The Happy Isles Of Oceania by Paul Theroux

In the early 1990's, travel writer and author Paul Theroux is at a lifestyle change as his marriage has fallen apart.  He decides to go back on the road and travels through the islands of Oceania where he will have time to process the change and think about the future.  As he travels, he explains the layout of the archipeleo as well as the culture of the people he encounters.

It is an ambitious undertaking.  He visits islands which most people have heard of, Fiji, New Zealand, the Solomons, Samoa, Hawaii, Easter Island and Tahiti.  But he also visits small islands many people have no idea existed such as Vanuatu, Marquesas, Moorea, the Trobriand Islands, the Tongatapu Group and the Vava'u Group.  He takes a small collapsible kayak and where he can, he paddles around the islands and camps out by himself.

Wherever he goes, he tries to establish contact with the local inhabitants.  He asks them all what words they use for various items, seeking commonalities between the islands hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles apart.  He asks them where they believe they come from and about their religion.  He asks them what they eat and how they cook it.  He asks about cannibalism as many of these tribes were involved in that in past times.

Theroux encounters difficulties.  One of the biggest is the relationships he wants to establish.  In these island cultures, family is everything, and a man by himself is seen as vulnerable and strange.  To prefer solitude is outside of their experience.  He also encounters crocodiles and rip tides that make boating difficult.  On many islands, every inch of land is owned and the subject of fierce dominion and there is no where he can camp.

Although he finds much to praise about the islanders, he also finds troubling aspects to their lives.  As in his other books, he bemoans the physical size and obesity of many of the tribes.  He doesn't like the way the old cultures and artifacts are ignored or destroyed.  The reliance of the inhabitants on various government handouts is troubling and he finds many people to be thieves or lazy.

I've enjoyed Theroux's travel books for many years.  I started with the train journey books and have read several of his books about different places such as various parts of Africa and England as well as the United States.  His keen eye for history and his interest in learning the stories of those he encounters makes for an interesting read.  This book is recommended for readers who enjoy travel writing.