We thought it would be fun to have different people post on our blog from time to time, to offer different perspectives, and maybe even to review books we wouldn’t think to read. Today we have the first such guest review, written by Shannon’s husband Clark.
Let’s start with what this book is not about: Sex, Cannibals or their sex lives. I’m honestly not sure how the book got its title, so if a book about the sexual habits of people-eaters doesn’t sound like something that would interest you, you’re in luck! If, instead, this book sounds just riqué enough to pique your interest, well, that’s probably why they picked the title.
But let’s cover what the book is about: Kiribati. Kiribati (which you’ve almost certainly been pronouncing wrong your entire life: it’s KEE-ree-buhss) is a tiny nation of islands in the Pacific Ocean, comprised mostly of atolls. Maarten moves to Kiribati as a late-20-something looking for some adventure when his girlfriend takes a job running an NGO there. Instead of finding a tropical resort, he is dismayed to discover that he has moved to an island that is a few miles long, a few hundred yards across and decidedly third world. The electricity and water supply are intermittent, the heat and bugs are incessant, and the plumbing is non-existent.
The book is part history but mostly travelogue – but good luck traveling there when the Air Kiribati fleet is only 2 planes which are sometimes broken down and out of commission for weeks at a time. This is certainly not a serious, scholarly book. He humorously covers tales of searching the island for fresh fruit and beer and instead settling for fish every day. There are adventures with travel to other islands, avoiding dangers in the water while swimming and surfing (warning: the dangers are not what you expect – they’re far grosser), and the many wild dogs of the island.
The book certainly doesn’t take itself too seriously. He makes a few lewd jokes here and there, freely disrespects all the religions he finds on the island, and there’s plenty of self deprecating humor – like his packing list, which included jeans and a sweater on an island where it never, ever cools off. I enjoyed the book, and would interrupt Shannon to read her the funnier bits (possibly to her annoyance). At 272 pages with short, contained chapters it’s a nice book to read to make you appreciate, well, pretty much everything around you.
3 stars
BOOKBURGER 