We've all dreamt about it - answering the small ad which says "Writer seeks `wife' for a year on a tropical island". But Lucy Irvine actually did it, and in this entertaining, wartsand-all book she recounts her struggles with parrot fish, sand flies, green ants, stingrays and the lustful inclinations of a "husband" she barely knew and didn't much like. Contrary to what's expected of a feisty heroine, she fell in love with the island - situated halfway between Northern Australia and Papua New Guinea - but not the man, and her musings on the recalcitrant relationship will ring a loud bell with anyone who has ever felt out of joint with a partner, even in a less spectacular setting.