Providence Island

Through most of the book, I thought "this is one of the stupidest books I have ever read". The dialogue was not great and it seemed to me it was the fantasy of the middle-aged author to escape responsibilities of wife and children and become ship-wrecked on a deserted island with two new to him women and have an affair at the same time with both. It was not too graphic, but did not leave much to the imagination, although I am not sure what the difference is still between a "nice" orgy and a "dirty, nasty" one. (Thank God it did not explain). The protagonist, Jim Kettering, seemed the epitome of every jerk rolled up into one body a person could imagine, and shallow, materialistic and judgemental to boot.
In the isolation and lonliness of show more the island, the two women on the island with him, Florence, a homely, sort of manish type woman with buck teeth who is a writer, and Melody, and overweight missionary's wife, begin to look beautiful to him and first Melody, then later more timid Florence commence with romance. Through the book, I thought I wouldn't give it more than 1 * rating, but it did sort of salvage itself a little at the end, with him realizing how superficial he was and ended up with a bit of a better ending than I had hoped-- so I would actually give it 2.5 *'s, but still, it will not be a reread for me and I certainly wouldn't recommend anyone else waste their time with it. show less

A man becomes ship-wrecked on a deserted island. In the isolation and loneliness of the island, the two women on the island with him, Florence, a homely, sort of manish type woman with buck teeth who is a writer, and Melody, and overweight missionary's wife, begin to look beautiful to him and first Melody, then later more timid Florence commence with romance.

Reviewed by this member on amazon.com:

Take a once successful self-believing media executive,finding his own promiscuous life in a disastrous downward slide-disillusioned with his job and satyr of a boss,in heavy debt,and an unfaithful wife who has just left him.
Made to accompany a budding 'lesbian' writer on a inspiration cruise in an old cargo ship where he fell for a modern day Hera in the form of a sexually repressed pastor's wife.Before his pathetic efforts at seduction could come to fruition,a tropical hurricane slammed along and these three protaganists were shipwrecked on a deserted Carribean island.Here far from the distractions of civilisation and living alone together in close proximity in a cave on this paradise island,they show more played out all their taboos and fantasies in a menage a trois and consequently came to discover and learn more about themselves and each other.
Here you will find and savor a whole galore of sexual insights,and erotic titillations.

Quote form Book: Willingham is "..a twentieth century Fielding, a comic chronicler of inquity, a creator of mock-novels, an enemy of hypocrisy who turns its lies and pretenses back on themselves, and a moral seer who is able to espy the good always and only in the midst of a chaos of vice and folly." - R.H.W. Dillard. One of the most under-rated novelists of Post World War II United States. show less