The Sex Lives of Cannibals : Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific

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Summary: Great Summer Read.
Review: As I walked through the bookstore I stopped when I saw the title and wondered what interesting deviant thoughts could fill a book with a title like that.

I read the back cover and decided to take a chance on something I don't read very often, a travel novel. This was a great book. There are references to sex and to cannibals (the island was once conquered by a tribe that after eliminating all the men on the island they were eaten).

Troost's time in the atoll is captivatingly captured in his book. I read this book over a week's commute and wish I had saved it for the summer. It would have bee a great summer read at the beach.

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Summary: Hilarious
Review: For those that complain that the title is meaningless. Get real. I am laughing out loud thinking people bought it for that reason. We're you actually expecting to read how cannibals have sex? I thought the title was witty. It is a hilarious book about the author traveling to Tarawa. He pokes fun at the natives and himself. This is a guy who went into a difficult situation for an American used to air conditioning and convenience and managed to find the laughter in it instead of getting depressed. I couldn't put it down. A great read!

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Summary: Wonderful reading, transports you into equatorial pacific
Review: Great book, I started reading books on travel recently and rea a few Bill Bryson. Wife picked this up the other day (the title caught her curiosity) and up on reading the first few pages realized this would be a treat and so it was.

Enjoyed the easy diction and story telling and the plight of the micronesians, its true to life.

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Summary: kiribati teboboto
Review: I have the privilege of working with communities from Kiribati (and 13 other Pacific Island countries) that are trying to find ways to improve the management of their waste, freshwater and coastal fisheries. Mr Troosts' book is a great read. Whenever I thought he was getting a little too cute or judgemental he always managed to come up with something that made me laugh out loud. I've only ever been to Kiribati once and, like one of the glazed consultants that he mentions in his book, I was only there long enough to sense that chaos and kindness seem to share a certain, surreal, sort of balance. However, people will be pleased to hear, that some I-Kiribati are starting to inspire others to transform their rubbish into compost and, eventually, into vegetables for their kids. If you want to see how one I-Kiribati woman is doing more than having "sex with cannibals" check out - www.sprep.org/iwp

Rating:
Summary: A great Read!
Review: I just finished reading this book and could not put it down. I wanted to tear through it and was sad when it was done! It made me want to run to an island to live....and made me never want to go near one! Very funny and well written.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Read
Review: I loved this book...it has a lot of substance & was entertaining. It's very informative and not just a lot of fluff about "surfer dudes" on little islands in the Pacific. The inconveniences, the heat, the diseases, the picturesque views...all made a terrific travelogue.

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Summary: Ah! Theres a bug on you!
Review: I think the author used the title just to grab our attention. Duh! Of course there aren't any cannibals in the book--you can tell if you read the back cover. This is a humorous, fascinating look into an island who is responding---or not, to Americanization. Its a look into how a modern young, educated couple could survive in the Tropics, if they really could persevere. I don't know if I could've made it through all that the author and his beloved Sylvia could have. The trials and tribulations they go through are just----winsome. Its like an anthropology lesson and a comic book; the author has done his research and has also maintained a respect for his subject.
This book is "light" meaning that you can easily read it and enjoy it at the pool or at the beach. I recommend an outside setting when you read it. It adds to the ambiance that is set up.
I recommend this story---and look forward to more if the author feels duty bound to write another in say, 10 years or so. Its an unusual type of book, but its worth the read. I'm sharing it with my friends and family!

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic! Couldn't put it down
Review: I've never ventured into the genre of travel narratives before, and this book was a wonderful start. I just couldn't put the book down. Mr. Troost discuss his 2 years in Kiribati with his girlfriend, Sylvia, as they adjust to a life vastly different from that in the US. Each chapter provides a humourous anecdote about their experiences, from interactions with natives to near death experiences at sea. What really makes the book wonderful is that you really feel like you get to know the author, and you feel like you are experiencing the torments and tribulations of island life with him. I do hope he writes more!

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Summary: Fishguy
Review: My first though as I started reading this was "these are really long sentences". Picked at random I discovered 45, 64, 85 words in single sentences. But then I realized that they were actually had a good rhythm and I could understand what he was saying. Point one for the writer. Next I felt he was taking some really unkind shots at these little island nations; the filth, rats, bugs, dogs, corruption, dysfunctional airlines, greed, incompetent governments, fumbling international aid agencies and the heat at night of an inappropriate western house, oh god the heat! Then I remembered that I knew that hot little equatorial world he spoke of and, in fact, that's how it is. Point two for Mr. Troost. And then he spoke of the sunsets, the blue water, the very human and cheerful people, the singing, and the feeling that you could see the beginning of the world, and the end, from an empty little beach. And now he's got me writing block-long sentences. Point three for Maarten.

This is one of the more realistic books I've read about these new island countries of Micronesia and Polynesia. Read it if you're thinking about getting off the tourist circuit to see the "real Pacific". Get two copies if you think you want to work in a little island nation buffeted by the whims of international bureaucracies and local governments. If the yachting life calls or if your kids want to skip a year of college to carry a backpack while following Fanny and Robert Louis Stevenson, buy copies for the whole family.

And for Sylvia, Lukas and Maarten where ever you might be, you will find that Kiribati has changed your life no matter where life takes you. Thanks for sharing.


Rating:
Summary: What a Joy!
Review: Simply put, this book is a joy to read. I laughed outloud and couldn't put it down. You'll really appreciate the comforts of home after reading the tales of this author's time on this remote island.