The Island of Desire (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. A South Pacific Adventure of Polynesian Romance, Castaway Survival, and the Search for an Earthly EdenBy Robert Dean Frisbie
Length9h 47m
About this audiobook
The Island of Desire belongs to the rich interwar tradition of South Seas literature, yet it resists the merely decorative exoticism often associated with that genre. Frisbie writes of island life with lyrical immediacy, attentive to lagoon, reef, weather, bodily labor, and the delicate tensions between longing and isolation. The book's title signals both romance and disenchantment: desire is not simply erotic or escapist, but a force that tests the dream of paradise against solitude, mortality, and cultural encounter. Robert Dean Frisbie was unusually equipped to write such a work. An American who left the United States after wartime illness and settled for many years in Polynesia, especially in the Cook Islands, he wrote from lived experience rather than tourist fantasy. His friendships with Pacific writers and his family life among island communities gave his prose a texture of intimacy, even as it remains shaped by the assumptions of its period. Readers interested in maritime literature, colonial-era Pacific writing, or reflective adventure narratives will find The Island of Desire rewarding. It offers not spectacle alone, but a thoughtful meditation on place, yearning, and the costs of seeking an earthly Eden.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
GenreAction and Adventure, Romance
Length9 hrs 47 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateDec 9, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
12PART II. THE HURRICANE
2PART I. DANGER ISLAND
13Chapter I
3Chapter I
14Chapter II
4Chapter II
15Chapter III
5Chapter III
16Chapter IV
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6Chapter IV
17Chapter V
7Chapter V
18Chapter VI
8Chapter VI
19Chapter VII
9Chapter VII
20THE END
10Chapter VIII
21Memorable Quotes
11EPILOGUE
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