions have spilled onto the page to the detriment of journalistic accuracy. Some may think this adds to the charm of his story; to me it represents a vaguely cathartic voyage through personal misery rather than an intelligent portrayal of a part of our world that is simply sublime. The prose is polished by skill but this is most definitely not the South Pacific of a relaxed and rational mind
Rating:
Summary: Interesting although laces with anti-Japanese sentiment
Review: Not a bad read but I was disappointed by the author's tirades against the "Nipponization" of the Pacific. I'm sure the author does not use the term "Nipponization" in a affectionate manner.
Rating: 
Summary: Exploring the island cultures of the Pacific ocean
Review: Opinionated? You bet. But that's what makes Theroux's books so interesting. Aren't you tired of the same old "what a beautiful Pacific paradise" type of description? Find out how it really is by reading a fascinating account of an extended trip throughout the South Pacific (and Hawaii). He doesn't miss many places and he stays long enough at each place to cover it thoroughly. If nothing else, Theroux is an extremely observant person and this is what I find so interesting
Rating: 
Summary: too overtly anti-japanese
Review: paul theroux is so anti-japanese, worse than prejudiced, and his racism shows strongest in this book, though his verbal venom for japanese people is apparent in many of his other books as well. this book is a confirmation that travel can reinforce prejudices.
Rating: 
Summary: Journey of one opinionated lonely guy
Review: Paul Theroux seems to despise most of Oceania except for his stay in Hawaii. Only thing he dislikes more than the Islands themselves are the bourgeois white people who inhabit the islands along with the natives. Mr. Theroux is particularly mean spirited to the Australians. Having never been there, I can presume most Aussies to be racist drunks from the book. Of course any travel book without strong opinions would be boring and Mr. Theroux is anything but. I thoroughly enjoy all of his books and I am currently reading the "Pillars of Hercules". (Guess what, he doesn't like Spain)
Rating:
Summary: Only for people with a sense of humor...
Review: People who love Paul Theroux's travel books read them and love them for the exact same reasons that many readers despise them. He is unflinchingly honest, witty,egotistical, intrepid, well-read but never over-romanticizes the people or the locales he visits. I live on one of the Happy Isles and hope Paul comes back to visit soon. And for God's sake --lighten up!!
Rating:
Summary: Kayaking Oceania with Archie Bunker
Review: The idea of touring Oceania by kayak is an interesting one, but I was VERY DISAPPOINTED with Theroux’s book. I’m assuming Theroux was trying to be ironic by calling Oceania "happy," because the book reads like a 500-page complaint form. I don’t believe this is a genuine attempt at giving any insight into the people or places of the Pacific.He complains about islanders who don’t smile at him on the street, or who react to him with caution or suspicion. Rather than asking himself WHY they react this way (gee, maybe it’s because he’s a single, white, male STRANGER walking into their village…), rather than trying to understand, he simply labels them unfriendly, "fat," "stupid," "lazy," "clumsy" (his words). When he doesn’t find the young, nubile females he was hoping for, he insults the friendly women he does find, calling them "hooting fatties" with "fat, booby faces." On island after island, he ridicules people’s physical appearance and makes assumptions about their intelligence based on that. Is that what a travel writer does? A professional writer? Heck, is that what a mature adult does? When every other tourist is like Mr. Theroux, is it any wonder that islanders are so reserved or distrustful? When your home has been overrun and your culture wrung-out by Europeans and Asians for centuries, is it such a surprise that islanders might tend to look at them with a wary eye? He expresses near-hatred of Japanese for coming to the Pacific and "taking over"...but forgets that Euros/Americans have been doing the same thing for hundreds of years. The level of contempt he seems to express toward everyone he encounters is remarkable, yet he continually boo-hoos about how lonely he is...is it any wonder? If you’re looking for a detailed list of strip joints in Honolulu, this is the book for you - he seems to have visited every single one and describes their "specialties." If you want a book about Oceania, look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: A travel novel about the author and not the destinations.
Review: The title 'The Happy Isles of Oceania' can only be ironic. In this book of Theroux's travels around Australasia and the islands of the Pacific, happiness is one emotion that is noticeable by its absence. The opening chapter on New Zealand, in which its inhabitants are variously described as frightful, scruffy and dirty, sets the tone for the rest of the book. According to Theroux, every Pacific island is inhabited by a lazy, mendacious, tardy, thieving and lying populace devoid of culture and manners. Fellow travellers to these islands do not escape the wrath of Theroux's pen as they are collectively dismissed as fat, ignorant, oafish and rude. Yet for all his criticisms of other people for being rude, racist, indifferent and obdurate, the clear impression from reading the book is that Theroux is the worst offender of the lot. Even though the book is over 700 pages long, little interest is paid to the description of his destinations in terms of the natural habitat and the flora and fauna; which I imagine is one of the obvious attractions of the Pacific. Instead the book concentrates almost solely on the author's brooding following a separation from his wife and on his utter disdain for all he meets. Sadly, my lasting impression was not one of beautiful sandy beaches, blue lagoons or vibrant coral reefs, but of a sad and bitter old man who would do well to paddle to a deserted island and not return.
Rating:
Summary: I read it twice
Review: Theroux is a gifted writer, troubling because he is uncompromising and often comes across as a difficult person. He does not try to gloss over the flaws of his personality. He is strongly in the curmudgeonly vein of H.L. Mencken, who also enjoyed using words that you probably never heard before but are undeniably the perfect word in context. This book intertwines an internal odyssey and a physical journey. Very clearly a book that can be enjoyed on two levels depending on your mood or the effort you are willing to bring to the task.
|
