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The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific
by J. Maarten Troost

The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific Cover

Powells.com Staff Pick

When Troost followed his wife to a small island nation he expected Bali Hai. Instead he found an isolated, polluted, boiling hot hellhole. His wonderful tale is both hilarious and thrilling. This original adventure offers enjoyment and also allows renewed appreciation for your morning cup of coffee and warm shower. Kathi, Powells.com

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

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.

Review:

"At 26, Troost followed his wife to Kiribati, a tiny island nation in the South Pacific. Virtually ignored by the rest of humanity (its erstwhile colonial owners, the Brits, left in 1979), Kiribati is the kind of place where dolphins frolic in lagoons, days end with glorious sunsets and airplanes might have to circle overhead because pigs occupy the island's sole runway. Troost's wife was working for an international nonprofit; the author himself planned to hang out and maybe write a literary masterpiece. But Kiribati wasn't quite paradise. It was polluted, overpopulated and scorchingly sunny (Troost could almost feel his freckles mutating into something 'interesting and tumorous'). The villages overflowed with scavengers and recently introduced, nonbiodegradable trash. And the Kiribati people seemed excessively hedonistic. Yet after two years, Troost and his wife felt so comfortable, they were reluctant to return home. Troost is a sharp, funny writer, richly evoking the strange, day-by-day wonder that became his life in the islands. One night, he's doing his best funky chicken with dancing Kiribati; the next morning, he's on the high seas contemplating a toilet extending off the boat's stern (when the ocean was rough, he learns, it was like using a bidet). Troost's chronicle of his sojourn in a forgotten world is a comic masterwork of travel writing and a revealing look at a culture clash. (June 8) " Publishers Weekly (Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Book News Annotation:

Just in case you want to exercise your inner Gauguin, Troost here presents about a hundred reasons why you should stay in the 'burbs. He spent two years on a tropical isle, only to discover that it was a lot like hell, minus the toilets. While contending with putrifying heat, seas so polluted even those of limited divinity could walk on them, diseases never encountered in the relatively calm environs of an ER, and (shudder) no coffee or beer, Troost also found the only music to be had for miles was "La Macarena." To this case study of the absurd, Troost actually adds a bibliography. He does not include an index, which is a pity because readers may actually want to find out how many times Troost had to put up with "Half-Dead Fred" and outbreaks of hepatitis A, B, and C.
Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Review:

"Okay, so Tarawa is less paradise than purgatory, but hang in there — Troost will lead you to paradise, too. Lives up to the billing as 'a travel, adventure, humor, memoir kind of book' — and a really good one, at that." Kirkus Reviews

Synopsis:

After racking up useless graduate degrees and muddling through a series of temp jobs, author Troost decided the idea of dropping everything and moving to the ends of the Earth was irresistibly romantic. He should have known better. This is his hilarious story.
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About the Author

J. MAARTEN TROOST’s essays have appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, the Washington Post, and the Prague Post. He spent two years in Kiribati in the Equatorial Pacific and upon his return was hired as a consultant by the World Bank. After several years in Fiji, he recently relocated to the U.S. and now lives with his wife and son in California.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 4 comments:
Branmufn3, March 4, 2007 (view all comments by Branmufn3)
This book is fun. It's a shame that it has to be classified under the travel section of bookstores. I don't think I have ever been so thoroughly entertained while reading a book that makes such unexpected comments on the degradation of a civilization through Western society. It was recommended to me for a twenty-page analysis paper... I would gladly recommend it to anyone for any purpose. Just read it and you'll understand why.
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sailor's wife, November 24, 2006 (view all comments by sailor's wife)
A very entertaining book -- waiting for the sequel...
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traveller, August 22, 2006 (view all comments by traveller)
Looking forward to the author's next book!
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780767915304
Subtitle:
Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific
Author:
Troost, J. Maarten
Publisher:
Broadway Books
Location:
New York
Subject:
Ethnology
Subject:
Anthropology - Cultural
Subject:
Essays & Travelogues
Subject:
Tarawa Atoll
Subject:
Australia & Oceania - General
Copyright:
2004
Edition Number:
1st ed.
Edition Description:
PB-Video Center
Series Volume:
B108
Publication Date:
June 8, 2004
Binding:
Paperback
Language:
English
Pages:
288
Dimensions:
8.06x5.22x.76 in. .70 lbs.
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