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Solomon Time: An Unlikely Quest in the South Pacific
Who hasn't fantasized about dismantling his or her hassled, wired-up life for a simpler existence? Yet who among us has the will and opportunity to do it? The answer, of course, is very few. Will Randall, a young English schoolmaster, had such a chance -- and took it. He uprooted his conventional First World life and let himself be blown to one of the farthest and most beautiful corners of the earth, the Solomon Islands of the South Pacific. In the entertaining tradition of Bill Bryson's In a Sunburned Country, this is the story of Solomon Time. From the first, it's an improbable journey. In a chance encounter on a rugby field, Randall meets a doddering old man known as "the Commander," who has retired to England after running a cocoa plantation in the South Pacific for thirty years. Six months later, the Commander dies and his will is he wants someone to travel to his beloved, long-missed island -- where his plantation has fallen into ruin -- and devise a way for the natives to support themselves. If successful, they might avoid poverty, build a new school, and even fend off the greedy developers circling their peaceful waters. It's a mission of noblesse oblige, yet possibly a fool's errand, too. Randall agrees to go. Spread across the Tropic of Capricorn, the Solomon Islands are not so much the Pacific archipelago that time forgot as the one that forgets time. Randall's new home is Mendali, a fishing village so remote it can be reached only by motorized canoe. But the people of the village, some with cheeks engraved with a rising sun, are welcoming, for they remember the Commander kindly, and still practice a pagan Anglicanism in a church he built for them in 1956. They sleep in houses made of leaves and live on fish of every sort, mud crabs, yams, ngali nuts, even the honeycomb of termites. Randall decides that the villagers could raise chickens, and they greet the idea with enthusiasm. But finding live chicken eggs in their watery world proves wildly difficult, and Randall must chase after the eggs over shark-infested seas and through jungles where strange characters reside, including a one-eyed dwarf and a tattooed lady. One couldn't imagine a better man than Will Randall to help the people of Mendali meet the twenty-first century on their own terms. But will he succeed? Solomon Time is a moving and witty account of one man's accidental adventure in paradise and is certain to enchant explorers and armchair travelers alike.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published June 6, 2002
14 people are currently reading
242 people want to read
About the author
Will Randall
11 books10 followersEnglish travel writer.
Educated in London, he taught languages in the English west country for ten years, including 5 years at Blundell's School, before moving to live in the South Pacific islands. He is best known for his book Solomon Time.
His 2003 book Indian Summer is about time he spent teaching in a school for orphans in Poona, India. While in India he also spent some time in the Indian film industry; he had a small role in The Legend of Bhagat Singh and a larger role in An Ideal Wedding.
Educated in London, he taught languages in the English west country for ten years, including 5 years at Blundell's School, before moving to live in the South Pacific islands. He is best known for his book Solomon Time.
His 2003 book Indian Summer is about time he spent teaching in a school for orphans in Poona, India. While in India he also spent some time in the Indian film industry; he had a small role in The Legend of Bhagat Singh and a larger role in An Ideal Wedding.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
January 21, 2018
What would you do if you were to find yourself living on a remote island? What if you had to improve local quality of life by setting up a profitable community business? Would you be able to cope with all of that?
Well, Will Randall coped. Fulfilling the dying wishes of the Commander, he travels to one of the Solomon Islands to help the villagers use their money in a profitable way.
It was a really enjoyable read. I’ve learned so much about the way of life of the islanders. I’ve grown to like most of the characters, and of course, Will. He writes about his adventures in a funny manner, and he also doesn’t hesitate to laugh at his own expense. I have to admit, I envied Will’s life there. The laid back lifestyle, friendliness, and general happiness are things we all wish for. Of course, they have their own difficulties, but they deal with them in quite a relaxed way. As they say “no wariwari!”.
I would recommend this to anyone interested in life on on of the Solomon Islands. I’ve read this book as part of my challenge of reading the world.
Well, Will Randall coped. Fulfilling the dying wishes of the Commander, he travels to one of the Solomon Islands to help the villagers use their money in a profitable way.
It was a really enjoyable read. I’ve learned so much about the way of life of the islanders. I’ve grown to like most of the characters, and of course, Will. He writes about his adventures in a funny manner, and he also doesn’t hesitate to laugh at his own expense. I have to admit, I envied Will’s life there. The laid back lifestyle, friendliness, and general happiness are things we all wish for. Of course, they have their own difficulties, but they deal with them in quite a relaxed way. As they say “no wariwari!”.
I would recommend this to anyone interested in life on on of the Solomon Islands. I’ve read this book as part of my challenge of reading the world.
March 4, 2013
A modern version of Lillian Beckwith
As a young boy, I used to delight in the books of Lillian Beckwith. She described her adventures, as she left her life as a teacher in England, to be plunged into a totally new culture as a crofter in the Western Isles of Scotland. I can remember laughing out loud as I read about the antics of some of the characters.
In Solomon Time, Will Randall describes how he leaves his life as a teacher in England, to become immersed in the very different culture of the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. Lillian made the change on doctor’s orders. Will made the change due to the strange will and testament of a character who is universally referred to as The Commander.
His task is to set up a viable business to sustain and improve the life of the villagers amongst whom he lives.
This is an enjoyable adventure. There are short passages, describing mixes of wildlife which appear to view simultaneously, which I simply do not believe. But I put this down to the author’s artistic license. There are plenty of laughs, and one can’t help but like many of the characters. You can’t read this book without coming to envy Will’s circumstances.
Whilst it didn’t set my world on fire, I would still thoroughly recommend it to all my friends.
As a young boy, I used to delight in the books of Lillian Beckwith. She described her adventures, as she left her life as a teacher in England, to be plunged into a totally new culture as a crofter in the Western Isles of Scotland. I can remember laughing out loud as I read about the antics of some of the characters.
In Solomon Time, Will Randall describes how he leaves his life as a teacher in England, to become immersed in the very different culture of the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. Lillian made the change on doctor’s orders. Will made the change due to the strange will and testament of a character who is universally referred to as The Commander.
His task is to set up a viable business to sustain and improve the life of the villagers amongst whom he lives.
This is an enjoyable adventure. There are short passages, describing mixes of wildlife which appear to view simultaneously, which I simply do not believe. But I put this down to the author’s artistic license. There are plenty of laughs, and one can’t help but like many of the characters. You can’t read this book without coming to envy Will’s circumstances.
Whilst it didn’t set my world on fire, I would still thoroughly recommend it to all my friends.
July 21, 2021
Solomon Time? What time? Best to throw that watch out. Soon after moving there the author realises that things happen when they happen. You can’t hurry anything so kick back and take it all in. This could easily be a life to escape to.
The story is told by a man who gave up teaching and went to a new tropical location on a whim.
You get an average feel for how life on the islands are. Lovely warm weather, palm trees, sea life, friendly people.
The storyline was fairly simple. Move somewhere new. Give to the community. Empower them. Tell a few stories. As not a great deal happens in terms of excitement, the author refers alot to two others who had been in the vicinity, Robinson Crusoe and Arthur Grimble. His multiple trips and falls are a frequent anecdote.
I imagine alot of people would enjoy the style of writing however it wasn’t really my favourite. It seemed to follow the style of writing something really dramatic and unbelievable in terms of the context and then followed up with the real situation. Two examples (from many):
Observing from his boat...”As I did so I caught sight of what appeared to be, at first glance, the antlers of a mighty Canadian elk or possibly moose rising up from the water. I half expected it to see its begoggled face surface, as, hopelessly lost, it doggy-paddled its way (if that’s what elk or moose do) in search of a new home. I slowed down. As I neared it, I realised that in fact the antlers were the branches of an entire tree that was floating half-submerged in the water.”
Then on the very next page he falls off the boat. “Through the perfect blue, percolated with necklaces of tiny iridescent bubbles, I could see two strange, white sea creatures swimming towards my face, their tentacles flailing upwards. After a moment of mild panic I realised that they were my hands clawing for the surface and breathed a deep sigh of relief.”
Overall I enjoyed learning a slight bit more about the Solomon Islands. I would recommend this to anyone who likes this style of writing and settings in tropical locations.
The story is told by a man who gave up teaching and went to a new tropical location on a whim.
You get an average feel for how life on the islands are. Lovely warm weather, palm trees, sea life, friendly people.
The storyline was fairly simple. Move somewhere new. Give to the community. Empower them. Tell a few stories. As not a great deal happens in terms of excitement, the author refers alot to two others who had been in the vicinity, Robinson Crusoe and Arthur Grimble. His multiple trips and falls are a frequent anecdote.
I imagine alot of people would enjoy the style of writing however it wasn’t really my favourite. It seemed to follow the style of writing something really dramatic and unbelievable in terms of the context and then followed up with the real situation. Two examples (from many):
Observing from his boat...”As I did so I caught sight of what appeared to be, at first glance, the antlers of a mighty Canadian elk or possibly moose rising up from the water. I half expected it to see its begoggled face surface, as, hopelessly lost, it doggy-paddled its way (if that’s what elk or moose do) in search of a new home. I slowed down. As I neared it, I realised that in fact the antlers were the branches of an entire tree that was floating half-submerged in the water.”
Then on the very next page he falls off the boat. “Through the perfect blue, percolated with necklaces of tiny iridescent bubbles, I could see two strange, white sea creatures swimming towards my face, their tentacles flailing upwards. After a moment of mild panic I realised that they were my hands clawing for the surface and breathed a deep sigh of relief.”
Overall I enjoyed learning a slight bit more about the Solomon Islands. I would recommend this to anyone who likes this style of writing and settings in tropical locations.
June 25, 2016
This is a pleasant, vaguely humorous (though rarely laugh-out-loud funny) memoir from a British teacher in the Solomon Islands. The author, who portrays himself as a good-natured bumbler, stumbles into the opportunity to travel to a small island in this remote country and enact some scheme for the betterment of the islanders. Once there, he eventually stumbles on the idea of a chicken business; then follows a long but ultimately successful quest to obtain the necessary chickens. Meanwhile he enjoys the pace and beauty of island life and the company of both islanders and expats.
And there’s not too much else to say about this one: it’s enjoyable, but not particularly insightful; we don’t learn too much either about the islands or the author. When Randall questioned the veracity of Arthur Grimble’s memoir of Pacific island life (which I also recently read), I started to wonder about Randall’s own honesty. A few episodes seem very neat, and really, who loses his footing and falls headlong into a bush or a pile of sacks every time he gives a speech? Once I could believe, but twice? Nevertheless, this is a nice lightweight read and helped fill in the Solomon Islands on my mental map. And it’s one of the few expat memoirs of the Pacific that made me a little jealous. Do a Google image search for the islands and you'll see why!
And there’s not too much else to say about this one: it’s enjoyable, but not particularly insightful; we don’t learn too much either about the islands or the author. When Randall questioned the veracity of Arthur Grimble’s memoir of Pacific island life (which I also recently read), I started to wonder about Randall’s own honesty. A few episodes seem very neat, and really, who loses his footing and falls headlong into a bush or a pile of sacks every time he gives a speech? Once I could believe, but twice? Nevertheless, this is a nice lightweight read and helped fill in the Solomon Islands on my mental map. And it’s one of the few expat memoirs of the Pacific that made me a little jealous. Do a Google image search for the islands and you'll see why!
December 27, 2016
OK, so I guess I was a bit thick, expecting to read some kind of factual account of a guy going to live on a remote South Pacific island, but that was what I wanted. I'm unlikely to get to do it myself, so reading about someone else doing it was going to be the next best thing. Except that the more I read, the more it felt like fiction, with some dramatic/funny incidents feeling as though they had been dreamed up for the sake of entertaining literature. And rather stupidly reading the foreword last with its references to research I realised that was almost certainly the case.
It shouldn't matter - after all I believed less than 25% of Henri Charriere's supposedly factual "Papillon" but it's one of my favourite books. I've reached the conclusion that it's OK if it's gritty, but not quite so OK if it's more on the level of daytime telly or slapstick.
That said, there were some gems in amongst the text, the sort of thing I'd file under 'guilty pleasures', poking fun as they did at different nationalities. For example:
"...she was from the minuscule Lord Howe Atoll, Luaniua, which was so remote and so limited in its range of activities that there was nothing for people to do but tattoo each other"
or indeed:
"...people tended to be worryingly accepting of the various religious road shows that paddled around the islands. Every halfwitted, crackpot, dishonest, unscrupulous, hypoctitical and, more often than not, American church was in evidence..."
or my favourite, speaking of the old colonials inhabiting the Yacht Club:
"Fans feebly stirred an atmosphere of outdated exclusivity and wafted the smell of stale tobacco and narrow-mindedness over almost entirely white heads".
It wasn't an unenjoyable reading experience, but if wanted proper travel literature I'd probably look elsewhere.
It shouldn't matter - after all I believed less than 25% of Henri Charriere's supposedly factual "Papillon" but it's one of my favourite books. I've reached the conclusion that it's OK if it's gritty, but not quite so OK if it's more on the level of daytime telly or slapstick.
That said, there were some gems in amongst the text, the sort of thing I'd file under 'guilty pleasures', poking fun as they did at different nationalities. For example:
"...she was from the minuscule Lord Howe Atoll, Luaniua, which was so remote and so limited in its range of activities that there was nothing for people to do but tattoo each other"
or indeed:
"...people tended to be worryingly accepting of the various religious road shows that paddled around the islands. Every halfwitted, crackpot, dishonest, unscrupulous, hypoctitical and, more often than not, American church was in evidence..."
or my favourite, speaking of the old colonials inhabiting the Yacht Club:
"Fans feebly stirred an atmosphere of outdated exclusivity and wafted the smell of stale tobacco and narrow-mindedness over almost entirely white heads".
It wasn't an unenjoyable reading experience, but if wanted proper travel literature I'd probably look elsewhere.
December 20, 2020
‘Commander’ left money for local people to set up a money making community project ( turns out to be a chicken restaurant). A teacher from England with no ideas sets out to help them. Introduces wonderful childlike characters, in a place that naturally provides all the basics for life. Simplicity with the outside world always ready to encroach. Here there is no time, no need to rush.
March 15, 2013
Amazing book. I couldn't put it down for two days and reread it a few weeks later. Randall's prose is terrific and engaging. I laughed from start to finish about his (mis)adventures in the New Georgia Group of the Western Province, Solomon Islands. His experience on Rendova Island was remarkably similar to mine (including the rats at night!) :-) A "travel" book I would highly recommend!
November 22, 2008
I really like this author. I've read all of his books, and whilst he gets increasingly self-important as he publishes more books, his first 3 are very funny and tell the story of a man who makes the most of his time.
May 26, 2008
Decent writer, but the book never managed to make it past mildly interesting for me.
May 13, 2017
Solomon Islands
May 30, 2022
This is a memoir from a British teacher in the Solomon Islands. The author, who portrays himself as a good-natured bumbler, stumbles into the opportunity to travel to a small island in this remote country. He desires to do something for the betterment of the islanders. Once there, he thinks of a chicken business; then follows a long but ultimately successful quest to obtain the necessary chickens. He finds that enjoys the pace and beauty of island life and the people. It was fairly enjoyable, but I don’t learn too much about the islands or the author.
May 23, 2018
I never before wondered what it would be like to live in the Solomon Islands.
July 18, 2018
Nice story about english guy who came to Solomon Islands and change the life there a little bit for the people, who are living here and most for himself.
July 28, 2018
A gentle, mildly humorous travel story. Easy to read, with well-drawn characters.
December 29, 2018
Very slow to start with, so put it down for a while and then decided to give it another go and found it interesting, a gentle tale.
January 1, 2019
A nice light read - plenty of giggles along the way. Not sure quite how much of it is true but that doesnt really matter.
February 12, 2020
Great book by a great author I recommend to all!
January 20, 2022
Enjoyed it. Made me feel like traveling again. #postpandemic.
March 30, 2022
Awesome travelogue, the author has a very easy writing style.
January 18, 2023
Next best thing to going there myself
June 6, 2023
Like watching paint dry. 3/4 through and I think I’m going to quit. I rarely don’t finish a book but this one it just darn hard for me to pick back up. 🤷♀️
October 26, 2023
Another Pacific Ocean account and how life could be of we were hair with the simple life. But of course, born in the west and living a life of comforts we can no longer imagine being without.
February 22, 2025
great reed after visiting the Solomons
I visited the Solomon Islands and was recommended this book. It fully describes the spirit of the place. Great job.
I visited the Solomon Islands and was recommended this book. It fully describes the spirit of the place. Great job.
March 15, 2025
A very well written and gripping insight into a different world.
September 29, 2024
3.5* rounded up. solomon time is a little outside my usual domain in terms of being a travel memoir, but i bought a signed copy of this and Indian Summer after the author visited my sixth form about 8-9 years ago. after picking this up multiple times and never finishing it (which had nothing to do with the quality of the book and everything to do with me being quite depressed), i have finally gotten around to finishing it. solomon time was a fun glimpse into life on the solomon islands, a dive into the culture and the people who live there.
✧ full review on my tumblr ✧
✧ full review on my tumblr ✧
November 9, 2012
2008 bookcrossing:
I really, really enjoyed this book. It’s my second Randall book. This one is actually his first, marking the start of his worldwide adventures. In his early thirties, single and teaching languages at a British secondary school, he is feeling a bit stuck in a rut. Some friends of his offer him an unique job opportunity, and after an encounter with a desperate drunken woman, he accepts.
He is sent to an island in the Solomon Islands to help the locals use the money left to them by the old Commander (an old-style British stiff-upper-lip type who used to run the island back in the day it was part of the British empire) to set up a simple money making scheme so that they can make their own money to provide for things like electricity. Randall goes having no idea what he will suggest, or what life is going to be like on the Solomon Islands.
The pace of life there made me a little envious. None of this burocracy and career building rubbish that we have over here. Very chilled out, steady pace of life. Just imagine the ease with which they start selling cooked chicken – no red tape or anything!
Although island life isn’t perfect… there’s the odd mention of cannibalism in the more rural parts; and one guy who hacked off his neighbour’s daughter’s head in order to get rid of the curse on him!
The language, pidgin English, was fun to try and figure out. Fun tumas! Ha ha.
One of the things that really still sticks with me is actually the dedication in the front of the book. “This is a book for anyone who things it might be time for a change.” Really well timed with the way I seem to be feeling these days anyway.
I really, really enjoyed this book. It’s my second Randall book. This one is actually his first, marking the start of his worldwide adventures. In his early thirties, single and teaching languages at a British secondary school, he is feeling a bit stuck in a rut. Some friends of his offer him an unique job opportunity, and after an encounter with a desperate drunken woman, he accepts.
He is sent to an island in the Solomon Islands to help the locals use the money left to them by the old Commander (an old-style British stiff-upper-lip type who used to run the island back in the day it was part of the British empire) to set up a simple money making scheme so that they can make their own money to provide for things like electricity. Randall goes having no idea what he will suggest, or what life is going to be like on the Solomon Islands.
The pace of life there made me a little envious. None of this burocracy and career building rubbish that we have over here. Very chilled out, steady pace of life. Just imagine the ease with which they start selling cooked chicken – no red tape or anything!
Although island life isn’t perfect… there’s the odd mention of cannibalism in the more rural parts; and one guy who hacked off his neighbour’s daughter’s head in order to get rid of the curse on him!
The language, pidgin English, was fun to try and figure out. Fun tumas! Ha ha.
One of the things that really still sticks with me is actually the dedication in the front of the book. “This is a book for anyone who things it might be time for a change.” Really well timed with the way I seem to be feeling these days anyway.
February 27, 2016
Imagine dropping everything in 1999 and moving to a remote island in the Solomon Islands? Oh and you are tasked with coming up with a project that will supply the people of that island with an income after you leave a year later.
And you are a British school teacher of foreign languages, and well......like it or not you are a fish out of water, and funny as well. If this describes you then you must be Will Randall the author of this book, Solomon Time. A dry British, very funny book about a man determined to help these islanders.
And you are a British school teacher of foreign languages, and well......like it or not you are a fish out of water, and funny as well. If this describes you then you must be Will Randall the author of this book, Solomon Time. A dry British, very funny book about a man determined to help these islanders.
March 31, 2009
I thought this was such a lovely book. Endearingly narrated, the book tells the tale of a teacher who gives up everything and ups sticks to live in the Solomon Islands and help with the community. It is a really captivating and charming story with a narrator that you can't help but love.
A nice easy read and comes well recommended.
A nice easy read and comes well recommended.
August 7, 2011
Will Randall writes such sweet books. He has a real respect for the people he meets, and gives them real character that you love them too.
He's amusing, thoughtful and fun. An author of nice feelgood books.
He's amusing, thoughtful and fun. An author of nice feelgood books.
July 16, 2022
-This book takes place in the Solomon Islands and is one of the books representing Oceania on my list “Seven Continents of
Books 2021” -
An enjoyable read, and I learned some things about the Solomon Islands, but he could have done more with it.
Books 2021” -
An enjoyable read, and I learned some things about the Solomon Islands, but he could have done more with it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews