Why a Booktrail?
1913 – Come for a visit of the islands which sit in the middle of the Pacific Ocean
A Pattern of Islands
What you need to know before your trail
A young man heads off to the Pacific for the greatest adventure of his life. Working as a cadet in the colonial service in 1913, he lives in several places in the Gilbert and Ellis islands as (later Kiribati and Tuvalu) and starts to integrate himself with the locals.
He decides to stay and write about what he sees and the experiences that he has. The islands become more than just a home but a hobby and fascination of sorts. So he starts to write an account of life there – via its people, customs and day to day life. He takes time to talk to islanders, particularly those who have lived there all their lives to find out their traditions and believes. A lot he needed to know for his job, but this level of interest went a lot further.
What results in an in depth and very funny account of what life really is like on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean
Travel Guide
If you could take a time machine and head to any place on earth where would you go? The islands of Kiribati and Tuvalu would be a good place to start as this book reads like Arthur Grimble has done just that. The ultimate journey to the place that time had seemingly forgot.
ARthur’s words are an insight into the final days of colonialism, of a time lost in the middle of the Pacific Ocean when the empire was coming to an end. It’s like sitting with your favourite uncle who wants to show you his snaps but ends up regaling you with the funniest, insightful and self deprecating stories of his time there.
This is a nostalgic trip down memory lane and one which, through the eyes of a colonial worker who was fascinated by and respected the people he served amongst, he gets involved in their world, their nature their beliefs into the more mystical elements of society – the Gilbertine spirit world and the savage nature of society’s underbelly.
Oh but to have a cockroach as a pet! The three and a half inch monsters who eat feet. What about the sharks which circle the rocky coastline ? Hunting for food and also the only source of food for the people on the island.
Tattooed as part of his initiation to the island, this book will make a mark on you too.
Where Next?
