The Sex Lives of Cannibals - J Maarten Troost - first published 2004
The author and his girlfriend Sylvia, who works for an aid organisation, spend 2 years living on the island of Tarawa, which is part of the Republic of Kirbati (pronounced Kiri-bas), formerly the Gilbert Islands, in the South Pacific. Far from being a tropical paradise, Tarawa is a small overpopulated, drought-striken island with no formal sewage or rubbish disposal system - it all ends up on the surrounding reef, which smells lovely when the tide goes out. Maarten Troost tells the story of their life on Tarawa humorously and portrays the I-Kiribati people in an honest but sympathetic way. However it won't do much for Kirbati's tourism industry! The only cannibals in the book are the local dogs. It really is a dog eat dog world! It is a shame that there are no photos in the book, as I couldn't find many online. I look forward to reading the author's book Getting Stoned with Savages on my next Around the World in 80 Books tour. 8/10
26th December 2011
No comments:
Post a Comment