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Jan 17, 2008

Pattie rated it:

I would NEVER want to travel with (or spend any time with) Paul Theroux, but damned can he conjure up a sense of place. Cranky, complaining and mean-spirited, but vastly entertaining.

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Dec 09, 2008

Mukikamu rated it:

Here I am, stepping into something huge again. Paul Theroux is one of the most popular travel writers of our times and I am fully aware that it will take me years to eat myself through his literature. He has several essential travel volumes to choose from and hereby I officially promise to report on The Great Railway Bazaar and The Old Patagonian Express A.S.A.P..

The volume I read this time was The Happy Isles of Oceania and to be perfectly honest, after the poetic and respectful adm More...

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Aug 26, 2008

Jamie rated it:

Damnit Paul Theroux, once again you made this book work by the skin of your teeth. Almost as if you can make your books work by sheer force of will and effort as opposed to any clear message. And somehow that works.

So the gimmick or setting of this Paul Theroux travel book is a year and a half, yup, a year and a half spent traipsing through the Pacific islands with a collapsible kayak. Theroux is a master of creating this fantasy of perfect travel: exquisitely written little vignette More...

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Jul 02, 2008

Oceana2602 rated it:

Ah, Theroux! How much do I love Theroux?

This is one of my favourite books by him, not only because of where he is traveling. I know, many readers don't like Theroux because he is so seemingly negative. I've heard people ask why he doesn't stay at home if he doesn't like what he sees, but see, I don't think he doesn't like where he is. But he is human, and he sees and describes the world he travels thruogh as a human.

So if you expect great travel writing to sound like " More...

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Aug 10, 2011

Fc added it

1992- 733pp

Theroux launches out on a tantalizing adventure with the plan to kayak the shimmering Pacific from island to island, exploring its surfy coasts and blue lagoons, and happily taking up residence to discover the secrets of these seemingly happy isles. He compares the vast Pacific to the Universe: each island like a distant star, each archipelago like a galaxy. His travels begin in what he calls “Meganesia”: the great islands of New Zealand, where he walks the mountain trails of the More...

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Aug 07, 2011

Andrew added it

I've been on a Paul Theroux kick (not kicking Paul Theroux, as is some reviewers' wont) and I thought I'd acknowledge my appreciation for his work with a review of this book, which is the first Theroux travelogue I encountered. Frankly, I knew nothing about Polynesia and Melanesia, so I was as curious as Theroux undoubtedly was. And who can't help but being initially captivated by tiny, nearly vertical islands surrounded by thousands of miles of ocean?

It's a fascinating journey. Many of the More...

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Feb 18, 2009

Duncan rated it:

After reading a short amount and meditating for a while I felt the need to stop reading the Theroux. It seems like my desire to read Harry Potter may have been concealing the desire to stop reading Theroux. I got the Theroux in Luang Prabang since a few years ago a good friend recommended his travel writings to me. 200 pages into what some call his best (according to the cover) I don't want to read anymore. In some ways I do - it is interesting to read about his trip paddling through Oceania, bu More...

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Sep 18, 2009

Anna rated it:

The book is mostly a narrative of the author's travesl: the people he meets along the way, the places he visits (never to a tourist trap though), and his various complaints. Theroux has a wry humor that appeals to me, and, overall, I enjoyed the book. I like his descriptions of people and that he compares the historical cultures of the various Oceanic islands. He is a grumpy fellow, however, and I kept hoping he would find more joy in life as he traveled, but it was not to be.

He More...

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Jun 02, 2009

Stephanie rated it:

I also chose this book, Happy Isles of Oceania: Paddling the Pacific, by Paul Theroux, in preparation for our trip to Hawaii (alas, now at least a month in the past). Mr. Theroux describes the journey he began in New Zealand, a journey essentially retracing the steps (!) of the ancient Polynesians as they settled the islands of the Pacific. Mr. Theroux traveled by airplane, not by outrigger canoe, but he carried a little collapsible boat with him, and made sure to get some paddling in at each More...

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Aug 15, 2011

Ian rated it:

In 1991, at the end of a failed marriage, Theroux travelled from New Zealand to Hawaii spending a good amount of time in a collapsible kayak. His wry impressions of the people and places he encountered make for a transcendent journey for the author and, at times, the reader. Although pretentious on a few occasions (listening to Vivaldi while paddling along the shore of Easter Island) Theroux's prose is remarkably honest and human, revealing the foibles, loneliness, humor, and discomfort (as well More...

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Nov 07, 2010

Elizabeth rated it:

Mr. Theroux, an often sardonic observer of humanity, takes his readers along for a trip in a collapsible kayak through the Pacific islands. He spends time touring New Zealand and Australia before beginning his paddling journey to places like Fiji, Samoa and Easter Island. He pays attention to cultural moods and intricacies and often notices and brings to light the ever present absurdities. Additionally, he is never afraid to ask the uncomfortable question, which makes him interchangeably admira More...

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Feb 14, 2011

Mallory rated it:

Beginning in New Zealand and ending in Hawaii, Paul Theroux's trip to the Pacific region and its plenteous islands is well-chronicled. He paddles his kayak in huge tourist destinations and other places that most would be hard-pressed to find on a map. There is always surprise and adventure awaiting him on each new island. What is most revealing is how many of these seemingly "isolated" places have lost their culture entirely. Yet in spite of some of the depressing snapshots of island l More...

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Aug 31, 2010

Amy rated it:

Huh. Well. What to say about this book that won't put off the rest of my book club fellows before they've read it.

I did not enjoy this book. I think it probably could've been named "The Depressing Isles of Oceania" and been a lot more accurate.

The author is not a very happy person as he travels in his collapsible kayak around the isles. This is perhaps a bit understandable as he & his wife have just split up.

However, there doesn't seem to be anythin More...

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Jan 15, 2009

Reza rated it:

Beautiful writing and my favorite book of all time.

"We sped onward. There were no lights on shore. It was as though we were in an old rickety rocket ship.

It was an image that afterwards often came to me when I was traveling in the Pacific, that this ocean was as vast as outer space, and being on this boat was like shooting from one star to another, the archipelagoes like galaxies, and the islands like isolated stars in an empty immensity of watery darkness, and this

More...

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May 27, 2011

Jerjonji rated it:

I have a serious love/hate relationship with Theroux. Usually he leaves me with a severe case of travel envy and a longing to follow his path, to meet the people he met, to see the things he's seen, but not so with this book. Theroux in Paradise thinks it's hell- mostly. As he kayaks around the Polyesian islands in a collapsible kayak, he complains and moans about everything- from the things he's running away from to the insects to the people on the islands. His bitterness pours out of every pag More...

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Nov 05, 2010

Ahimsa rated it:

This is overall an enjoyable read. It's considered maybe the best travel book by maybe the best travel writer; in it Paul Theroux visits 50 islands in the Pacific, including the biggest in the world (hint: it has kangaroos.) It's hard to find fault with the scope: he kayaks and camps on islands both inhabited and empty. He's Robinson Crusoe with an enormous bank account.

But I still don't know what to think of Paul Theroux as a writer. I appreciate that he has embarked (it was written i More...

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Sep 28, 2009

Merty rated it:

I loved visiting all these islands with Mr. Paul Theroux.
I especially found the last few chapters interesting on
the 2 Hawaiian islands, that one hears so little about.

I feel that P.T. came to full circle as he feels the
painful emotions of his failed relationship but thru
a talk with David Lange, ex-Prime Minister of New
Zealand, one gets a sense that all that paddeling
the Pacific was a healing experience for our author,
and that seeing how som More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 20, 2010

MB rated it:

A very dense book but fun. What a trip! I would love to do something like that. It would have been nice to see pictures--I feel that would have really added to my enjoyment. (Note: I'm reading an older edition than is pictured here.)

This was my first book by Theroux, so I don't know if his life situation at the time colored his outlook, or if this was standard for him, but this was not a particularly upbeat or happy travelogue. Maybe this is typical of him? I thought he seem More...

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Oct 09, 2011

Charles rated it:

This book was really neat. Mr. Theroux took a year to kayak around many Pacific islands in a collapsible travel kayak. He navigates around sharks, warring tribes, head hunters, and new age Hawaiians. I found that he was happier in this book than some others. He is a sharp observer, even if I don't agree with all his thoughts. He shows how travel can test one's civility. I appreciate that he doesn't hide this, and shares his experiences warts and all. Culture shock sneaks up on you, surpri More...

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Jul 18, 2010

Meg rated it:

Interesting book about my current corner of the world. Makes me want to see more of it. Reminds me how awesome it is to be here now (even despite Theroux's all-too-true scathing chapter on Am.Sam). Some have argued that there is a racist streak to his observations. I was at times a little taken-aback by his broad generalizations regarding an entire people, and yet, there are some major cultural differences between American expectations and the "harsh" reality of life here. These are w More...

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Oct 19, 2009

Bradley rated it:

Although this was not my favorite of his books, I still really enjoyed Theroux's way of looking at the world from the cockpit of his kayak. I really enjoyed the contrast between the luxury bungalow and camping on the beach, and now have a whole new list of places that I want to visit. Just like his two "By train through Asia" books (Railway Bazzaar and Ghost Train), Theroux has a hard time disguising his dislike of Japanese throughout this book. At the same time, his animosity this More...

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Dec 14, 2011

Troy rated it:

Paul Theroux’s The Happy Isles of Oceania

I’m a big fan of Paul Theroux, at least his travel literature (the only novel of his I’ve read is Waldo, his debut, which, despite moments of hilarity, doesn’t quite come off). In the travel genre, I’ve read his The Great Railway Bazaar, The Kingdom by the Sea, The Pillars of Hercules, Dark Star Safari, Riding the Iron Rooster, and Ghost Train to the Eastern Star.

The Great Railway Bazaar is a masterpiece, the others merely very go More...

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Sep 11, 2010

Richelle rated it:

My head is always spinning after reading a book by Paul Theroux. He writes about so many places, he meets so many interesting characters, and he recounts more travel memories than most will have in a lifetime. Sure, some may write that he is a bit of a curmudgeon (which he is) who only engages in misanthropy, but I think his thoughtful writing reveals much more about him than that.

My favorite sections in this book were Australia, New Zealand, the Trobriands, Easter Island, and Hawai More...

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Feb 06, 2009

Dorothy rated it:

Snot is a word that recurs again and again in Theroux's telling of his paddling in the Pacific. It seems that on every island that he visits, from Australia to the Marquesas, children's faces are covered in it. He describes a child's snot-smeared face "shining in the sun" as he leaves one island.

Now, I freely admit that I am hypersensitive to this word because I consider it one of the ugliest in the English language. So perhaps I am obsessing over it just a bit, but so, More...

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Jul 05, 2009

Sarah rated it:

This is one of the worst books I've ever read. I'm at the last section of the book and I'm amazed that I've made it this far without giving up. I thought this book was going to be a great ode to the Pacific islands, but instead it was just one man's cynical and downtrodden tirade. Theroux managed to make sweeping generalizations about every group of people he came across, and you were lucky if you could read an entire page without him bitching about how lazy or dumb people were.

I kn More...

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Apr 22, 2008

Ellen rated it:

I have read many of Theroux's travel narratives and enjoy them very much. The Happy Isles is more self-indulgent than the others I have read, particularly in the beginning, where Theroux is struggling to come to grips with his separation from his wife and trying to put his best foot forward on his book tour in Australia. I am not opposed to travelogues being introspective but the trouble is that for much of the rest of the book, the writing is steadfastly outward looking, with Theroux acting a More...

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Oct 26, 2007

L.J. rated it:

An excellent book on a place very seldom encountered in literary circles as Theroux doesn't sneak off to Hawaii or Bora Bora for the beaches. This is the real South Pacific with places so desolate and forgotten that it takes someone like him to explore it, and not just a quick flight in and out sort of travel, but by collapsable kayak. It is a great read, describing cultures far removed from the busy world of television and computers. He mixes his patented cynicism with gloriously beautiful land More...

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Jun 21, 2007

Raghu rated it:

This is one of my favorite books of Paul Theroux's. Unlike many of his other books, he comes off as an adventurer as well in this book, spending 18 months alone on a kayak and exploring the many islands of the south pacific. Needless to say, he is scholarly as well in his writings on the Pacific islanders and their history.
As usual, he is not given to the hyperbole about how wonderful the pacific islands and the islanders are, a la James Michener. He is caustic about Australians and the K More...

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Dec 31, 2010

Jim rated it:

Not content with having individuals dislike him, Theroux managed to turn the whole of New Zealand against him by slagging it off in this book. That should be worth five stars in itself, but I wasn't too taken with this travelogue. The author idly paddles between islands in Polyneasia - travelling by canoe ensures he'll meet as few people as possible - moaning and bitching for most of the way. Maybe I'll return to this book at some point though, because I failed to finish it first time 'round.

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Jan 19, 2011

Lois Joy rated it:

Interesting read, as are all of Theroux's books, but I disagree with many of his conclusions about Pacific Islands. I am currently writing my second book, SAILING THE SOUTH PACIFIC, and as my readers will note, we fell in love with many of the islands he hated. A lot had to do, I think, with Theroux's state of mind at the time; he had recently gone through a painful divorce, I believe. Finally, when he reached Hawaii, he had something good to say!

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