The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific Review
Hmmm, there wasn't much about sex or cannibals in this book, but despite this, it was uproariously funny. I had read one of Troost's books before and was only luke-warm towards it, this one however, was a a pretty good book.
Troost and his girlfriend Sylvia decide they need to get away from it all after graduating from college. They apply for jobs all over and finally one comes in from a little island in the Pacific, Tarawa, which is a part of the Republic of Kiribati. Since he is essentially a "house husband" here he finds himself spending the days surfing, cleaning, worrying about clean water and trying to find some sort of food. Most worrying is that with the abundance of people and no reliable waste disposal, the surrounding area is very toxic and even the local fish are dangerous to eat. It certainly provides an adventure for even surviving on the island.
Troost and his girlfriend spend two years on this island where gradually they become used to the living conditions (although not the Macarena, which is played constantly by everyone). Although somewhat deceiving there is cannibalism and an interesting sex life portrayed on the island. But it isn't by the people, but rather the wild dogs that roam the area. They manage to survive their time but it leaves them deeply changed and the last chapter deals with how they try to adjust to life in America and their attempts to buy clothes, shop for groceries in a place that provides maximum choices, and re-adjusting to needing money for most things.
Troost is a very funny writer. While his work isn't very polished it does have a great flow to it and he injects a huge amount of humor into it. With his descriptions it is easy to see the island where he lives through his words. You can see the beaches, the trees, the glaringly hot sun. But to this same extent you can see the filth, the mangy animals and the other disastrous elements that makes the island a dangerous place to live. Troost is a great narrator and his voice provides a good telling for the story. My only complaint would be that he is very whiny. Yes he tells everything as hilarious, but overall there is a sense of self pity in the book. Its almost as if he barely found anything utterly fantastic and that there was a bad element to everything.
He does a decent job of describing the people of the island. They are varied in their thoughts but all love storytelling, eating good food, and beer. On an island there's not much to do so singing and dancing and overall just music is a great hobby here. They also have "local legends" of their own and love telling Troost stories about the people and area. He in turn gives us a nice retelling of some of these stories.
This book was definitely one of the better ones I've read of his. I'll probably continue to read his books and look forward to some of the other places he visits and writes about.
The Sex Lives of Cannibals
Copyright 2004
272 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2010
The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific Overview
At age twenty-six, Maarten Troost decided to pack up his flip-flops and move to a remote South Pacific island. The idea of dropping everything and moving to the ends of the earth was irresistibly romantic. He should have known better.
This book tells the hilarious story of what happens when he discovers that the island is not the paradise he dreamed of. Falling into one amusing misadventure after another, Troost struggles with stifling heat, deadly bacteria, and polluted seas in a country where the only music to be heard is "La Macarena." He and his girlfriend, Sylvia, contend with incompetent officials, alarmingly large critters, a paucity of food options (including the Great Beer Crisis), and bizarre local characters, including "Half-Dead Fred" and the so-called Poet Laureate of Tarawa, a British drunkard who's never written a poem in his life.
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Customer Reviews
Highly entertaining slice of a far away world, very funny - Ken Pru - Baltimore, MD United States
This book was much funnier than I expected, but also very educational. I learned so much about another culture and way of life. I listened to it as an audio book and the reader had a great sense of comedic timing. It was a fascinating tour of an area you never learn about in the travel magazines or discovery channel. It is about a slice of land the middle of nowhere. I can see myself listening to this every few years and enjoying it every time. Skip over the part about dogs if you have kids listening!
HYSTERICAL ! - D. H. Bowe - Houston Texas
Another great read from M. Troost; Highly recommend this one and can't wait for him to do some more traveling and hit the computer with another read ! Recommend ANYTHING this author writes
Excellent! Can really feel I was there. - hurbisto -
I was looking for a book that would tell me about people's experiences (mainly culture shock) living abroad (no matter where) and this book really met that goal. I particularly loved his writing style and the humor he weaves into the stories. Many times I had to laugh out loud, making me look like an idiot to the other patron's at Starbucks. You really get a feel for Kiribati living. The UN should make this book mandatory reading to any aid worker to be sent there.
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