A review by robinwalter
One Big Damn Puzzler by John Harding
Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.
The writing annoyed me from the beginning with its stereotypically ignorant depiction of "pidgin" and mention of the island's FOURTEEN species of monkeys. There are some Pacific islands where one or two species of monkeys have been introduced, but none that have anywhere near as many as 14, and none where the monkeys are part of a revered local culture.
Worse than that though, was the way the book basically depicted the indigenous HUMANS as monkeys. I waded through a quarter of the book waiting for some change from the patronising "point and laugh" mentality on show from the author, and when it didn't happen, I waved bye bye.
Worse than that though, was the way the book basically depicted the indigenous HUMANS as monkeys. I waded through a quarter of the book waiting for some change from the patronising "point and laugh" mentality on show from the author, and when it didn't happen, I waved bye bye.