Tales from Cannibal Isle

Tales from Cannibal Isle is more than an account of historical and present-day life in the mythical paradise of Fiji. It is a quest into the deepest roots of human culture in an attempt to find out what it is that persuades us to acts of love and compassion, and, by contrast, to hatred and fear. The island nation of Fiji, with its cannibalistic past, its sporadic multicultural and interracial harmony, and its series of military coups turned out to be the perfect place for the quest. It has had enough brutality and gentility to instruct a planet.

In spite of its serious subject matter, this book is adventurous and fun. Inspired by the search for the Holy Grail and lured by the artist Paul Gauguin in his search of the savage dream, the writer takes us on a journey into the heart of Polynesia and the mind of anthropology. At times humorous, at times disturbing, the account is intimate and revealing. And in a way more fundamental and compelling than the writer could have known at the outset, it is a story about life - and death.