Book Reivew: The Mosquito Coast

Jessie Hild
Book Review: The Mosquito Coast
The Mosquito Coast, written by the renowned author Paul Theroux, is an adventure story that also served as Theroux’s “venting tablet” where he could place his views about the apparent corruption of the United States. Theroux wrote The Mosquito Coast in 1981; the novel received the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1981 and was nominated for the American Book Award in 1983. The Mosquito Coast is an international bestseller.
Paul Theroux was born in Medford, Massachusetts to Catholic parents. He attended the University of Maine, in Orono as well as the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He ultimately achieved a B.A. in English in 1963. He was a participant in the Peace Corps for several years but due to legal issues was soon banned. He had aided a political opponent of the Prime Minister of Malawi out of the country which subsequently caused him to be banned from the Peace Corps as well as Malawi. He published several novels, in genres including non-fiction, fiction, and criticism; his focus was writing travel novels. Theroux often faced harsh criticism for creating versions of himself, his family, and acquaintances in many of his fiction works. Several of his novels were banned for several decades in certain countries because they depicted the government of these countries in an unacceptably critical way.
I believe that Theroux wrote The Mosquito Coast in order to vent his feelings about the apparent corruption of the United States. Theroux has lived all over the world, and it appears that he dislikes America the most. He believed that Americans depends too much on foreign material and that simplicity is best. This viewpoint is evident in one of the main characters, Allie Fox. The creation of this character allowed Theroux to invent the perfect venting slate. He used this factious character to place his ideas about America’s destruction and corruption into something. Allie became a character that over-emphasized the corruption of the United States. Theroux may have used Allie as his venting tablet at the beginning of the novel but as the book progressed Allie soon became more than a venting tablet. He expressed radical views of the corruption of the United States. Theroux may or may not have agreed fully with the views of Allie. Theroux wrote this novel in order to open the world’s eyes to the fraud of America, as he saw it.
The Mosquito Coast is about the Fox family during the 1980s time period. Allie Fox, the father, is a brilliant inventor who is bigoted toward stupidity and is one of those condescending, boastful assholes who is capable of backing up all of his talk. He has four children, the oldest being 13, and a devoted wife. The novel is from the eldest child, Charlie’s, perspective. Allie’s family is a very faithful family and does everything that their father tells them to; this includes not going to school. The family has to deal with the despicable rants about America that Allie has literally every time he opens his trap. Yet the whole family looks up to their father and they are very obedient.
Allie is fed up with the awfulness of America; and instead of sticking around to see what becomes of America, he packs up his family and leaves the country. His loyal family follows him without any hesitation or questions. The kids look up to Allie like any child would look up to their father: with pride and love. Allie takes his family to a secluded, unpopulated jungle in Honduras.
Allie purchases a town and soon wins over some of the native tribesmen located in that area and begins to create the ‘perfect society’, according to Allie’s perspective of perfect. He creates many inventions that enhance the life of this civilization. The biggest invention he creates is known as the “Fat Boy” and it creates ice using heat and condensation. Allie is very proud of this invention and believes he can help all the natives by bringing the ice to the most secluded villages on the island. Unfortunately, most of these missions end in disaster because the ice does not stay ice; it melts. After the unsuccessful missions, the reader is aware that Allie is becoming literally crazy.
Sadly, this ‘perfect society’ does not turn out to be so perfect. This little civilization, that was created in order to be the perfection of all human life, ironically, blows up in the Fox’s faces (literally). This disaster forces Allie to realize that he has made the mistake of having his civilization contain too much sophistication. His family slowly loses their faith in their father and they lose the friends they have made, due to the craziness of Allie. Allie is determined to create the perfect society, no matter what happens to his family. Does he succeed in creating this civilization without completely losing his mind and his family? Read The Mosquito Coast to find out the tragic ending that Theroux has written for this incredible adventure story.
Theroux did a very good job of writing this tragic, negative novel. He created the perfect character to express his dissatisfaction with America. Of course, venting about the awfulness of America creates a very negative tone for the book. Whenever Allie speaks, it is always a pessimistic statement that brings down the mood of Charlie and the other characters. A negative tone is the one and only tone for this novel. It is impossible to write about the corruption and awfulness of America if the tone is optimistic and cheery. The setting of this novel, in the dense secluded Honduran jungle, is the perfect setting to match the tone. It is a dark, ominous forest filled with disaster and distress.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, for the most part. I would definitely recommend The Mosquito Coast to any person that is up to reading a very pessimistic book about the awfulness of America. It is a very well written adventure novel that does contain a very negative style of writing but this style of writing complements the main themes and leaves the reader aching for more.