A Beginner's Guide to Paradise

By Alex Sheshunoff

I received this from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

While the title is amusing, I was rather underwhelmed with the book over all. It has many redeeming qualities, don't get me wrong. The author tells his story which makes you laugh and think about life. Unfortunately, this felt like the male version of Eat, Pray, Love but with more money.

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I laughed out loud, I chuckled and chortled, I wondered why he chose such obscure places but I never wondered why he did it. I did ponder a bit on his choice of reading material but never his style of writing - it just fit the way he told his story. It took me longer than I anticipated to finish the book and I have to attribute that to my perception that this was a memoir and I never race through someone's life.

Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy. ( )

When is Alex Sheshunoff’s, “A Beginner’s Guide to Paradise” a good book to read?

When you are:
a. Considering moving to a remote island in search of paradise?
b. Waiting for a root canal procedure to commence?
c. Trapped beneath something heavy and the only item within reach is this book to pass the time before help arrives?
d. Procrastinating from writing your own book?
e. Wanting to read a delightfully absurd and insightful memoir by a talented, debut author.
or
f. All of the above.

To give you a hint, Sheshunoff’s treasure chest of poignant witticisms sprinkled with reflective prose embodies universal appeal. We have all dreamed of “getting away” from it all, but few of us have the moxie to do it. Albeit fueled by a quarter life crisis and an embarrassment for not having read several literary classics, Sheshunoff’s pursuit is familiar and captivating, bringing us closer to understanding ourselves as we follow along with his outlandish adventures.

Do yourself a favor; make a frothy, fruity drink, sit beneath a palm tree (or poster of a palm tree) and read this book. You’ll laugh, cringe, and be fully engaged with Sheshunoff’s life choices and results. Fun, creative, and sharp-witted, "A Beginner’s Guide to Paradise" is a book you don’t want to miss.

The answer, by the way, is f.
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Alex gives up the city life and moves to a small island in the Pacific. He brings few provisions, but he does bring 100 books. How can you not like that premise. He starts out on the island of Yap and ends up on the island of Palau. Who wouldn't like to do this? Interesting read. The only fault with the book was that I found it a bit lengthy, I found myself skimming after about page 290. This book was a fun journey to follow and it will certainly make the reader think about how nice it would be to leave the rat race behind sometimes. ( )

A Beginner's Guide to Paradise: 9 Steps to Giving Up Everything by Alex Sheshunoff is a highly recommended humorous, anecdotal travelogue. This is the guide for those who want a hilarious look at someone who drops everything to move to an island. He lists the nine titular steps as: 1. Pick an Island; 2. Ask some Questions (but not too many); 3. Adjust Loincloth; 4. Find a Safety Pin... 5. And some Lucky Strikes; 6. Study the Art of the Rope Ladder; 7. Do as Chief Chuck does; 8. Reflect, Briefly; 9. And Hope for the Best.

After having a quarter life crisis, Alex left his dot com start-up business in NYC, broke up with his girlfriend, packed up 100 books he felt he should read, and took off for a South Pacific Island hoping to find paradise. He visits the islands of Yap, Pig, Palau, Angaur, and Guam. At the beginning of each chapter is a short, humorous "What You Can Expect to Learn in This Chapter" section that can take the form of quizzes, anecdotal information, or questions that will be answered in the chapter. For photos and much more information visit his website: http://www.abeginnersguidetoparadise.com/

Alex didn't have much of a plan before he took off to discover paradise so this travelogue is more of a travel misadventure full of happenstance and surprises as he tries to negotiate his way among the islanders and find a place for himself. While nothing really startling actually happens (except for the turtle incident which some readers might want to skip) Alex tells the story of his travels and adventures, such as they are, in a self-deprecating humorous style that should keep readers entertained. In the end he does, in fact, wear a loin cloth, find love, build a house, and diaper a baby monkey. While doing all of this there is a generous amount of humor along with some personal reflection.

This is a seriously funny book perfect for a relaxing night of escapism. The writing style flows smoothly in an almost conversational-story-telling style. Sheshunoff is not trying to change the world or come up with some profound thoughts during his navel gazing adventures (the book will explain that). He just needed a vacation and took it a little further than most of us would have done.


Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Penguin books and Penguin First Reads for review purposes. ( )