I have long been a Jimmy Buffett fan, in fact Margaritaville was the first real song I ever learned to play on the guitar. I have loved the spirit and the stories behind each and every one of his songs. I was in Half Price Books the other day, perusing the clearance section where you can find hardbacks for a mere $1 and after my exciting find of five Southern Living Annual Cookbooks for a $1 a piece, I ran across something I had never before seen. A novel by Jimmy Buffett, when I saw it I vaguely remembered something about him writing a book years ago, but I had honestly never paid attention. My love of Buffett and the lure of it only being $1 caught me and I bought the book. Buffett is as good of a storyteller in prose as he is in song and I think I have a new favorite book. Here is my more formal review, but I recommend Buffett to any one be it as a book or as a song!
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
by Jimmy Buffett
published in 2004 by the Little, Brown and Company
Summary: Tully Mars, a character from one of Buffett's Margaritaville short stories is back. He is a Wyoming cowboy whose heart lies in the ocean. The ranch he has worked all of his life is bought out by one Thelma Barston and turned into a poodle ranch. Cowboys don't take well to poodles and a quick toss of a massage table through a plate glass window later, Tully is on the lamb, headed beachward with his trusty horse Mr. Twain. This begins a journey towards a lighthouse on Caya Loco that involves fishing guides, country music singers, ex-girlfriends, bounty hunters, shaman and an eccentric 102 year old woman named Cleopatra who is the captain of a classic schooner named Lucretia. She travels the oceans of the world in pursuit of adventure and a light for her recently acquired lighthouse on Caya Loco. It is a journey that carries you through the Caribbean and Central America and connects you with some of the most genuine and compelling characters you will have read in a while.
Review: I can't tell you the last time, if ever that I have been on the verge of tears when finishing a book but that was truly the case with this one. Buffett has weaved a fictional masterpiece with characters that have depth and wisdom, humor and hope; with a compelling storyline that draws you in and makes you want to be part of the story, with a pace that makes you want to keep reading. I think I have a new favorite book and it has made me want to read everything else Buffett has written, which it turns out is quite a bit. The book is well researched, but equally well connected with what is I think the life that Jimmy Buffett has lived. It is a book rooted in a love and passion for the ocean, for lighthouses, for fishing and for the tranquil moments of life that can only be found in the company of dear friends.
Reading Recommendation: Absolutely Yes, Yes, Yes!!! And when you are finished look up the song A Salty Piece of Land and listen to it!
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