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#pacific
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Texreader
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Mehso-so

Admittedly this book was written at a sorrowful stressful time in the author‘s life, his wife having just told him she‘s divorcing him. So he‘s very sulky as he travels across Oceania in his portable kayak that he carries with him as he flies from place to place. But that doesn‘t excuse his utter lack of humility, and a serious superiority complex with his smug judgments about 90% of his encounters with folks. He starts by blasting New Zealand ⬇️

Texreader as a most dreadful place. And his favorite? Hawaii. Well, yeah, he splurged and rented a luxury room and hobnobbed with the richest people in the world. I could almost hear the name-dropping spilling on the floor. I did appreciate the travels, as I like travelogues, and his descriptions of places. And sometimes even his descriptions of people; honesty is not a bad thing. But judging a whole island of folks based on the few he encountered, well ⬇️ 7d
Texreader that unnerves me. I stuck it out because his kayaking was breathtaking. But sadly not enough to make this a book I‘d recommend. I wanted to hear about his experiences in #Samoa, and they felt about average for all his experiences. Islanders are fatty, fat, fat eating canned meat and tuna and cheeseballs, if we are to believe the author that this is true of every island dweller. So if you read it, be prepared. #foodandlit @Catsandbooks 7d
Dilara Thank you for sticking with it so we don't have to! 😅 7d
See All 7 Comments
willaful Why are so many travel writers like this??? 7d
Bookwormjillk @willaful good question! 7d
Suet624 Thanks for saving the rest of us. 6d
SamAnne Unstaffed! 6d
59 likes7 comments
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Texreader
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Theroux thrives on unusual words, prompting me to want to start a #wordoftheday or week or whatever. That‘s not new to litsy. But it‘s new to me since I‘m continuously looking up words in the tagged book. Mom @Doll8455 and I, both avid readers and fairly well educated, but we both had to look up “lugubrious” from this book. Now we toss it out often to one another! 😂 and then 😔

I‘ll start today with the word “ruction.” Use it in a sentence?

Texreader “The kids had a ruction over early-to-bed time.” Does that work? (edited) 2w
Doll8455 My dad said my brother always caused a ruckus. Might have been taken from the word ruction. 2w
Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick I like to think I'm fairly smart, but I find myself looking up words, sometimes multiple times across a few books before the meaning sticks. I did skip out on extra SAT prep classes so...🤣 2w
41 likes3 comments
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Texreader
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The author ridicules Thor Heyerdahl to the ends of the earth and then there‘s this statement: “Probably the most obnoxious aspect of Heyerdahl is that he appears to display a deep bias, bordering on contempt, against Polynesians.”

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!!

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Texreader
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If you ever have a desire to read this book, be aware there is a lot of this.

The author is thorough, and 80% into it, I‘m getting a ton of detail about every possible island in Oceania. I‘m not fond of his constant criticisms (Wikipedia calls it a strong stream of irony, that‘s not what I‘d call it) of pretty much every single person he meets, and judgments of swaths of people based on those he encounters. But as usual I enjoy reading about ⬇️

Texreader his trek itself. This chunkster of an ebook is one of the reasons I read so few books in October, and only this one for #Samoa #foodandlit. Still going though. 20% left! 2w
Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick Good to know! I'm delaying Samoa & Algeria until 2026 since I've fallen behind in Latin America. It's just easier for me to track them if I fully pause. I have this book and Coming of Age in Samoa on my shelves, so I'll likely read both. 2w
39 likes2 comments
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Texreader
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The worst of the author‘s invective is against the French. It‘s a wonder this man has any friends, but then again, his wife is divorcing him and he‘s on an extended solo outing. 🧐

But his contempt for the French may be justified (sorry all my French friends). At the time he wrote this book the French were nuking Pacific islands mercilessly. France, at least at the time, was the world‘s largest supplier of nuclear weapons.

SamAnne I‘m finishing up Richard. Power‘s Playground and may have to read this. 3w
28 likes1 comment
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Texreader
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Texreader
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I had no idea there were two Samoas!

#Samoa #foodandlit @Catsandbooks

TheBookHippie Really?! 4w
45 likes1 comment
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Texreader
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Finally, a description of some food in #Samoa. #foodandlit @Catsandbooks

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Texreader
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Texreader
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Well, Samoans don‘t sound very nice at all. The author doesn‘t have much nice to say about Tongans (from Tonga) or New Zealanders for that matter. #Samoa #foodandlit @Catsandbooks

AnnCrystal ...🤨🥺... 4w
Bookwomble Seems likely to say more about Theroux and his attitudes than it's likely to legitimately say about whole nations of people? 🤨 4w
See All 9 Comments
marleed A friend/former coworker of mine is America Samoan. She‘d return to Samoa every couple years for an extended stay. One year when she showed up to work I could see some intricate tattoo work peeking out as she sat. I was fascinated so she showed me the artwork on both thighs and its historical significance. She was in her late 30s when she had it done because she wanted to make sure she chose the tattoos that would mean the most to her. 4w
lil1inblue @Bookwomble Almost my exact thought. 🎯 4w
Texreader @AnnCrystal @Bookwomble @Dilara @Soubhiville @Amiable @lil1inblue Theroux doesn‘t seem to be kind to anyone. Here he is quoting someone else, but he‘s made similar judgments about countless others so far. If he didn‘t have such a superiority complex, it‘d be a fantastic book reading about his adventures. He is just going through a separation from his wife while writing this, so maybe he‘s just in a cranky mood. 4w
Texreader @marleed That is really cool. I‘d love to quiz her all about that. 4w
33 likes9 comments