Customer Reviews

Postcards from Paradise: Romancing Key West

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
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2 star:		(1)
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Customer Comments Al Mosier (KWkindaguy@aol.com), rating=10: Just returned from a sojourn in the Keys. Seems that everywhere I turned I met June Keith. I purchased her book at Margaritaville on Duval, but saw it everywhere. If you haven't already met June, it's time. June lives, works and writes in Key West. She spends her time waitressing at the Lighthouse Cafe on Duval. She also does a column for the Miami Herald. This book is a compilation of those columns. The title is apt. These are postcards; short sketches about the people and places June has come to know as a nineteen year resident of the southernmost city. She writes about real people; their lives, their loves and their problems. It is a real picture of the town the way it was through the 80's and early 90's. You can't see this town anymore --trust me, I'm just back. The only way to visit what once was KW is through the pages of June's book. Her style is easy and readable. I passed my copy around amongst friends and we all enjoyed her breezy way with words. Be prepared to laugh a littl and cry a lot. The death toll is high. If you really want to see KW as it was before it became a Disneyfied parody of itself, you can do no better than read POSTCARDS.Hemingway, Hersey and Keith. Interesting combination of writers, no?

The book consists of many vignettes on real people who live, or have lived in Key West.

Each story touched my heart, made me laugh and sometimes cry.

June Keith is a powerful writer on the human condition. Simple, truthful, and to the point. Each story makes you think and reflect.

I also read More Postcards From Paradise, in anticipation of my trip to Key West. The book, made me feel comfortable in a place I've never been before.

June Keith feels like an old friend, even though We've never met.

I half expected to meet her, and the many people she wrote about so eloquently in these two fine books. The photographs really made the stories come alive for me.

Midwest Book Review: Columns and essays based on Key West living offer colorful armchair traveller pursuit as they reveal the legends and personalities of the region. This is a hilarious and involving collection of vignettes which will delight a wide audience as well as any with a special affection for and knowledge of the area.

I do not understand the glowing reviews of this book. I felt neither engaged nor moved by her vignettes of her life in Key West. It's like going to lunch with someone who talks nonstop about herself, her husband, her ex, her kids, her job, blah blah blah. Boring.
I've been to Key West 4 times and believe me, this book doesn't even begin to impart a feeling for the town. Don't buy this book to help you plan a vacation to Key West. The only nice thing I can say is it's a good read for people with short attention spans. Most of the chapters are only 2-3 pages long.