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 Worthy Read

Very entertaining. Maarten is an excellent writer, despite his self deprecating comments in the book. I got a good insight into what life would be like on a South Pacific island, and it’s always refreshing to get a new perspective on life’s journey. Well done. I reserve five stars for books that knock my socks off me. This one didn’t do that, but it was still very good.

Hilarious! Love This Author!!!!

as a lifelong world traveler, this author's books resonated with me. Other culture's traditions and lifestyles can be so different, and I loved the author's descriptions and humor as he made his way through tjebqorldx cultures, and experiences.

HILARIOUS

I listen to audio books at night in part to lull me to sleep. This book, however, caused the opposite problem: I laughed so hard during the entire book that it kept me awake. The merriment issuing from my side of the bed had to be a trial for my poor, sleep-deprived husband. The author is a Brit, which may provide a cultural explanation for some reviewers' complaints, but it's difficult to imagine anyone not appreciating his wit--or the narrator's excellent performance.

Absolutely Hilarious!

On more than, oh 100 or so, separate occasions I found myself, gut wrenched, banging on the steering wheel like a chimp beggin’ for peanuts, wiping the tears from my eyes with a coffee stained Starbucks napkin and nearly forgetting which pedal was the brake/gas/clutch while listening to this book...surely a spectacle to be seen in rush hour traffic...but there was no way to control it! If you like dry wit and intelligent humor you will not be able to stop listening to this book.

Such a GREAT read!

Any additional comments?

This was such an enjoyable book! I've traveled in this part of the world and I found this book really captures the culture in a respectful but humorous way. From worrying about burning baby's bottoms from incinerating used disposable diapers, to the famed poet laureate (If the position is now vacant, may I apply?), this book is well worth the time to read.

A fun listen!

Would you listen to The Sex Lives of Cannibals again? Why?

Very possibly. This is a well written, very creative book. The reader does a very nice job: just enough inflection in his voice. It seems that the reader is also enjoying the stories.

Informational but Painful Listen

I agree with other reviewers of this book. This book would be a wonderful read if the author didn't try so hard to be funny. The cultures he discusses are extremely interesting - I learned much. Still, it was a thorny rose. I suggest a second edition with more effort toward anthropolgy and sociology instead of sarcasm and unskillful humor.

loved it

I thought this book was interesting, humorous, and a good listen. I wish it were longer.

Light and entertaining with some unexpected depth

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes! It is capable of reaching listeners/readers at multiple depths and levels. It may be seen as simply comic and filled with one odd episode after another or as an interesting transformation of one caught in the rat race into one who actually can break out and be useful.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Clearly the author as he is writing in first person.

Which scene was your favorite?

Toward the end, when they return to the US and realize that all the daily minutiae we think of as life is not living at all.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed, audibly, quite often.

Any additional comments?

Don't let the title fool you. This is a funny yet deep book that does NOT exploit the inhabitants of the islands.

Funny!

I loved this book. It is hilarious and makes you wonder in what world we live in (America). Makes me want to experience the simple (and possibly dangerous) island life.