One part that made me laugh in Mister Pip was when the main character complained about eating like their grandparents (or something along those lines) due to the blockade. Their main foods were mango, guava, fresh fish and mud crabs. I'm sure I wasn't the only reader drooling over that list of yummy tropical food and wondering why anyone would miss tinned fish and meat.

It reminded me of a colleague I once worked with who came from a small fishing village in the Philippines. She said everyone ate fish all the time, and got an education to get away from fishing. But when she moved to Australia she was shocked to find beef was cheaper than fresh fish and everyone worked hard so they could retire and go fishing!