Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Ballantine Books (1993), Edition: First Edition, Paperback, 528 pages
Description
Biography & Autobiography. Travel. Nonfiction. HTML:The author of The Great Railway Bazaar explores the South Pacific by kayak: "This exhilarating epic ranks with [his] best travel books" (Publishers Weekly). In one of his most exotic and adventuresome journeys, travel writer Paul Theroux embarks on an eighteen-month tour of the South Pacific, exploring fifty-one islands by collapsible kayak. Beginning in New Zealand's rain forests and ultimately coming to shore thousands of miles away in Hawaii, Theroux paddles alone over isolated atolls, through dirty harbors and shark-filled waters, and along treacherous coastlines. Along the way, Theroux meets the king of Tonga, encounters street gangs in Auckland, and investigates a cargo cult in Vanuatu. From Australia to Tahiti, Fiji, Easter Island, and beyond, this exhilarating tropical epic is full of disarming observations and high adventure.… (more)
Media reviews
A sense of being beyond the reach of civilization comes when, in his intrepid kayak, off Easter Island and between the rock-battering surf and the Pacific, Theroux removes his headphones, ``hears the immense roar of waves and the screaming wind,'' and is terrified. A vast and contemplative book,
Show More
seeing the ``Pacific as a universe, and the islands like stars in all that space.'' Informative not only for the voyager, but also for those wanting a new perspective on the Western continents of home. (Sorely lacking a map.) Show Less
The grand tour of Oceania ends with Mr. Theroux describing travel writing as "a horrid preoccupation that I practiced only with my left hand." He then proceeds to make the claim that "I was not sure what I did for a living or who I was, but I was absolutely sure I was not a travel writer." "The
Show More
Happy Isles of Oceania," with its studiously cynical vision of paradise lost, should make excellent reading for those people who don't want to travel or don't like to travel. It will reassure them that it is best to stay at home and not think too much about how else they might lead their lives. Paul Theroux has long since mastered the craft of writing, but, after finishing this book, I found myself wondering if he will ever master the fine art of travel. Show Less
The Press
One journalist has cast doubt on Theroux’s account of his dinner with Dame Cath because he had neither tape recorder nor notebook at hand. However, speaking as one of his victims, I have news on that score. I ran into Paul Theroux in Port Moresby in 1991 and spent a few hours with him in shops
Show More
looking at carvings, which I was there researching at the time. We chatted for over an hour, said our good-byes, and I thought no more of it.
What an bracing little shock then to find myself in this book. I have a different name and the place of our encounter has been changed, but Theroux has managed to record with uncanny accuracy what I told him. I imagine he holds conversations long enough in his memory to write them down as soon as he is alone. My page in The Happy Isles leaves me both astonished and mildly embarrassed. Did I say that those villagers on one occasion I recounted to him “almost shat in their pants”? Well, uh, I did. People who loose their tongues in the presence of writers have no right to complain.
Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member downstreamer
This book is well researched and intimate, providing vivid descriptions of the many islands Theroux visited.
What Theroux captures so well is the marginal nature of the islanders, their sometimes pointless existence, and their inability to rise above their circumstances. He is particularly hard on
The islands are very difficult to reach, having steep cliffs down to the sea and no good harbors. At one time the Marquesas supported an estimated population of 80,000 people but it is now down to about 7,000. As with Easter Island, and as with the Mayan empire, The Marquesas is rich in archeological remains which testify to a complex but largely forgotten culture. Ecological disaster seems to be at the root of the de-population. Stone temples covered in thick vines can be found in inpenetrable jungle hills and valleys. Many of these sites have never been excavated, but most have been defaced by overzealous 19th century missionaries intent on whacking off offending penises and such. Most of the native islanders have never visited any of the sites, even the ones in their own backyards, and they have no particular interest in their history - such is the dissapating effect of missionaries and colonialization.
Here is what Theroux has to say at the end of his stay on the Marquesas:
“There is no cannibalism in the Marquesas anymore - none of the traditional kind. But there is the brutality of French colonialism…. The French praise and romanticize the Marquesas, but in the 1960s they had planned to test nuclear devices on the northern Marquesan island of Eiao, until there was such an outcry they changed their plans and decided to destroy Moruroa instead. It is said that the French are holding Polynesia together, but really it is so expensive to maintain that they do everything as cheaply as possible - and it is self-serving, too. Better to boost domestic French industries by exporting bottled water from France than investing in a fresh water supply for each island [there is an abundance of fresh water in the Marquesas]. That is what colonialism is all about… The French have left nothing enduring in the islands except a tradition of hypocrisy and their various fantasies off history and high levels of radioactivity..
“When France has succeeded in destroying a few more atolls, when they have managed to make the islands glow with so much radioactivity that night is turned into day, when they have sold the rest of the fishing rights and depleted it of fish.., when it has all been thoroughly plundered, the French will plan a great ceremony and grandly offer these unemployed and deracinated citizens in T-shirts and flip-flops their independence. In the destruction of the islands, the French imperial intention, its mission civilisatrice - civilizing mission - will be complete.”
What Theroux captures so well is the marginal nature of the islanders, their sometimes pointless existence, and their inability to rise above their circumstances. He is particularly hard on
Show More
the French colonial influence, especially in his chapters on Tahiti and the Marquesas. The Marquesas is where Melville based his novel Typee, and is also where Gaugin is buried (what a bastard he was!).The islands are very difficult to reach, having steep cliffs down to the sea and no good harbors. At one time the Marquesas supported an estimated population of 80,000 people but it is now down to about 7,000. As with Easter Island, and as with the Mayan empire, The Marquesas is rich in archeological remains which testify to a complex but largely forgotten culture. Ecological disaster seems to be at the root of the de-population. Stone temples covered in thick vines can be found in inpenetrable jungle hills and valleys. Many of these sites have never been excavated, but most have been defaced by overzealous 19th century missionaries intent on whacking off offending penises and such. Most of the native islanders have never visited any of the sites, even the ones in their own backyards, and they have no particular interest in their history - such is the dissapating effect of missionaries and colonialization.
Here is what Theroux has to say at the end of his stay on the Marquesas:
“There is no cannibalism in the Marquesas anymore - none of the traditional kind. But there is the brutality of French colonialism…. The French praise and romanticize the Marquesas, but in the 1960s they had planned to test nuclear devices on the northern Marquesan island of Eiao, until there was such an outcry they changed their plans and decided to destroy Moruroa instead. It is said that the French are holding Polynesia together, but really it is so expensive to maintain that they do everything as cheaply as possible - and it is self-serving, too. Better to boost domestic French industries by exporting bottled water from France than investing in a fresh water supply for each island [there is an abundance of fresh water in the Marquesas]. That is what colonialism is all about… The French have left nothing enduring in the islands except a tradition of hypocrisy and their various fantasies off history and high levels of radioactivity..
“When France has succeeded in destroying a few more atolls, when they have managed to make the islands glow with so much radioactivity that night is turned into day, when they have sold the rest of the fishing rights and depleted it of fish.., when it has all been thoroughly plundered, the French will plan a great ceremony and grandly offer these unemployed and deracinated citizens in T-shirts and flip-flops their independence. In the destruction of the islands, the French imperial intention, its mission civilisatrice - civilizing mission - will be complete.”
Show Less
LibraryThing member ubaidd
When I first read the description of The Happy Isles of Oceania I was impressed with the claim that theauthor had "paddled the Pacific". I thought he'd paddled across the ocean, Kon Tiki style. I was wrong. The subtext "Paddling the Pacific" refers to Mr. Theroux island hopping within groups of
At 526 pages, this travelogue has the usual Theroux touches - his relentless pursuit of places where no one else goes, discomfiting generalizations, references to great books about the places he's visiting and encounters with some memorable characters. For fans of Mr. Theroux' other travel writings, this one does not disappoint. Recommended. writings, this one does not disappoint. Recommended.
Show More
islands in his collapsible kayak. The book begins on a sad note - Mr. Theroux has parted with his wife and is expecting to hear back the results of a biopsy which could very well come back with news of cancer. The author heads to New Zealand and Australia ("Meganesia") on the pretext of a book tour and thus begins his delightful journey through the islands of the Pacific.At 526 pages, this travelogue has the usual Theroux touches - his relentless pursuit of places where no one else goes, discomfiting generalizations, references to great books about the places he's visiting and encounters with some memorable characters. For fans of Mr. Theroux' other travel writings, this one does not disappoint. Recommended. writings, this one does not disappoint. Recommended.
Show Less
LibraryThing member sushisimba
Having lived in the Pacific, I found Paul Theroux's impressions humorously accurate. He throws away all of the romantic myths about the islands. At times I found his writings somewhat mean-spirited and condescending, but overall "The Happy Isles of Oceania" was an entertaining read. "The Sex Lives
Show More
of Cannibals" would be a good accompanient. Show Less
LibraryThing member mtbearded1
I love Paul Theroux's travel books, and have been reading them for years. The railroad books enthrall me as I find train travel most enjoyable, but have ridden very few (if any) of the trains he has chronicled. In The Happy Isles of Oceania, Theroux takes us around the Pacific, visiting island
Show More
after island (and I'll forgive him the conceit of referring to Australia as an island), and once again, I felt I was there beside him. I must say that this book does not portray most of the islanders in a favorable light, but the scenery is spectacular. My only experience with crossing the Pacific was as a teenager on the President Lincoln, 13 days from San Francisco to Yokohama, and we saw no islands whatsoever in the north Pacific.. On the return trip, my father and I did spend three days on Oahu, but that was so long ago as to be ancient history at this point. My point is that reading Theroux makes me feel as if I have visited all these "happy isles." Thanks, Paul, for a great adventure. Show Less
LibraryThing member mahallett
the condensed version was like a sprinkling.
LibraryThing member untraveller
Second time through the book and I like it much more than the first. I've also since worked in Am. Samoa, which helped in my comprehension. There are so many passages that stand out where Theroux is poking fun at a group of people, something we all do, but writers tend to get called for because it
Show More
is in writing. Offhand, I'd also say that Theroux really does not like the Japanese as I'm still searching in any of his books for a favorable comment. I can second that emotion. He visits 51(+?) islands on this journey and I am extraordinarily jealous. Show Less
LibraryThing member Nero56
Theroux is his usual slightly cranky/hostile self. However, it is a very interesting read.
LibraryThing member pbjwelch
Reading this book saved me a lot of time and money as the further I read, the more I knew that the "happy isles" of Oceania were not for me. Paul Theroux has become my trusted travel advisor.
LibraryThing member addunn3
Paul's voyage and writing meandered around the Pacific, not telling much of a story.
LibraryThing member breic
Theroux takes planes, ferries, helicopters, and his kayak around fifty-odd Pacific islands. As usual, he's critical of all he sees, occasionally hypocritical, observant but prone to overgeneralization, often unhappy. But, he experiences a lot, he gets into conversation with a lot of people without
> Paddling along, the sound of the paddle or the slosh of the boat would startle the fish, and they would leap from the water and skim across the waves, shimmying upright, balancing on their tails – more than one, often eight or ten fish dancing across my bow as I paddled towards a happy island.
> “If someone, say your mother, gets bad sick, you feed your pig a lot of food. Get him fat.” “Because you might need him for your mother’s funeral?” “Right.” I could just imagine a sick Tongan’s sense of doom when he or she looked out the hut window and saw the family pig fattened. “Also your horse.” “To be in the funeral procession?” “Not the procession but the feast. We eat the horses.”
> Even with my stinging arm in this choppy sea, I would rather be here among the cathedral-like contours of the cliffs on this high island than seeing its architectural equivalent in Europe – and I knew that the next time I saw Westminster Abbey or Notre-Dame I would be instantly reminded of the soaring Na Pali coast and miss it terribly.
Show More
taking advantage of them, he's funny. I think what distinguishes this from the previous Theroux I read, "Dark Star Safari," is that Theroux overall very much enjoys his travels through the Pacific, and doesn't want them to end. The final set piece, of a total eclipse in Hawaii, is a little awkward, but still a cute ending. > Paddling along, the sound of the paddle or the slosh of the boat would startle the fish, and they would leap from the water and skim across the waves, shimmying upright, balancing on their tails – more than one, often eight or ten fish dancing across my bow as I paddled towards a happy island.
> “If someone, say your mother, gets bad sick, you feed your pig a lot of food. Get him fat.” “Because you might need him for your mother’s funeral?” “Right.” I could just imagine a sick Tongan’s sense of doom when he or she looked out the hut window and saw the family pig fattened. “Also your horse.” “To be in the funeral procession?” “Not the procession but the feast. We eat the horses.”
> Even with my stinging arm in this choppy sea, I would rather be here among the cathedral-like contours of the cliffs on this high island than seeing its architectural equivalent in Europe – and I knew that the next time I saw Westminster Abbey or Notre-Dame I would be instantly reminded of the soaring Na Pali coast and miss it terribly.
Show Less
LibraryThing member untraveller
The third time I’ve read the book, and I’ve enjoyed it each and every time. Thoreau is seen as caustic by many, but tis those very same attitudes that make the book so interesting. For example, his knock on the Japanese is both contemplative and fully warranted.
He does not cover the full range
He does not cover the full range
Show More
of the Pacific, but does a good job of the islands he does get to. Having worked and/or traveled to three of his destinations, his observations seem justifiable to me....maybe I’m also a caustic old-timer....read in Sri Lanka, finished 27.01.2020. Show Less
LibraryThing member starbox
I tend to have a nonfiction book on the go with a fiction...read your daily chapter of the n/f then you can indulge in the latter. It says something about Mr Theroux' writing abilities that I shelved the novel (and it was a great novel!) to immerse myself in his travels around Australia, NZ and the
It's never boring. I'm trying to work out why he succeeds where other travelogues can be SO turgid. For a start, the whole adventure revoves around the author- HIS mindset, experiences at sea, interaction with locals and other tourists. It keeps the reader involved ...too much factual commentary can be like looking at someone else'soverly extensive holiday snaps...a bit of a yawn.
It's extremely funny too, as he delves into both the urban and the off the beaten track. Even a volcano is brought entertainingly to life:
"In the distance I could hear the volcano grumbling and eructating, the amplified belches like those of a fat man after an enormous meal; and these sounds of digestion were accompanied by distant crepitating rumbles like those of loosened bowels. The expression 'bowels of the earth' just about summed it up."
I think this is the apogee of travel writing. I shall be reading more of his works.
Show More
various islands of the Pacific, culminating in Easter Island and Hawaii.It's never boring. I'm trying to work out why he succeeds where other travelogues can be SO turgid. For a start, the whole adventure revoves around the author- HIS mindset, experiences at sea, interaction with locals and other tourists. It keeps the reader involved ...too much factual commentary can be like looking at someone else'soverly extensive holiday snaps...a bit of a yawn.
It's extremely funny too, as he delves into both the urban and the off the beaten track. Even a volcano is brought entertainingly to life:
"In the distance I could hear the volcano grumbling and eructating, the amplified belches like those of a fat man after an enormous meal; and these sounds of digestion were accompanied by distant crepitating rumbles like those of loosened bowels. The expression 'bowels of the earth' just about summed it up."
I think this is the apogee of travel writing. I shall be reading more of his works.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Cecilturtle
Despite the title, the book is often has veil of sadness, cynicism and disappointment. Theroux pulls no punches, and when he describes what he sees, it's more than likely through the lens of pessimism, no doubt coloured by his own divorce and sense of estrangement. Still, his voyage is impressive
A lengthy, sometimes toilsome, read but ultimately rewarding.
Show More
and courageous and he describes it with great detail. His hard look also make his praises stand out all the more - what a beautiful moment it must have been!A lengthy, sometimes toilsome, read but ultimately rewarding.
Show Less
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1992
Physical description
528 p.; 8 inches
ISBN
0449908585 / 9780449908587