How long does it take to read Noa Noa?
Noa Noa by Paul Gauguin takes about 2 hours 43 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 2 hours 43 minutes
An evening's read
First published 1900. 148 pages, about 40,700 words.
6 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 4 hours 31 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 2 hours 43 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 1 hour 42 minutes |
The page count is the median across 51 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
Paul Gauguin fled what he called "filthy Europe" in 1891 to what he hoped would be an unspoiled paradise, Tahiti. He painted 66 magnificent can vases during the first two years he spent there and kept notes from which he later wrote Noa Noa—a journal recording his thoughts and impressions of that time. Noa Noa—the most widely known of Gauguin's writings—is reproduced here from a rare early edition (1919), in a lucid translation capturing the artist's unpretentious style. Page after page reveals Gauguin's keen observations of Tahiti and its people, and his passionate struggle to achieve the inner harmony he expressed so profoundly on canvas. Gauguin's prose is as seductive as his paintings, filled with descriptions of warm seas, hidden lagoons, lush green forests, and beautiful Maori women. The journal is captivating reading, offering a compelling autobiographical fragment of the soul of a genius and a rare glimpse of Oceanian culture. The brief periods of happiness Gauguin found among the Tahitians are eloquently expressed in his narrative. We understand the motives that drove him and gain a deeper appreciation of his art. Today the manuscript provides unparalleled insight into Gauguin's thoughts as he strove to achieve spiritual peace, and into the wellsprings of a singular artistic style which changed the course of modern art. This wonderfully affordable edition—enhanced by 24 of Gauguin's South Seas drawings—makes a unique and passionate testament accessible to all art lovers.
Subjects: Painters, Diaries, Biography, Travel, Correspondence, reminiscences, Social life and customs
