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The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific By J. Maarten Troost ( Broadway )
Release Date: 2004-06-08
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List Price: $12.95
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Product Description
At the age of twenty-six, Maarten Troost—who had been pushing the snooze button on the alarm clock of life by racking up useless graduate degrees and muddling through a series of temp jobs—decided to pack up his flip-flops and move to Tarawa, a remote South Pacific island in the Republic of Kiribati. He was restless and lacked direction, and the idea of dropping everything and moving to the ends of the earth was irresistibly romantic. He should have known better.
The Sex Lives of Cannibals tells the hilarious story of what happens when Troost discovers that Tarawa is not the island paradise he dreamed of. Falling into one amusing misadventure after another, Troost struggles through relentless, stifling heat, a variety of deadly bacteria, polluted seas, toxic fish—all in a country where the only music to be heard for miles around is “La Macarena.” He and his stalwart girlfriend Sylvia spend the next two years battling incompetent government officials, alarmingly large critters, erratic electricity, and a paucity of food options (including the Great Beer Crisis); and contending with a bizarre cast of local characters, including “Half-Dead Fred” and the self-proclaimed Poet Laureate of Tarawa (a British drunkard who’s never written a poem in his life).
With The Sex Lives of Cannibals, Maarten Troost has delivered one of the most original, rip-roaringly funny travelogues in years—one that will leave you thankful for staples of American civilization such as coffee, regular showers, and tabloid news, and that will provide the ultimate vicarious adventure.
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 Fun and eye-opening read! ( walango )
I had my own picture painted about what I thought life on a remote island in the Pacific would be like. This book is far from my picture. This book is written in a way that gives you a really interesting idea of the reality of remote island living from an outsider's perspective. The author talks about the troubles that he and his girlfriend have adjusting and dealing with such a new type of life. And it's funny. It is really funny. The book is a great escape. You kind of feel involved in the story in a light-hearted way. I recommend this for a good read to just relax with.
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Wonderful book about real life in the Pacific
This is a marvelously humorous and accurate account of living in a small country in the Pacific. Highly recommended!
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THE ULTIMATE IN A TRAVEL BOOK ( abroad-abroad )
I would not advise the reader to travel to Kiribati, but the book is a must read for those who've never really left their comfort zone in the U.S. The author paints a beautiful picture of the riveting blue ocean, the palm trees, the colors of the sunset. But he also paints a vivid portrait of a land that the world has forgotten; the terrible conditions that the natives endure daily, the lack of food and health system. I found myself cringing as I read of the reef-toilet, the soiled diapers floating in the water, and could picture it all.
Yet, Maarten pulls you into this story so well you find yourself admiring the daily trials he had to endure, and laughing at the self-deprecating way he tells the story. It was educational, hilarious and amazing. That his marriage lasted is the amazing part.
As an expat living in Iran in the 70s, I thought I had it rough. My idea of roughing was standing in the reservation line at the Ritz Carleton. But after reading this book, Iran was like living in Paris at the Ritz Hotel.
Dodie Cross, author of A Broad Abroad in Thailand: An Expat's Misadventures in the Land of Smiles.
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Fantastic read
This book was an amazing read. Pick up a next copy for your any trip it'll make even the rainiest days perfect.
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If you have ever traveled abroad or graduated with an MA in something unuseable
I laughed out loud more than I am really willing to admit. This book is for anyone who has taken a trip to the third world or ever graduated from college with the dream of working for an NGO. His writing is easy to read and hard to put down. I loved it.
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