The Sex Lives of Cannibals

Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific

By: J. Maarten Troost

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

At age 26, 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. But he should have known better.

This is 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, polluted seas, and toxic fish, in a country where the only music to be heard is "La Macarena". He and his stalwart girlfriend, Sylvia, contend with alarmingly large critters, a paucity of food options (including the Great Beer Crisis), and such bizarre local characters as "Half-Dead Fred" and the Poet Laureate of Tarawa, a British drunkard who's never written a poem in his life.

©2004 J. Maarten Troost (P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"A comic masterwork of travel writing." (Publishers Weekly)
"Troost has a command of place and narrative that puts his debut in company with some of today's best travel writers." (Elle)
"A delightful, self-depreciating, extremely sly account of life in a place so wretched it gives new, terrible meaning to getting away from it all." (National Geographic Adventure)

A hilarious surprise

Sometimes you just take a chance on a book.. The title isn't one you'd normally reach for, it's in a different genre than you usually read but something just catches your attention and you take a chance.
I did just that with Sex Lives of Cannibals and it tuned out to be one of the funniest books I've had in awhile. I found myself chuckling and laughing throughout it.
While the author does exaggerate and fictionalizes at times, who cares? This is a tongue in cheek book not a critical travel piece on the Pacific.
The narrator is terrific (though I never did get the logic of having an Englishman read for a New Yorker) and funny.
Take this book as offered, don't analyze it just enjoy it and you're bound to be entertained.

Travel/ humor fans*

I have to admit, I have listened to this author’s books repeatedly. Three of them seem to be so much alike, it’s hard to give a precise review. The author likes living on remote little island type places and talking of the locals and their customs. He also talks a bit about his family. He describes the scenery, the lifestyle and food. He stresses that his books are not travel books because he lives in the places , but they still seem to be travel books to me. All very good and Simon Vance is Unable To Narrate Poorly. His voice is a treasure.

strangely envy inducing.<br />

It just kept getting funnier as it went along.I found the narrator to be superior

mmm mmm good!

Where does The Sex Lives of Cannibals rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The author is engaging, comical and self deprecating. Simon Vance is brilliant! Not quite a travel book, but an all out adventure in the 21st century. Very entertaining from beginning to end.

What did you like best about this story?

The author manages to reveal life on an atole in the Pacific ocean. Some are marooned, while others like the author follow their wives, and so the adventure begins. Spot on!

Have you listened to any of Simon Vance’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Absolutely brilliant!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I wanted to get on a plane, but thankfully came to my senses, finished the book and realized that real paradise is just not the same with the shit, sharks and tsnamis.

Any additional comments?

Buy this audiobook and you'll never see the South Pacific in the same way.

Funny and insightful

What made the experience of listening to The Sex Lives of Cannibals the most enjoyable?

The fact that for several days after listening to it, I heard my life narrated by the author.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Sex Lives of Cannibals?

It was all memorable

What does Simon Vance bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His voice and narration, again as he is the author, his story telling is far better than any one else who would attempt to read the book.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

all of it

Entertaining.

I really enjoyed learning about this little island from the perspective of the author. Very entertaining.

Island life I can relate

I live on the Big Island of Hawaii and can relate to many of the challenges of island living discussed in the book. I enjoyed his recount of island life.

Delightful and Sobering at the Same Time

Both genuinely funny and enlightening, even disturbing, especially for those of us who fantasize about visiting an untouristed tropical isle in the South Pacific.

Very entertaining!

The story was funny, with very interesting insights into the nature of human beings.

Very Funny

The narrator, Simon Vance, moves this book from mildly diverting to something closer to wonderful. The story of the slacker boyfriend accompanying accomplished partner to remote Pacific Island is a classic of the literary form. Probably a big hit among the development economist set. Think I'll have to read the rest of the Troost/Vance oeuvre.