Travel Book Review: “An Embarrassment of Mangoes” by Ann Vanderhoof

You know that feeling you get when somebody describes themselves as “an empath” and then waxes poetic about their ability to connect with literally anybody, anywhere? How strangers on the street or on the subway just want to tell them their life story, because they are just so incredibly good at connecting with people? But they have no idea that this self-identification as a warm, open, inviting, wonderful person is decidedly offputting and tone-deaf? An Embarrassment of Mangoes was this but as a book.

An Embarrassment of Mangoes was a bit of a letdown

Now don’t get me wrong, Ann and her husband seem like inoffensive people. However, I think they were a little misguided in thinking that this would be an interesting book. I have been wanting to read this memoir for a while because the title is intriguing and I am slightly obsessed with books about island life. In every single article on books about island life, this one inevitably pops up on the list.

And I see why it’s included because it technically took place on several Caribbean islands. However, this book is decidedly not what I was looking for, and I only completed it out of sheer iron will (an iron will that I do not extend to other more important parts of my life, but that’s an issue for another day).

Ann and her husband Steve decided to leave their successful, upper-middle-class life in order to pursue a year or two of sailing up and down the Caribbean. Childless and financially well off, they are in a position to leave their professional careers and set sail. Good for them. Love this vibe, love this journey for them.

95% of the book is just various, low-key island “adventures” or near misses of disasters blown out of proportion. Most of it is the couple going to a restaurant, walking around, going to another restaurant. It’s a lot of restaurants and meandering.

I think what rubbed me the wrong way the most was their attitude towards the locals and other older white people who do this cruising thing. They see the locals as caricatures, not fully formed people with their own cultural identity and values. They see other cruisers, weirdly, as competition for who can be the most authentic and “real”.

This book is the “not like other girls” of island tourism. The attitude of “other people are privileged and obnoxious but not us because the locals like us”. It would have been fine if that had been shown not stated multiple times, but it’s just a lot of pointless overcompensating. I just cannot fathom for the life of me how the author or anybody else thought this could be a full-length travel memoir. Not enough happened, there were not enough interesting characters, there was not enough drama or intrigue or, really, anything.

Not enough drama, and not even that many mangoes

Speaking about not enough drama, there also weren’t nearly enough mangoes. For a book titled “An Embarrassment of Mangoes”, I would’ve liked a little bit more mango pizzazz. I’m not asking for a lot.

Maybe it would’ve been a little bit more palatable if I had liked the main characters more. Ann honestly seems insufferable to be around, and Steve? Who is Steve? She treats him like he’s an idiot, her humor towards him seems very cold, and she questions all of his decisions as if he’s a child. Honestly, I have the thought multiple times, “I wonder if they’re still together?” I just can’t fathom painting my partner in the light that she paints him in throughout the entire duration of the memoir. Maybe that’s their playful humor, but it does not translate to strangers. She makes him sound like an impulsive, irresponsible, wasteful moron. Which is like, awkward to read.

I think the parts I liked most were when she actually talked about the places they visit and the people she met who lived in these places. Not the other rich older people. Didn’t care about them at all.

Anyway, I was excited about An Embarrassment of Mangoes, and I was let down. That’s okay, Ann and Steve are living their best lives, and I’m happy for them. I just don’t wanna read about it ever again.