The Sex Lives of Cannibals

Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific

By: J. Maarten Troost

Narrated by: Simon Vance

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)

Fantastic

This was my first audible book and I loved it. The visual descriptions were fantastic, it made me laugh out loud. I was so into it I listened even when I wasn't in the car! The narrator was great and easy to hear and understand. There weren't a lot of voices or accents which I appreciated.

Very funny! I recommend it

The narrator was fantastic and the author has a great sense of humor! A bit of history about Pacific atolls as we!l!

wrong narrator?

narration didn't seem to align with author in terms of age. [narration didn't seem to align with author in terms of age.]

A true Monty Pythonesque South Pacific adventure

Back in the mid-70's I was sent to the Pacific Islands as a Peace Corps Volunteer and ended up staying there for the next twenty-five years. I mention this because "The Sex Lives of Cannibals" was a hilarious flashback experience as I listened to the audiobook. To someone who is not familiar with the islands the book is a comical adventure with serious overtones of Monty Python. To someone who actually lived in the islands, it is a true life adventure in all of its absurdity. Just about everything that Troost describes about his island experience is literally real, as I had many of the exact same experiences...from the island dogs, to ocean going misadventures, and on to encounters with "Half-dead Fred"! I loved the audiobook and will joyfully listen to his further adventures.

Excellent reading of a nondescript novel

Vance really made this audio book for me. His delivery drove home every punch line and conveyed the sense of hilarious frankness of the text.

Otherwise, it's a fairly nondescript travel narrative with no plot, little character development, and nothing especially substantial. There's very little discussion of sex lives or cannibals, and quite a lot of talk about poop.

I'd recommend it if you're looking for something light and fluffy for easy entertainment, but don't expect anything grand.