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Hotel Honolulu Paul Theroux 9780241141304 Books

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Hotel Honolulu Paul Theroux 9780241141304 Books

Paul Theroux at is caustic best. The narrator is a disenchanted writer who is the manager of a vintage hotel in Waikiki with topless hula contests and bleary- eyed clientele in the Paradise Lost bar. A semi- retired hooker who is the mother of the “young, fresh” Hawaiian he marries lives on the third floor. The owner of the hotel is a self-indulgent blowhard given to sadistic tricks on his relatives who happens to be a millionaire. The cast of outrageous characters goes on with sad pinch lines at the end of each of their bizarre tales. But, somehow it all seems believable. I couldn’t stop reading about these locals who hate mainlanders who decide to stay on the “green island.” Theroux lives in Hawai’i and had a lot of fun with the pidgin that locals speak and some of their attitudes. I was sorry when it ended and I had to get back to less entertaining debacles and ridiculous circumstances.
P.S. I am a big fan of Happy Isles of Oceania and Fresh Air Fiend by the same author.
I am the author of Wai-nani: A Voice from Old Hawai'i


Tags : Hotel Honolulu [Paul Theroux] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers.,Paul Theroux,Hotel Honolulu,Houghton Mifflin,0241141303,Fiction,General,Modern fiction

Hotel Honolulu Paul Theroux 9780241141304 Books Reviews

Theroux, in my opinion, is a brilliant observer and gifted writer. This book starts as a series of mildly connected short stories revolving around a small area in Hawaii. But it becomes apparent well before half way through the novel that the stories are so interrelated that Hotel Honolulu is a web of human interaction and subconscious motivations. Theroux's observations of of the human animal are spot one.This is one difficult book to put down.
For 15 years now Paul Theroux has been my favorite author and of the dozen or so of his books I've read, THIS is hands down my favorite. I've read it multiple times. I've enjoyed all of his books except one which I can't remember the name of, but I wish I could shake his hand, buy him a drink, and then enjoy those drinks on a bluff over-looking a train depot, a windy beach or a busy street of foreigners.
Hotel Honolulu lies off the beaten path, it seems to attract some of the dregs of the tourist world. Its owner has plenty of money and likes to play cruel jokes on his friends (if a movie Danny Devito would be perfect for this part). He hires a new manager from the mainland, who marries one of the local gals and they have a small daughter. He tells tales of the occupants of the hotel. I would have liked the book more if it had not seemed depressing to me, the prostitute stories, the sick jokes of the owner etc. There is no history and parts of the book I really enjoyed, the locals who did the gardening, took care of the pool, they were delightful characters. That is why I could only give this a 3 star.
Theroux is a master writer, no doubt about it. But his main character (aside from himself as narrator) grew wearisome as one read on, and also simply disgusting. After a while you wonder why you Need to spend your day with this ignorant, brutal slob with no redeeming Qualities. The Basic structure was clever and opened up lots of opportunities, with various kinds of People coming to the Hotel and being scrutinized by the astute manager. Some of this was very good. All in all, I'd say it's worth reading, quickly, but not rereading.
Let me preface this review by saying I generally LOVE Paul Theroux's work. That, unfortunately, is not the case here. It almost seems as if he wrote this novel at different times, stopping work on it and then coming back later and picking up where he left off.
The continuity improves later in the book, and some of the characters do indeed stick in your mind. ( for better or for worse)

I do feel Theroux is at his best writing about travel, rather than his novels. I would give this one a miss if I were you.......
While Theroux is telling the long story of a couple of guys who work/own a hotel in Waikiki, the chapters themselves read more like short stories that these guys intercepted along the way. The style wasn't particularly compelling as a novel, but each individual story was well told and compelling by itself. I found it easy to put down, but always quick to return to it, which is unusual for a book. Generally, I either can't put a book down or don't pick it back up.

I also found that Theroux captures Honolulu's complex culture very well, from accents to characterizations to the types of events that just don't happen anywhere else. His characters are eclectic, intriguing, and true to the archetypes of Waikiki.
Since "The Great Railway Bazaar" I have been a fan of Paul Theroux. His non-judgmental approach to human behavior is a trait I admire. The scope of his writing is amazing--"Bazaar" was about a trip through Siberia, and now with "Hotel Honolulu" we get to see inside Honolulu's fading glory.

The narrator takes a job as a resident manager of the Hotel Honolulu to start a new life. He's been a successful novelist and family man in the States but has fled from a crack-up. The owner, Buddy Hamstra, from Sweetwater, Nevada, is one of the most original characters you can possibly imagine. Completely out of control, reckless, hilarious, kind and cruel, domineering and alcoholic, there is hardly an adjective that doesn't apply.

The Hotel is "eighty rooms nibbled by rats," and the guests either don't mind or don't care. The narrator observes everything as he sees guests and locals come and go. He lives in a vacant guest room with his new Hawaiian wife who doesn't speak much English (and may or may not be the daughter of John Kennedy) and their precocious young daughter who plays in the lobby throughly entertained and getting quite an education from the people drifting through.

Theroux's expansive prose exposes the less than perfect characters with compassion and humor.
Paul Theroux at is caustic best. The narrator is a disenchanted writer who is the manager of a vintage hotel in Waikiki with topless hula contests and bleary- eyed clientele in the Paradise Lost bar. A semi- retired hooker who is the mother of the “young, fresh” Hawaiian he marries lives on the third floor. The owner of the hotel is a self-indulgent blowhard given to sadistic tricks on his relatives who happens to be a millionaire. The cast of outrageous characters goes on with sad pinch lines at the end of each of their bizarre tales. But, somehow it all seems believable. I couldn’t stop reading about these locals who hate mainlanders who decide to stay on the “green island.” Theroux lives in Hawai’i and had a lot of fun with the pidgin that locals speak and some of their attitudes. I was sorry when it ended and I had to get back to less entertaining debacles and ridiculous circumstances.
P.S. I am a big fan of Happy Isles of Oceania and Fresh Air Fiend by the same author.
I am the author of Wai-nani A Voice from Old Hawai'i