Review: The Last Good Paradise

The Last Good Paradise by Tatjana Soli
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed Soli's book The Lotus Eaters and was excited to read this one. The premise of this was strange - an unusual collection of people end up on a quiet island in Polynesia, among them a couple who is escaping a financial and personal crisis as well as an aging rock star, not to mention the island's staff (a distant extension of a luxury hotel across the water). There was a point in the book where I thought it was jut too far-fetched and contrived. But like Ann Patchett's Bel Canto, somehow Soli makes an unlikely collection of characters in an awkward situation seem credible.

The character building was done incredibly well, as was the crafting of the story itself. The final quarter of the book was nothing that I could have anticipated, involving class issues, a critique on the media, and very core relationship pain between individuals. After all that is her best skill as shown in The Lotus Eaters - her ability to depict the rawest part of relationships without fear.

I look forward to her next book.






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