The Sex Lives of Cannibals

By Angeleah A.

   "There is no place on Earth where color has been rendered with such intense depth, from the first light of dawn illuminating a green coconut frond to the last ray of sunset, when the sky is reddened to biblical proportions. And the blue...have you seen just how blue blue can get in the equatorial Pacific? In comparison, Picasso's blue period seems decidedly ash-gray."

    When Maarten Troost's girlfriend Sylvia comes home and asks him if he wants to move to a remote Pacific island it took him about three seconds to take stock of his life, and realize this was the best offer he'd ever had. They pack, mostly the wrong things, and before you can say Robinson Crusoe find themselves on the island of Tarawa in the Republic of Kiribati.

    Now there are few issues you may have with Troost. First this title, though catchy and even giggle worthy, has nothing to do with the book. We do not meet cannibals in this book nor do we learn about cannibals in this book, and even more disappointing we don't get an "insiders" look at the sex lives of such beastly people. So those of you, hopefully there are not many, who are looking for some information on a lifestyle revolving around the consumption of human flesh this is not the book for you.

    Second, for me this concept would have been a bit more impressive if Troost is escaping the rigor of a working life. If he had been slaving away at some dead end corporate job, like many of the rest of us, and had thrown it all away for the back to nature, finding himself, adventure. He is more than a little smug about his life, pushing the snooze button on the alarm clock of life which is code to me for "I'm living off someone else". My stiff-neck over this issue dissolved as I found myself chuckling frequently, maybe somewhat maliciously so, over his hapless adventures.

    I think the book is worth reading if you like to read about adventure, nature, and culture. And I think it is always good to read just for the sake of reading. So read the book. It's available on Amazon.