The story of Hotel Honolulu, a run-down hotel teeming with life (most of it low), on an island paradise tarnished by greed and lust. Eighty rooms, eighty stories, and one superbly fresh, scathingly witty novel from a remarkable writer. (from the blurb)
Book Description
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Trouble in Paradise,
By
This review is from: Hotel Honolulu (Paperback)
This is a fascinating and entertaining look at the life in Hawaii from the perspective of its local and long-time residents. It presents a much more seedy and sometimes downright unappealing picture of this well known tourist destination that prides itself on its sunny days, beautiful beaches and happy, wholesome natives. "Hotel Honolulu" presents a very different take on what goes on behind the scenes. It is a story of an unnamed novelist who settles in Honolulu and starts working as a hotel manager. He encounters many colorful characters and gets a behind-the-scenes look at what sort of things are really transpiring in this tropical paradise.As someone who has lived in Hawaii for a brief period during the timeframe in which this novel is set, I was very familiar with some of the themes that this novel touches upon - the use of a "pidgin" English by the natives which makes their conversations almost inscrutable to the outsiders, the very strong sense of distinctness of the "locals" from the visitors, and many not so savory activities that transpire on a daily basis. Paul Theroux masterfully captures the flavor of these local idiosyncrasies and I felt almost able to hear the voices of his many characters. It is hard to imagine that this book is entirely a work of fiction - quite probably most of the events described here have a very strong basis in reality. One of the problems that I have with the book is that, despite the subtitle, it is really not a novel. It consists mostly of many unrelated incidents that are loosely connected through a few main characters. The style of writing borders on journalistic, and although entertaining in its own right no overarching "theme" or the "point" of the book emerges in the end. Another problem that I had is that almost every single story in the book has some kind of sexual indiscretion at its root. I am no prude, but after a while reading about yet another peculiar sexual incident involving random strangers becomes a bit of a bore. I feel that in his eagerness to dismantle the image of Hawaii as a pristine and wholesome vacation spot Theroux has gone to the opposite extreme. Hawaii is no stranger to scandal, but the vast majority of the Hawaiians that I had met are fairly level-headed and oftentimes deeply religious folks who have a very strong sense of personal morality. I wish that Theroux had incorporated more of those people in his book, as it would have given a much more authentic view of what real Hawaii is all about.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
