Rating: 
Summary: Great book-Utopians are a selfish lot indeed
Review: This book is not about survival. It is about how idealists and utopians want everything to be done their way. The protagonist isn't trying to help the world. He just wants to create a world of his own and have the whole world thank him for it. If youve read about Che Guevera or Fidel Castro you'll see what I mean. I couln't rate this book high because I couldn't honestly stand the guy. He drags his family off to who knows where when all his kids want to do is lead normal lives. He corupts and destroys the peacefull lifes of the natives. Who wants to read a book about a guy who acts like this!
Rating: 
Summary: I didn't like Allie
Review: Part of me really wants to dislike this book, but I just can't. I can, and do, dislike Allie. What a selfish man! And what a compelling book if it can make me dislike a character this much. The descriptions of the jungle and characters were so detailed and perfect!
Rating: 
Summary: A Perfect Book
Review: Exciting, Funny, Frightening, Moving, Thought-Provoking. A truly gripping read. Forget the rather anemic film, which watered down the entire experience into a vehicle for Harrison Ford.Following Charlie Fox on his voyage round his father is not always easy, but always worth the effort. Allie Fox's mad quest resembles Don Quixote's, but is ultimately far more disturbing. Fox's dream of paradise ultimately dissolves into an apocalyptic nightmare, one that will leave the reader (this reader, anyway) shaken. Thankfully, we are shown some light at the end of the tunnel, enough to make us keep turning the pages. All in all, a splendid novel. What are you waiting for?
Rating:
Summary: Hubris in a jungle hell
Review: Paul Theroux never repeats himself and what he chooses to present in each book is quaranteed to surprise anyone who has read any of his other books. In this novel, part travelogue/adventure and part American social critique, the chief character is one of the most fascinating and least likeable figures I have encountered in recent fiction. An American genius with no patience for the opinions of anyone else and a hatred for most of modern life, determines to take his family into the jungles of South America, where he sees himself becoming something of a saviour to the natives - bringing them a few simple forms of technology that will uplift and transform their lives. Instead, he plunges himself and his family into a hell of conflicts that he doesn't even try to understand. The story, told from the point of view of his initially adoring (and fearful) son, follows the decline in the family's fortunes until it is clear that it is the father himself who is their real enemy. A tragic and deeply moving tale, this book stays in the mind - not always pleasantly - long after it has been read.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: For a person who adores adventure, suspense a little bit of a scare and really likes to think about what they are reading-this novel definitely matches those criteria. I read this book in 1996 and I saw the movie, then I read the book again: 5 times! The adventure is unforgrtable!
Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: For a person that adores adventure, suspense a little bit of a scare and really likes to think about what they are reading-this novel definitely matches those criteria. I read this book in 1996 and I saw the movie, then I read the book again: 5 times! The adventure is unforgrtable!
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Summary: the dark side of self-reliance
Review: _The Mosquito Coast_ manages to be both a great story and a moving critique of good old-fashioned American self-reliance. Allie, the practical yet passionate father, leads his family into the jungles on a mad quest: he wants to strike out on his own, survive by his ingenuity. and leave behind the mindless consumerism of mainstream life. I thought all these things were virtues before I picked up this book. What Theroux shows is that there is a human cost to genius--Allie's quest to perfect his work leads him to destroy everyone and everything around him. Self-reliance and authenticity sometimes are not compatible with kindness, happiness and humaneness. A tremendously well-crafted, marvelous book.
Rating:
Summary: I don't enjoy a book where I hate all the characters
Review: I thought Allie was a maniacal jerk, his wife was a complete weakling, and the children were under helplessly under his spell. Another reviewer said that he rooted for Allie to fail. I completely hated him. Now this isn't a negative opinion of Paul Theroux's writing, or the plot (which was interesting at times), or anything like that. But I can't recommend a book where I can't stand one of the main characters.
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Summary: To NickTheNick@yahoo.com
Review: I think our reviewer NickTheNick is either not very astute, has too much time to waste on bad jokes, or has a sense of humor beyond my comprehension. He says he doesn't understand the wasp in the nostrils imagery . . . is he THAT obtuse or is this a joke??? I consider myself intelligent; what's NickTheNick's point in sharing his thoughts on this matter?
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Summary: Who is the real "Charlie Fox"?
Review: In the brief acknowledgement at the beginning is written: To "Charlie Fox," whose story this is and whose courage showed me that the brave cannot be killed. With grateful thanks for many hours of patient explanation and good humor in the face of my ignorant questioning. May he find the peace he deserves on this safer coast. Naksaa. P.T. Who is the real "Charlie Fox", and are there recorded interviews with him? If he is real, how close is Allie Fox to his own Father?
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