Mosquito Coast: Amazon.ca: Paul Theroux: Books

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First Sentence
We drove past Tiny Polski's mansion house to the main road, and then the five miles into Northampton, Father talking the whole way about savages and the awfulness of America - how it got turned into a dope-taking, door-locking, ulcerated danger-zone of rabid scavengers and criminal millionaires and moral sneaks. Read the first page

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Concordance

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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

53 Reviews

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

4.3 out of 5 stars (53 customer reviews)

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Most helpful customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply amazing, Jun 12 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Mosquito Coast (Paperback)

I don't mean to offend previous reviewers, but calling Allie Fox "magnetic" doesn't even begin to scratch the surface. He is, simply put, the most fascinating character I have ever encountered in fiction. He leaps off the page. This book is outstanding!

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5.0 out of 5 stars A Story of Courage, Jan 16 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Mosquito Coast (Paperback)

I found Allie Fox to be magnetic. There is no doubt he is somewhat mad, but in his madness lies a fair amount of truth. In some ways I find myself wondering if perhaps Allie was right. He sees the modern world as ugly, dependent on manufacturing and pollution and religion, lost in it's own technololgy. He is trying to rescue his family from a desctruction that he believes is inevitable.
Contrary to other reviews I have read I have no feelings that Mother is weak or unable to stand up on her own. She believes in this remarkable man and his ability to make something out of nothing. Her reluctance to go against him comes from her true love for his strength of character and her desire to provide for her children. We are the ones who are stuck thinking survival means money and material goods. They were happiest with their simplicity, their basic needs and their faith in their father.
This story is tragic and beautiful, it is thought provoking and full of life. In the end, I am not so sure who the real savages are.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary Character Study, Dec 15 2003

By

Westley (Stuck in my head) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mosquito Coast (Paperback)

Paul Theroux's novels generally feature carefully etched characters, but he surpasses himself with Allie Fox, the protagonist of the Mosquito Coast. Allie is a husband and father of four, but he seems to care far more about his "inventions" and radical social ideas than he does about their welfare. To act out his ideals, he moves his family to Central America to start a utopian society, unencumbered by traditional materialism. Some of his contraptions work and the community begins to flourish, until his plans become grandiose. Although the reader can see the tragedy that is to come, Theroux constructs an intriguing plot that keeps the reader drawn into the novel.

Some readers may be greatly off-put by Allie and his behavior; however, he is undeniably a magnetic and fascinating force. Fortunately, the book is narrated from the point-of-view of the teenaged son, Charlie, which allows the reader some distance from the sometimes repugnant Allie. Other readers may be disappointed by Allie's wife. She plays a relatively small role in the proceedings, and she seems to blindly go along with Allie, even when she suspects detrimental effects on her family. However, a man like Allie probably would be married to such a woman, as he likes to be in charge and assert himself on others strongly.

Overall, the Mosquito Coast is a one-of-a-kind literary experience, with a fantastic main character embedded in a rollicking-good story. Most highly recommended.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but eventually bordering on annoying.
The character of Allie Fox is both the fuel and the fire of this ambitious and well-written yarn about an eccentric inventor who uproots his family and transports them to Honduras... Read more

Published on Dec 31 2003 by D. Knouse

5.0 out of 5 stars The Mosquito Coast
It is only in a few instances where a book has affected me so profoundly. Here is a story with a somewhat reproachable philosophy, but a philosophy that I empathize with; Allie... Read more

Published on Nov 13 2003