Non-Fiction/Travel
Maarten Troost doesn't feel like he fits in his normal American job, so when his fiancee is asked to work at a non-profit at the end of the world, Troost follows. The country is Kiribati, located in the central Pacific Ocean, requiring many flights to get there. The island has history, as Japanese and American fought on the island during WWII. Tarawa is also an incredibly populated city, despite being in such a small area. Troost describes with humour his two year adventure on Kiribati, including run-ins with people pooping in the sea water he was swimming in, a dry spell with no beer, and how the locals only seem to listen to the Macarena.
The book labels itself as laugh-out-loud funny but I didn't find it that funny. It was quite quirky though. I noticed that had the author's name not been on the front of the book there's no way I would have known what his name was because I don't think he mentions it at all throughout the book. Rather, Kiribati residents call him an I-Matang, which means a foreigner.
I don't think I would actively seek out Troost's two other books but if I ever came across them I'd certainly read them.
First Line: "One day, I moved with my girlfriend Sylvia to an atoll in the Equatorial Pacific."
Rating: 
(3.5/5)
No comments:
Post a Comment