Don't Stop the Carnival

by Herman Wouk
Category: "Fiction - General"
Pages:395
Year of Publication:1965
Date Added:01/21/2021
Date Read:10/04/2021
Notes:Norman Paperman is dissatisfied with his life as a New York publicity agent. On a whim, he decides to buy a resort on the Caribbean Island of Amerigo. His wife and daughter remain in New York at first. For the first month, everything possible goes wrong—staff quitting, an earthquake, no water or electricity. An eccentric Frenchman shows up and fixes everything, but there's just one problem. The Frenchman occasionally goes "fonny" and attacks people with his machete. While all this is going on, Norm has a fling with an aging actress on the island. Over the holidays, Norm's family arrives. A huge party is a great success—although Norm has to scramble around behind the scenes to keep things from going chaotic. His resort—and his management—are pronounced successes by everyone. But then in a single morning, a local shopkeeper and the actress both die in unnecessary ways. Norm decides to sell and move back to New York.
My Rating: 6

Reviews for Don't Stop the Carnival

Review - Don't Stop the Carnival

Hard to rate. I've never thought stories of other's misfortunes—like the movie Vacation—are particularly funny. Paperman might have been a likable character except that he constantly cheated on his wife. There were some admirable minor characters, but the island and its native inhabitants were the chief characters. The book was easy to read and kept my interest, but I can't say I would be in a hurry to read another like it.

Reviewed by Roger on 2021-10-05 07:22:15

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