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Hotel Honolulu by Paul Theroux Recommendation: •
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Paradise Lost If you absolutely must read lots of sad stories about dark characters and their strange behavior, by all means pick up a copy of Paul Theroux’s new novel, Hotel Honolulu. I found the sadness and suffering by rich and poor characters passing through the seedy Hotel Honolulu to be contagious, and I found darkness, not sunshine in this book. The protagonist and narrator, a writer turned hotel manager, re-names the bar in the hotel, “Paradise Lost,” and that sets the scene for chapter after chapter of depressing stories about every character introduced, often more than one sad story per character. One hotel guest sums it up: “The only place that can truly be hell is the one that was once paradise.” I’ve liked other Theroux books, both fiction and non-fiction, but found this one to be dreary and repetitive. A few stories might have been sharper, and less tedious than these 400 pages of suicide, incest and betrayal of relationships. Here’s a sample of Theroux’s writing: “Buddy Hamstra had introduced us with the usual, ‘He wrote a book!’ Lionberg said he knew my work. I recognized him as a conventional American millionaire in being mean with his money and rather a know-it-all, a terrible listener, somewhat defensive in his manner, especially in his never discussing the source of his wealth. I took this to indicate that he was superstitious and self-conscious about it, but hearing that he had been a lawyer, I also had the impression, he was a little ashamed of how he had made his money. Buddy, a gossip, mentioned that it was a huge settlement Lionberg had won – ‘The largest sum ever awarded in a personal injury suit in’ … was it California? Lionberg had one of those California accents that always shows the speaker’s fine California teeth.” If you love or hate Hawaii or Theroux, go ahead and give Hotel Honolulu a try. Otherwise, take a pass. Steve Hopkins, May 17, 2001
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