Don't Stop the Carnival

Don't Stop the Carnival by Herman Wouk


Have you ever sat at your desk wondering if you owned the place how great life would be? Or have you ever gone on vacation and wondered what it would be to pick up from a 9 to 5 routine and move to the islands. Norman Paperman takes you on both these adventures at the same time. Don’t stop the carnival is a great island read. The characters in the book are memorable and very relatable. I have read many books about Caribbean island living and this is one of my favorites. It is one of those novels where you take away what you put in it. Norman is going through his version of a midlife crisis and he is bringing us along for the ride. There are no in your face moral take-aways in the end of this book, but we do see a world where the fun never stops. This novel shows the world from several different perspectives. What Norman wants in the beginning and what he decides he wants in the end are two very different things. I love how realistic some of the mishaps that Paperman goes through on Amerigo. My only disappointment was not being able to witness Normans’ final transformation first hand. In play form I believe shock would be enough but I still wanted to know what he was thinking and why he had changed his mind. If you see island travel in your near to distant future take this book with you and you can appreciate it when the power goes out for several hours right in the middle of your dinner.

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