Customer Reviews

A Salty Piece of Land

5 star:		(71)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of the book. As a serious parrothead I was able to see the true life adventures of Jimmy Buffett played out by various characters in the book (Tully Mars and Willie Singer). The book is a work of "fictional facts" and lightly disguised life experiences of Jimy Buffett and his vivid imagination.

The story is fantabulous as the late Mel Fisher would say. The day Jimmy Buffett was at the discovery of the Atocha's mother load makes it into the story as well as many other true life adventures. For the Buffett fan this book is JB's best work and gives a true view into the passion, fears and the big question of Who is Jimmy Buffett. In this book you will find that JB is not a fisherman, pilot or surfer, those are just the things he does. You will see that the author is a passionate dreamer and romantic that makes a living as a musician.

The work is a great story as well as an education in philosophy, geography, history and life.

The book has 456 pages plus an afterword where Mr. Buffett tells us where the premise for the story came from as well as the fact he lost his parents and very close friends recently.

This book is worth the price and you will learn something as well as having the pleasure of a great adventure. If you are a Buffett fan, this book is a must! If you need a vacation to the Caribbean this book is your ticket.

I just finished Jimmy Buffett's meandering latest work, A Salty Piece of Land. I liked it, but I can see how others might be somewhat bored by it all.

The main character, Tully Mars, is on an adventure trying to escape from an unfortunate incident in his past (along with bounty hunters and trumped up charges). For a cowboy, he has a strange affinity for the sea, and soon he and his horse end up on a slow boat to a Caribbean island. He starts off working as a fishing guide for a new retreat there, but soon ends up on board a masted sailing ship commanded by a 100+ year old lady. Her life goal is to restore a certain lighthouse to its former glory, and to do so she needs to track down a rare type of lens for the lighting mechanism. This becomes Tully's goal too, and the two set out to meet people, share experiences, and track down the elusive lens. Along the way, Tully has to watch out for the bounty hunters as well as figure out where his life is really going.

The book is 462 pages, and I was being descriptive when I called it meandering. The plot line is extremely loose, and there's not any sense of build-up or pacing. It's one of those stories that could have been told in 200 pages (or less), but then it wouldn't have the flavor that it has. I think you have to be in a laid-back mood to read it, and just enjoy the characters and the twists of life for what they are. If you're looking for a tight, well-crafted story, this isn't it. Conversely, if you're looking to escape into the oceans, islands, and the off-beat characters found there, this could be what you're looking for. There's definitely plenty of Buffett to be found in the book, and I have no doubt that many of the scenes and incidents could be based on things that really happened to him.

So, go in with an open mind and the right attitude, and just let things flow. It's probably the best way to enjoy this one...

This book is like one long song by Jimmy . He weaves a tale of Tully Mars, the cowboy who takes his pony to the sea and goes out to find his place in the sun. Quirky characters and escapades throughout the Caribbean and coastal Mexico make this a fun and fast read. Throw in some adventures on a Schooner , the art of Flats Fishing and references to the movie The Man Who Would Be King (1975) and you have a love letter from Buffett to the things he loves and lives. There is nothing heavy or intellectual about this book and that's what makes it so fun. If you love the tales Jimmy weaves in his songs and the freewheeling lifestyle he leads then this book will give you plenty to smile about.


I give this book 5 out of 5 lost shakers of salt.

Jimmy Buffett has been a wonderful storyteller in his songs. He has also been a great author in his words. His latest opus, A Salty Piece of Land (eight CDs, abridged, Time Warner Audiobooks), is a fantasy with a humorous bend.

This quirky audio story is for Buffett's Parrot heads and lovers of the news of the weird. Buffett's text sparkles with only characters that inhabit spring break on the sandy Florida beaches.

You always get a certain island feel in any of Buffeet novels, and this one isnt an exception. When you get into the surreal world that is painted in his novels, you feel warm and comfortable-almost like an adultish Disney Movie with a south sea bend. And dont get me started with the way he describes chracters, all I will say is they are so real, you feel you can touch them.

John David Souther, an actor and a singer in his own right take Buffett Land and makes it his own with his simple vocal inflections. And Buffett himself gets into the narrative act with his writer's notes and afterward which alone is worth the price of the audio book.

its all good man!-Bennet Pomerantz, Audioworld

Jimmy tells us another rambling tale that brings the laidback attitude of the islands as we follow Tully Mars through a chain of unplanned events. We meet a cast of strange characters and generally have a good time in a graceful place. When it all comes together in the end you might even shed a tear.

Reviewers that complain about the need for editing are probably right. but this is a book to escape into and shorter would not be better. Relax and enjoy the ride.

Jimmy Buffett is a true Renaissance man: singer, songwriter, businessman, pilot, world traveller, and probably other things that I haven't mentioned, including best-selling author. I love his music, and I really enjoy his writing! This new book is a pleasant piece of escapism, and something good to read during the gloomy days of winter here in Pennsylvania. When I read it, I feel that I'm on some tropical island cavorting with a mery benad of misfits and unusual folks. Jimmy's tale, like a lot of Thomas Hardy, depends upon coincidences that tend to stretch credibility quite a bit, but my theory is to just go where the author leads you, and hang on for a pleasant ride. The characters are fairly well-drawn, although a few tend to be "stick figures". The book kept me turning pages late into the night, and the CD packed with it was a very welcome bonus. Parrotheads of the world, rush to get this book!

I love this book. I have been waiting for Jimmy Buffet to write another book since "Where is Joe Merchant" and "A Pirate looks at Fifty". I do truly enjoy his writing style. Some peole have downgraded this book because it is written different then pretty much every book you were made to read in school, they down graded this book because the author probablly broke some sacred writting rule that authors and Lit teachers are suppose to always obsereve. Well, I didn't much care for the books we were made to read in high school. This book is different. It just flows along leading you into a different adventure each chapter, it is all the same story about the main character you just learn all about all the other characters. All of Buffets books have made me want to just get a boat and float away to see where the current will take me. Buffet's writing just has a way of getting you there for the adventure and you are sad when it is over. Jimmy, if you ever have to stop singing you certanily could write books full time and I would read every one of them.

When I read the lastest escapades of Tully Mars, first introduced in the Tales From Margaritaville story "Take Another Road," it quickly swept me in, continuing where he left off. While it helps to have that background, it is quite possible to pick up this book without any other previous knowledge of the characters. For fans of Jimmy Buffett's music and books, A Salty Piece of Land fits in well in any parrothead's library.

That said, in some ways, a non-fan with no previous background might have a problem putting 2 and 2 together with some of the character references. In a previous review, the reader said the book meanders... and it's meant to, I think... just as life sometimes meanders. However, Buffett ties up all loose ends by the end of the book, and all ends well in Tully Mars' world. If you already haven't, you might want to read Tales from Margaritaville first.

On a personal note, I was a touch disappointed to find that the book was about Tully Mars, and not Frank Bama and Trevor Kane from Where Is Joe Merchant, also written by Buffett. Still, I liked it, and I'm confident many people will also enjoy it.

Anyone looking to read this that hasn't read 'Tales from Margaritaville' or 'Joe Merchant' should do so first. Of those two probably "Tales" will give the best prep since it provides the back story on Tully and shows off the good and bad of Jimmy's writing style throughout the short stories included there.

Also, anyone picking this up and expecting some deep meaning to be found within, Shakespeare or even John Grisham quality plot twists and character development should probably re-examine why they're considering reading the book :).

It's meant to be fun, escapist and simply entertaining. I found it met the mark more times than not in these categories and was a quick read.

Some of the plot is admittedly far too coincidental and fantasy, but...see the above re: escapism, fun, entertainment.

To start off, Jimmy Buffet is only forty five years older than me, but he can still tell a timeless story that escapes age all together. Sure Buffet isn't Hemmingway, but he's also not claiming to be. As going far as giving this book one star and saying its boring is fairly close minded. This book was made to entertain and that is what it does. From beginning to end Buffet's storytelling abilities amazed me. The smile never left my face and the pages seemed to disappear. From the foam parties, tree house confessions, and religions based entirely on a missing pilot this book is one not to be missed by only parrot heads, but everyone.