I just started reading Paul Theroux's Hotel Honolulu, a 424-page novel about a blocked writer trying to lead a normal life as the manager of a run-down Waikiki hotel. It is one of those rare treats in literature; the very first paragraph is magic. It pulled me in immediately and I have marveled at the writing every since. It's quick, smart, clever-but-not-too-clever and accurately depicts the Hawai`i they don't write about in guide books or resort brochures.
I am pasting in the first paragraph because I think it is so brilliant:
"Nothing to me is so erotic as a hotel room, and therefore so penetrated with life and death. Buddy Hamstra offered me a hotel job in Honolulu and laughed at my accepting it so quickly. I had been trying to begin a new life, as people do when they flee to distant places. Hawaii was paradise with heavy traffic. I met Sweetie in the hotel, where she was also working. One day when we were alone on the fourth floor I asked "Do you want to make love?" and she said "Part of me does." Why smile? At least we did it, then often, and always in the same vacant guest room, 409. Sweetie got pregnant, our daughter was born. So, within a year of arriving, I had my new life, and as the writer said after the crack-up, I found new things to care about. I was resident manager of the Hotel Honolulu, eighty rooms nibbled by rats."
That is craftsmanship. I have mostly been reading non-fiction and how-to lately so I am elated that the novel I picked to shake things up is such a good one so far. It kind of makes me want to write fiction again, though I'm so rusty after focusing on scriptwriting for all those years.
Drink
Last night after work I headed over to the old neighborhood to meet up with our friend Sarah, who was visiting from Bellingham. She recently moved up there to go back to school for graphic design. She had us all meet up at the new and improved Cha Cha Lounge. The lounge is now underneath the restaurant portion, Bimbo's Cantina and does not open until 5pm so we hung out up there for a little bit. The service was fast and friendly and the Bartender's Margaritas made very well (maybe too well...easy to drink those suckers!). The downstairs is like a whole other world. While the old Cha Cha was compact, cramped with low ceilings and not a lot of open space, the new Cha Cha is palatial in comparison: high ceilings, plenty of seating, very open floor plan. The decor is still kitsch, but with an upscale twist. And yes, still very red.
See
Did you see the moon last night? Dan took this picture as we headed to our car in Columbia City after another reliably tasty meal at El Sombrero.
No comments:
Post a Comment