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Title: Happy Isles of Oceania : Paddling the Pacific
ISBN: 0140862560
Author:
Paul Theroux
Publicate Date: 1999-12
Publish: 1999-12
List Price: $16.95
Average Customer Rating: 3.5
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest Used Price: $6.62
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Really helpful
I can understand how this book would offend some people from Oceania, as there are lots of unflattering descriptions of people Mr. Theroux encountered on his journey. There are, however, lots of lovely and interesting people and places described. In any event, I had the opportunity to take a trip to Tonga and I heard some negative things about it from several people. One man told me that his brother had been and didn't feel safe and thought it would be really unsafe for women. I was surprised, but went back to reading my Lonely Planet guide with a more critical eye. I found the statement, "While the threat of rape does exist"... taking precautions like not walking around alone on empty beaches, etc, should keep women safe. That it even needed to be mentioned seemed telling to me. So I bought this travel book to get a more thorough description from someone opinionated and a little cranky, like me (I read Dark Star Safari and respect his opinion) and I found it really enlightening. Yes, it's slanted, but it's slanted from the point of view of an American who isn't used to the more unfortunate and seemingly common aspects of some Pacific Islands' cultures, with their stealing, with their often nasty treatment of outsiders (jeering and insults), and with the threat of violence. Of course, in the wrong neighborhood almost anywhere in America, these things occur, but that's not the point here. These kinds of things are really useful for an outsider (especially a female) to know going in and I really appreciated being able to read this book and radically readjust my naive idea of the Happy Isles as looking and feeling like a Gauguin painting. I recommend this book.
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2: Unapologetically Direct
A terrific read, Theroux has the courage to be politically incorrect in an age where Americans fear speaking the truth of their own experience.
As a travel writer myself, I am always astonished when someone is angered because my travel experience does not mirror his own, as is the case with other reviewers here.
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3: Yes - he should have stayed home
It's been some years since I read this book but it still comes back loud and clear - what a bitter person he was. He "toured" the South Pacific right after he got divorced - and he distrusted and hated everybody. The book was published as we (me, wife and 2 teenagers) we sailing thru the SoPac in our sailboat - and having a wonderful time with the people, the islands, the beautiful environment - where people were happy and environmentally concerned - and this was 1991-1995. We loved it all and he was a bitter fool to miss it all.
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4: Theroux should've stayed home....
Good grief, if I wanted a tale filled with hours of tooth-gnashing hatred and bitter invective I can just go to work. It's certainly not the sort of atmosphere I enjoy when reading a travelogue to try and escape my workaday existence.
I understand that the South Pacific is not the ideal place, but it is depressing to read Theroux' constant struggle to express any sense of joy in his travels or the people he meets along the way.
For an alternative, more light-hearted, still realistic take on the South Pacific with far less spleen, I highly recommend Tony Horowitz' "Blue Latitudes".
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5: A wonderful travel journal of a non-tourist !
Theroux is a master observer with a keen eye and a sharp wit. In this book he delves deep into Polynesia and Oceana and it's characters and culture.
He uses a collapsible kayak that he packs from place to place to help him get away from the troubles in his life. Along the way, he has plenty of encounters. The result of which is a funny and interesting look behind the scenes and in out of the way places at the way people on these islands live, what they believe and how they go about their lives.
It's a great read, and has inspired more than a few of my own adventures !
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