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.