The Paradise Trail

by Duncan C. Campbell

A witty, wildly funny, poignant and, at times, tragic novel about the passing of an age where nothing seems to matter until the hard, cruel, real world comes knocking at the door.

It's 1971, and the travellers who end up in the flea-pit Lux Hotel in Calcutta are determined to have a good time. Theres ex-public schoolboy Gordon, the cool American Larry, a weird pair of Australians, and Freddie Braintree, the acid casualty. But is he who he seems to be? Their scene is innocence and inner journeys, experimentation and a lust for new experiences. But theres a war going on between India and Pakistan and a mysterious hippie killer is lurking in the dark alleyways of the city. Meanwhile Hugh, the straight one who is trying to build a career, is covering the war for a British newspaper but he hasn't a clue what he is doing, and the shocking massacres and brutality he witnesses cast a long shadow over all their lives.

Genres: Fiction, India

352 pages

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Duncan Campbell was a British journalist and author who worked particularly on crime issues. He was a senior reporter/correspondent for The Guardian from 1987 until 2010, and authored several books.

Reviews

[Annet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliantly funny and melancholy, witty, ironic and dramatic book, all at the same time. I can only say, I enjoyed this one really immensely. Can't imagine why so few people have picked this up? I had it on my shelves for some years already. It's about India, hippies getting high and following the eastern trail, in Calcutta in a broken down flea infested hotel called the Lux, operated by Anand, the insomniac hotelier, who came back to India from London expecting more.... it's about foreign journalists reporting on the 13-day India-Pakistan war, from a luxury hotel, getting 'bussed out' to the war area every day to report on the war, it's about mystery hippy killings, it's about life in India, and lateron, the characters aged, wiser and with less illusions, life in luxury Los Angeles. Colourful and funny characters like Gordon and Larry. All searching for their purpose in life, love, success.... Up to the last pages, there are new developments and insights... an unusual story. "A marvellous evocation of the glorious madness which was the 70s hippy trail"...."told with humanity and attractive sympathy for the characters and their flaws"..." And: "The Paradise Trail sparkles with humour, and has the edginess of a murder mystery; but its most bracing surprise is the acute irony with which it atomizes a counter-cultural generations' youthful fantasies and middle aged illusions"...The dialogue is the wittiest I have read in any work of fiction...". Made me think of... A Visit to the Goon Squad, The Imperfectionists, The Afterparty.... Highly recommended.

[Dona van Eeden · Rating 3 out of 5]

I almost put this book in my DNF pile (which is almost non-existent) so many times but I pushed through and, in the end, it was worth it.

It is a funny and insightful book, covering parts of the Reagan war on drugs, the 15 day war of India, the base of which was in Calcutta, and the quotes from songs and classic reads such as Catch-22 (seriously, so many quotes).

I particularly loved how Campbell was able to capture the feeling and the relationships of people on the hippy trail (at its height in the 70s), how he captured the essence of journalism at that time, and the way that people on the road interact with each other and form quick bonds.

The mystery doesn't make up a large part of the plot, I almost forget that there are deaths and a serial killer in the foreground. But the characters are extremely well fleshed out and believable. I think that's the main reason I kept reading, the characters were worth it.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in Calcutta in 1971 at the time of the war between India and Pakistan, this book is part historical novel and part mystery. Sometimes humorous, sometimes serious and sometimes sad, the book is populated with colorful characters and is a very good read.

[Vin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked it. Good characters and an interesting story. There's not much in the way of a progressing plot - just all these strange characters living their lives and getting into various scrapes.

[Reece Willis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Paradise Trail was such a pleasure to read. I was swept back to my early backpacking years with Duncan Campbell's artful delivery of dialogue and scene setting. Often light-hearted, it was an easy book to get through and I was left wanting more by the end.

[Dancingsocks · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very loose 3. It has elements of being pretty clever and exciting but by the end was just a long winded tale with a load of quite interesting characters.

[Wendy Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given this book - it is not normally what I would choose. I threw it in my bag when travelling for work, and it was perfect: not too hectic in terms of plots or characters; easy to pick up at night after an intense working day; and one that I was happy to leave behind for other travellers.

[Mondit · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. Do you like Bob Dylan?
2. Do you get fascinated by 70s, Hippies and rock n roll?
3. Do you have interest in history?
4. Did you like Shanataram?
If your answer to any of the above questions is yes then this is your baby. This is one amazing book that I have read after a long time. Its like a roller coaster ride to the 70s, the post colonial pretentious Calcutta where people discussed Naxalbari over cigars and cricket while a bunch of half naked hungry children watched from distance.
The dialogues are killer, specially the one where they argue whether the night is actually darkest just before the dawn. It somehow reminds me of Pulp Fiction where they argue whether a foot massage is a sexual thing.
And then there is the war and Mrs Gandhi. It was a neutral view and the author, Duncan Cambell, does a brilliant job there covering the dilemma faced by Hugh, a war correspondent. Being a journalist himself might have helped him to draw a vivid sketch of the character.
The portrayal of Hippie life is immaculate. Their speech, their obsession with Yoga and Budhha and the sharp criticism by Devyani, a Marxist feminist, of Gordon a Scottish hippie, it was all perfect.
Only thing I did not like about the book, in sharp contrast to shantaram, was the obvious disregard for the Indian side of the story. The characters do not mingle much with local Indians other than Ananad, who being an Oxford graduate and a bong, could hardly be classified as a local. This is where the book falls way behind Shantaram.
All in all, this is a book that will change your perspective of the hippies and in fact you might end up wanting to become a hippie yourself. A good read beyond doubt. Just go for it and you would not regret.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An English reporter and an American photographer in India to cover the war between India and Pakistan, a group of hippies trying to find enlightenment and dabbling in drugs become connected by proximity and the death of Freddie who turns out to be an undercover cop rooting out drug trafficers. Everything eventually comes down to their choices and the ultimate consequences. It was interesting and neatly tied up at the end but I found it hard to accept Larry's version of the events. He just seemed to eager to tidy everything up so that the others could move on.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A murder-mystery centered on a grimy hotel that's part of the Asian "hippy trail" in Calcutta's Sudder Street tourist in 1971, this book is funny and suspenseful. It mocks foreign correspondents, hippies, spiritual seekers, cops, Anglophile Indians, US foreign policy, hepatitis, and pretty much everything else it touches on. I laughed a lot. I liked the resolution to the mystery, too; I could tell it was written by a journalist, even before I Googled Duncan Campbell.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first reaction was a bit negative, I don't like reading books where relationships are summed up by who's fucking whom. However, since a friend lent it to me, I felt obliged to read it, so I pressed on and discovered a really fascinating and gripping read! The author obviously researched the Hippy movement and the Eastward trail, so it's a real window into that world. It has a surprising "denouement," or twist at the end. A good holiday, or long plane journey, read!

[David Stuart Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is that rather old fashioned thing, a thoroughly good read, and although the events described have passed into history and then legend it is still good to be taken back in time to when the West migrated East in force in search of they knew not what.

An ingenious ending which ties up all the loose ends, perhaps a little too well, some things are best left hanging.

[David]

Was hoping for an interesting detective thriller with added color from the hippy trail but the characters didn't interest me and I wasn't learning much about what early 1970s India was like for expats when I gave up about 60 pages in. A disappointment...

[Lynne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seemed like it would be a good read, but I was a bit disappointed. I think there were too many characters, too many intertwining stories, and I kept reading it to find out 'whodunit' and was rather let down by the end of it all.

[Ra]

Damn! I got this book from the library some few weeks ago and I have taken it out twice! The story is so fluid, it really pulls me into the scenes taking place in India! I am not sure if I like the ending,though :(

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every old hippie should read this! Thoroughly enjoyed it.