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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
A very enjoyable sailing journey throughout the Caribbean with the author and her husband over the course of a couple years.
Made me really want to visit the islands and taste all the amazing cuisines.
Also…made me NEVER want a sailboat! ;-)
Made me really want to visit the islands and taste all the amazing cuisines.
Also…made me NEVER want a sailboat! ;-)
I only got half-way through this book. It was amusing, but not very gripping. I never needed to turn the page. Eventually I set it down and forgot about it until my late notice arrived from the library. Ah well. Not a bad book.
Although I don't know anything about sailing (or particularly care to know) I did enjoy learning about it through the author. It was light on specifics, and more descriptive about what sailing feels like that what you actually do. I also enjoyed the focus on the food and local cooking, because I also love to cook.
What I didn't really like was the way the narration seemed a bit distant. I never did feel like Ann was one of my friends, and I was never rooting for her during tough times. I think it has more to do with the style of the writing than the topic, but it is what it is.
Recommended for people looking to sail the Caribbean, and for people who appreciate great food and how to cook it.
What I didn't really like was the way the narration seemed a bit distant. I never did feel like Ann was one of my friends, and I was never rooting for her during tough times. I think it has more to do with the style of the writing than the topic, but it is what it is.
Recommended for people looking to sail the Caribbean, and for people who appreciate great food and how to cook it.
Truly one of the best cruising memoirs ever written. It captures the sailing, but also the navigation, weather forecasting, social life, emotional journey, repairs, emergencies, surprises, relationships, and of course, the food and drink.
The writing is superb. I cried when they returned to Toronto at the end.
The writing is superb. I cried when they returned to Toronto at the end.
A perfect book for armchair travel. I read it many years ago one snowy Colorado winter and am not only thinking of picking it up again, but sending it to an aunt for Christmas.
Update: I finished rereading it and thought it stood up very well. The life on a sailboat and the experiences on different Caribbean islands was fascinating. I especially enjoyed how adventurous she was in trying to cook with unusual fruits and veggies and fish or replicating island recipes.
Update: I finished rereading it and thought it stood up very well. The life on a sailboat and the experiences on different Caribbean islands was fascinating. I especially enjoyed how adventurous she was in trying to cook with unusual fruits and veggies and fish or replicating island recipes.
A nice book to read in the summer--Ann writes wonderfully about sailing, the Caribbean, and taking a break from average stressors of everyday life.
I grabbed this book off of paperbackswap because I wanted to learn more about the Caribbean. As much as I enjoyed reading this book....I realized that the islands all mashed together and nothing really happened in the book.
The book is about a husband and wife quitting their jobs, renting out their house...buying a sailboat and sailing from Toronto to the Caribbean. Stuff dreams are made of... Not sure I would want to do that as I get seasick, but I would love to jump around visiting all the islands. It was fun to read recipes and hear about all the food she discovered/explored.
The book is NOT about her relationship and how it changed/grew, but about travel/sailing/and cooking.
It was a light read...go for it if you want to travel and escape the winters of the north.
The book is about a husband and wife quitting their jobs, renting out their house...buying a sailboat and sailing from Toronto to the Caribbean. Stuff dreams are made of... Not sure I would want to do that as I get seasick, but I would love to jump around visiting all the islands. It was fun to read recipes and hear about all the food she discovered/explored.
The book is NOT about her relationship and how it changed/grew, but about travel/sailing/and cooking.
It was a light read...go for it if you want to travel and escape the winters of the north.
Good beach read, of course a little dated now with GPS and cell technology. Pretty interesting to read about taking a year off to sail the Caribbean. Some recipes and fun stories about the people they meet. I don't drink and there was a lot of talk about booze, but once I started skipping over it. Good to read during the pandemic when I'm not going anywhere.
This book was great fun and an inspiration that it really is possible to take a break from regular life and travel. I got great vicarious pleasure from it.
As the book blurb states, "An Embarassment of Mangoes" is remniscent of "Under the Tuscan Sun" in that it is a travel memoir about a women who steps away from her "real life" of working her job and the dealing with other everyday stresses. The author and her husband take 2 years off from their work and set sail from Toronto to the Caribbean.
The book really made me want to do the same...especially now when I am bogged down with deadlines and too much work at the office. I NEED A VACATION!!!
The author did a great job of recounting their experiences sailing and describing the character, charms and food of each island they visited. The end of each chapter had several recipes of food that she made on that leg of the journey.
The book really made me want to do the same...especially now when I am bogged down with deadlines and too much work at the office. I NEED A VACATION!!!
The author did a great job of recounting their experiences sailing and describing the character, charms and food of each island they visited. The end of each chapter had several recipes of food that she made on that leg of the journey.