Mention Books Supposing The Happy Isles of Oceania: Paddling the Pacific
| Original Title: | The Happy Isles of Oceania: Paddling the Pacific |
| ISBN: | 0449908585 (ISBN13: 9780449908587) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Paul Theroux
Paperback | Pages: 528 pages Rating: 4 | 5425 Users | 284 Reviews
Specify Out Of Books The Happy Isles of Oceania: Paddling the Pacific
| Title | : | The Happy Isles of Oceania: Paddling the Pacific |
| Author | : | Paul Theroux |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 528 pages |
| Published | : | 1993 by Ballantine (first published 1992) |
| Categories | : | Travel. Nonfiction. Autobiography. Memoir. Adventure |
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"Possibly his best travel book...an observant and frequently hilarious account of a trip that took him to 51 Pacific Islands."TIME
Renowned travel writer and novelist Paul Theroux has been many places in his life and tried almost everything. But this trip in and around the lands of the Pacific may be his boldest, most fascinating yet. From New Zealand's rain forests, to crocodile-infested New Guinea, over isolated atolls, through dirty harbors, daring weather and coastlines, he travels by Kayak wherever the winds take him--and what he discovers is the world to explore and try to understand.
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Ratings: 4 From 5425 Users | 284 ReviewsComment On Out Of Books The Happy Isles of Oceania: Paddling the Pacific
This is the second travel book Ive read by Paul Theroux, the first having recounted his experiences during a walk around the periphery of Britain. This present work, published in 1992, describes his visit to New Zeeland and Australia and subsequent kayaking throughout the islands of the South Pacific. I enjoyed the work, moderately, but its length and the sameness of his experiences resulted in a tedium that increased as the chapters unfolded.Theroux characteristically views foreign lands andTropical paradise? Forget about it! After divorcing his first wife, Paul Theroux went for a long journey in the South Pacific, visiting all of 51 islands. The result of his travels was The Happy Isles of Oceania: Paddling the Pacific, a somewhat less than halcyon view of Oceania, including Australia, New Zealand, and Hawaii. Perhaps the collapse of his marriage had something to do with it, but Theroux did not find much to like in the Happy Isles: In fact, most places get an outright pan, as
Paul Therouxs The Happy Isles of OceaniaIm a big fan of Paul Theroux, at least his travel literature (the only novel of his Ive read is Waldo, his debut, which, despite moments of hilarity, doesnt quite come off). In the travel genre, Ive 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 good to outstanding. Time
I always like to spend my travel time with the world's leading chronicler of assorted miseries, Paul Theroux, and the idea of the South Pacific has been quite appealing to me lately. He finds things to love-- Hawaii, Easter Island, the Trobriands-- and a great deal to hate as well. And when he hates, he often delivers a hell of a zinger-- that the Fijians, once cannibals, now wanted to push their Indian population out, like diners sending a meal back to the kitchen, for instance.But oftentimes,
This travel book by my favorite travel author, Paul Theroux, did not disappoint. Written back in 1992, it is an account of a trip taken through the Pacific Islands shortly after the breakup of his first marriage. Setting off from New Zealand, he travels to Papua New Guinea and then follows the clusters of islands throughout the Pacific Ocean, passing through Easter Island and finishing his trip in Hawaii. Not everything is pleasant in the Happy Isles as I learned that the island of Kahoolawe,
Travel writing isn't easy. I've read books that start off as engaging, but quickly lose the reader with dense facts, boring subtleties and the rigors of a timeline based storytelling ("this happened, and then this happened, and then this happened."). Yes, this book has the facts, the subtleties and the rigors, but they are never too dense or rigorous or boring. Paul Theroux is a gifted writer and in this book, he managed to keep me hooked all through its 528 pages. The fact that I traveled to
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 these
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