The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific [Paperback]

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Broadway; First Edition edition (June 8, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767915305
• ISBN-13: 978-0767915304
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  

By : J. Maarten Troost
Price : $11.20
You Save : $2.80 (20%)

 

The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific [Paperback]

 

Customer Reviews

You know how you feel when you've just finished a really good book and want to tell everyone you know about it? That is how I feel about THE SEX LIVES OF CANNIBALS. During the first few chapters I was laughing out loud so much and reading passages to my husband so often that he mentioned he wouldn't even have to read the book. However since he formerly lived in the Marshall Islands, this book hits home to him and he could hardly wait until I was done to grab it from my hands.
Maarten and Sylvia have no idea what they're getting themselves into when Sylvia agrees to a two-year contact to work on Tarawa, a remote island in the equatorial Pacific islands also known as Kiribas (The Gilbert Islands).
This was LOL funny in so many places! Maarten's turn of a phrase is so clever that he makes one laugh in the face of a nearly intolerable situation living on this remote island - part of which is so crowded it rivals Hong Kong in population density. The 20th century wasn't kind to these islanders. Their unique culture juxtaposed with the creations of the 20th century is very nearly ruining their culture. But Troost is able to find nearly everything funny (even though one wonders if he felt it was that funny at the moment) including the bowel habits of the natives. On the back of the book in Maarten's brief bio, it is revealed that he and is wife are living in California. One can only hope that he is becoming the writer for a sit-com. He makes other authors of humor/travel memoir seem dull in comparison. If I would compare him to anyone it would be Erma Bombeck-the way he is able to find hilarity in even the most mundane things.
This book deserves to be a bestseller and hopefully by word of mouth it will be.

The author describes living for two years in Kiribati, an ex-British colony in the Pacific Ocean that is now independent. He thought he was moving to a tropical paradise, but instead found that even in the national capital, people would regularly defecate in the lagoon, the grocery stores couldn't keep basic staples in stock, and water and electric supplies were irregular at best. He speaks of the Kiribati people with enormous and sincere affection, but a reader can't avoid the conclusion that these islands would be better off if they were still a British colony.
Troost writes in a light, humourous tone, making this book a pleasure to read, although there are places where Troost is a little too cute for his own good. A few photos would have been a nice touch, and is it asking too much for the publisher to include a map? And by the way, the title is misleading - there is very little here about sex and nothing about cannibalism. A book this good does not need the cheap gimmick of a misleading title.

Related Product

The Kiribati Test [Paperback]

The Kiribati Test [Paperback]

Product Details

• Paperback: 206 pages
• Publisher: Lulu.com (September 19, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1411613589
• ISBN-13: 978-1411613584
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  

By : Stacey Cochran
Price : $13.99

 

The Kiribati Test [Paperback]

 

Customer Reviews

This is a series of three short stories set in the future. The writing is good and the stories are quick reads and interesting. Unfortnuately, the plots/resolutions don't fall on the rights side of my ethical boundries so I didn't always get a satisfied feeling at the end. I like my main characters to be heroic good guys rather than just triumphant. Therefore, if they have a run of good luck, I prefer that they share it a little to make them more likeable. If they are forced to commit a bad deed, or fail to do the right thing, I would prefer that they show some regret.
The Kiribati Test - An average guy is a witness to a powerful man's transgression.
The Cuda - A used car salesman buys and extraordinary car.
The Con Artists - Complications arise on a trip to the moon.
Note - This is not the same as the Paperback version of the Kiribati Test. It is missing several short stories, listed below and adds the novella 'The Con Artists'.
The following are not included in the Kindle Version
Harvest Time
The Big Bang
The Quiet Couple
Born on the Bayou
The Drunk

It doesn't look like the person who wrote the above review even read the book, so I thought I would offer a perspective on the actual writing. I found some of the stories in the book to be really ingenious. "The Quiet Couple" gives a wonderful, realistic perspective on interaction in relationships, and the dialogue is entertaining and fast-paced. I also liked "The Kirabati Test," a light science fiction story with an innovative premise. The stories are a little uneven in parts of the collection and cover a variety of genres, but that also shows the author's range and potential. Overall I found the book very entertaining.