Transit of Venus: Travels in the Pacific

by Julian Evans

The Pacific Ocean calls to mind a world of fabulous kingdoms and noble savages, guilt free sex and gin-clear lagoons, and a perfect idleness fed by lush fruits and fish-rich seas. Ever since Captain Cook first went to Tahiti in 1769 to observe the transit of Venus across the sun, this dream of the Pacific has not lost its force. But Julian Evans's journey through the island archipelagos of the Great Ocean was also informed by a quest into our more modern myths - such as Peacekeeper missiles and nuclear bombs being tested by the US Army. With humour and vivid imagery, honesty and a wickedly sardonic wit, Evans uncovers the reality of these two Pacific dreams: a brave new ocean where the islanders have money and booze, military coups and cold-war politics, atomic explosions and rising sea levels, but where, in the remotest atolls, beyond all our modernity and rationality, the old dream of islands continues to assert itself.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

275 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1992

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always found the many little islands in the Pacific Ocean fascinating, it’s where you could find a cannibal and it is where you could get stranded on a desert island wishing you had brought food with you instead of 10 CDs and no CD player. It is also the one place on the map of the world where it is hard to get an understanding of scale, they are always down in the bottom right of the map and it looks like the only place within a million miles is New Zealand, it is surprising just how close they are to Hawaii.

Evans has something in his blood calling to him to visit these islands, the see those beautiful beaches, to meet the locals and to experience all that he can. It’s not an easy task, finding a boat or plane to take him anywhere is a tough undertaking, timekeeping is not something that happens on the islands, a boat will arrive when it happens to turn up, it really does make planning a trip difficult. Evans ends up trying to find the true face of the islands, looking for the damage caused by British/French/American/German politics and the ever present missionaries, you’ll never get used to the damage we caused in the past. There are some shocking scenes and some people are living in heart-breaking conditions but Evans keeps a cool head, he tells the reader how it is, he doesn’t cover things up…even when he promised to do just that. He meets some wonderful people, so generous when they have so little and he doesn’t cover up anything embarrassing he does, trying to flirt with a young lady soon backfires but he is able to laugh it off.

One of the most interesting areas he visits is near the Bikini Atoll, where the nuclear bombs were tested and people were only moved slightly away, truly shocking treatment of humans by the USA. The book is worth getting just to read this section.

This book is a proper good adventure, sharing the stories of the people he meets, not shying away from any customs, every experience is included from sleeping conditions to dodgy food. He visits places you’ve probably never heard of Vanuatu and Tuvalu were only places I had heard of on the gameshow called Pointless. The writing is easy to read, reading about his personal experiences mixed in with other peoples stories and plenty of interesting history makes this a fun book. Highly recommended by me.

Blog review: https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2021...

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't put my finger on it, but something in the book seems "off" -- episodes that should be funny just don't help with a feeling of slogging through this one.

[Nik Maack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun, lots of gossipy goodness, preachy, whiny, negative, miserable. It's a strange bag of quick takes and rushing from one island to the next. Bits of historical background mixed with the author's adventures.

I liked it, but found it started to drag at the end. And as the author grew wistful and tried to sum up lessons learned, there came the inevitable environmentalism.lecture: the stupidities of human beings are destroying our world. Yes, they are. We all know that. It sucks. We know.

One of the threads I found interesting was that of colonialism, and how rich countries make deals with poor countries, and then disregard them. And how rich countries provide aid to poor countries, and that can cripple them far more more than actually aid them. Brutal madness.

The author is also a man's man, drinking lots, wanting to punch people for being bores, walking around with a massive leg wound he doesn't take care of, and so on. It struck me as sort of cute and slightly embarrassing.

Over all, I found the book best when reporting details of his travels. Slightly less great when providing historical background. Dull when he goes on a philosophical tear about what it all means.

I read this with Google Maps handy, constantly looking at the islands being discussed. Oddly, it's the sort of book that tries to talk you out of visiting the places discussed because they're all tourist traps or nightmares. Not being the kind of guy who wants to lounge on a beach, swim, or scuba dive, none of these places have much appeal as travel destinations, but were interesting to read about.

[Jane E · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an excellent book. Very well written, quite enthralling and hardly dated. Surprisingly little has changed in the intervening 20 years which is depressing given that the stories of individual Pacific nations are bleak tales of colonial pillaging and current day servitude. Descriptions of beaches strewn with garbage and children malnourished by a diet of sweet drinks and junk food supplied by their American overlords are at odds with the images of the tropical island paradises but they ring true. Such a lucky find in my favourite secondhand bookshop. (Purchased at Skoob Books, London, UK.)

[August · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first chapter was pretty slow going. I didn't think I would finish the book at first, even though I will slog through just about any Pacific literature. But as I kept reading I was pleasantly surprised. This turned out to be one of my favorite Pacific Island travel books. I thought the section on the Marshall Islands was especially brilliant - probably the best description I've read in any travel writing of this kind. Here are some of the things I liked about this book in comparison to similar travel writing:

- The destinations were varied
- The writer prefaced his experiences with just the right amount of relevant historical background
- He focused on the places and characters he encountered and didn't include too many personal stories
- He highlighted historical and on-going injustices and struggles while still capturing the modern reality and beauty of the Pacific islands
- The writing is almost poetic at times and not just a list of events

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps he's a Paul Theroux wannabe because I'm not sure why he wrote this book. He complained about the places being too hot (it's the tropics), too boring, and too corrupt making this book a chore to read. Published in 1992, the information on the politics of the region is dated. Not recommended.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

From Library Journal
Enticed by photographs, memories of Australia, and a desire to search for solitude, Evans sets out to experience the islands of the South Pacific. Leaving Sidney by freighter, he journeys by whatever means available through New Caledonia, Figi, Western Samoa, and a variety of islands in the region. With a lack of time restraint and a personal fluidity of choice, he saunters from island to island and meets a colorful array of informative local acquaintances. Evans describes his adventures in this tropical vastness with candidness and clarity. His journey concludes with a visit to the U.S. Army Base in Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands, the site of the Missile Test Range. An obvious strength of the book is the brief but excellent history of the islands and the impact of various cultures upon it. This is a good introduction to the area and the people, places, and politics that make it unique. For travel collections.
- Jo-Anne Mary Benson, Osgoode, Ontario

[Paul McBride · Rating 3 out of 5]

A travel book of an area of the world most people consider Paradise, but on this journey with Author Julian Evans that is not the case. The place I am referring to is the South seas but Julian visits the overlooked or in some cases the underside of these islands and the results are funny, sad, depressing. After reading this book I definitely know where not to go in the South Pacific.