One Big Damn Puzzler

This was a great book to read over a few rainy days as its quite big and the narrative flows beautifully. Its a very well told story, of an unusual nature. Its set on a small Pacific Island where the native people have had brief contact with the outside world but have maintained a firm grasp of their indigenous ways. Americans came by after the war, used the island as a weapons testing site and left it full of land mines.The British came later to build resorts for cruise ships but left buildings half finished and in a derelict state, and no cruise ships ever came. THEN one day an American lawyer arrives. Eventually he reveals he is there to seek compensation on their behalf for the loss of limbs and lives caused by the mines that the Americans left behind. As he discovers the island and tries to understand the indigenous culture, we observe with him. We also have William tell us about his past and his struggles growing up with OCD and as an adult making his way in life with this disorder. In between chapters we have Managuas side of the story. Hes an elder in the tribe, translating Hamlet into pidgin English and struggling with Shakespearean concepts and how they fit into the culture of his tribe. He opposes the idea of the west coming to the island and changing their way of life. He wrestles with concepts and is the voice of caution in his community. There is a nice interval at the end where we revisit the island one year after Williams initial visit and then five years after that. In this story there is ample discussion of issues current to our times but put in a context we can distance ourselves from and therefore take a more pragmatic view of topics like globalisation, cultural identity, mental disorders, gender issues.... All together this becomes an interesting and entertaining read and another great example of John Harding’s great skill as a story teller.

My first experience with John Harding. One Big Damn Puzzler was a great read. This book is really 3 different stories driven into 1 gripping finale. Harding does a good job of examining the Wests materialistc culture interspered with a desire to help those who dont ask to be helped. I enjoyed this book thoroughly and did not mind the diversions of other topics Harding poses to the reader. A good light-hearted read that has some touching and emotional moments.

Ive not read another book that mixed high-brow and low-brow so effectively. From the s***ting beach to Shakespeare, I laughed, a lot. The characters are so well developed that you cant help but feel involved. Our hero only wants to do good, while we can clearly see his efforts will harm. Its a clash of cultures, and a calling out of our American materialism, done well. I highly recommend this intriguing tale.

Had to purchase this for a class and I really enjoyed reading it. I kept this one for my book shelf.

Another great read -- funny throughout.

This book did not need to be brought into this world. The writer invents an imaginary Pacific Island full of helpless locals who need a white savior from the United States to rescue them from their primitive ways. Extremely ham-fisted examples of colonialism-gone-awry are laced throughout the story to fill out hundreds of extra pages, but these are a godsend compared to the completely gross and unnecessary love stories (and dont get me started on the completely bonkers 9/11 sub-sub-plot). If zero stars were an option, Id go with that.

The attempt at conveying pidgin English in this novel falls pitifully short and was utltimately so irritating it made the book unreadable. I am unconvinced that the author made any significant effort at researching his subject matter which is key to turning out worthwhile literature. Ill be donating my copy to our local thrift store, with a warning in the cover that its probably not worth the purchase price no matter how low they mark it.