Where Is Joe Merchant?: A Novel Tale [Hardcover]

Jimmy Buffett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 25, 1992

Where is Joe Merchant? That’s what his sister Trevor Kane, the hemorrhoid ointment heiress, wants to know. For South Seas psychic Desdemona, Merchant is the missing link needed to connect her with other worlds. And the mystery of the presumed dead but often-sighted rock star’s disappearance is turning renegade seaplane pilot Frank Bama’s life upside down. Jimmy Buffet fans will be enchanted with this modern-day pirate tale.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Entertainer Buffett's second blockbuster (after Tales from Margaritaville ), an 18-week PW bestseller, involves the search for the eponomyous missing rock star.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

From Kirkus Reviews

The relaxed and reigning king of beach music, who most recently told Tales From Margaritaville (1989), tries his hand at a relaxed and rambling novel. It's about seaplanes, a pretty girl, a vanished rock star, the curse of jet skis, a magic scepter, disrupters of paradise, and conch burgers. Joe Merchant, of the title, is the missing, presumed dead rock star whose sister Trevor Kane has returned to Florida to enlist her old lover Frank Bama to check out rumors of Merchant's survival. Trevor left Frank, a Vietnam vet who would rather fly than get serious, years ago because he seemed to love his ancient seaplane more than he loved her. Frank's doughty seaplane, however, is just what she needs to go in search of someone named Desdemona, who might be somewhere in the Caribbean. There is a Desdemona, and she does have a psychic link to the missing musician. She's been getting extrasensory messages for months. Also on the trail of Mr. Merchant and Desdemona are trash journalist Rudy Breno and one- armed, archvillainous soldier-of-fortune Colonel Cairo. Colonel Cairo is obsessed with the restoration of his missing arm, a task requiring a missing crystal. Desdemona might know something about that. The searches are Florida-intense, which is to say that there is plenty of time for subplots about Frank's chum who has been blowing up the jet skis that make paradise too noisy, and about a coldblooded killer with eyeballs tattooed on his eyelids who's not, after all, a subplot. So laid-back and rambling it's perilously close to sloppy, but Buffett's considerable charms as a performer and goof-off artist keep things afloat. The uninitiated may be baffled; his fans will be enchanted. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 1st edition (August 25, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0151962960
• ISBN-13: 978-0151962969
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (97 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #208,641 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yes, I am a pirate....parrothead....phan...., May 28, 2002

By 

Terry Mathews (a small town in east Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Where Is Joe Merchant? (Mass Market Paperback)

Right up front, I'll admit to being a true Parrothead. Have all the albums/CD's, but never read the books.

Then, a kind friend heard I was under the weather and sent me her copy of WHERE IS JOE MERCHANT.

I've read a lot of what's been posted here, and I can agree with the people *including some professional reviewers* who say Buffett's style is a little sloppy.

However, what he lacks in style, he certainly makes up for in substance.

I loved the stories about: (1)Frank Bama -- bruised and battered pilot with a commitment phobia; (2) Trevor Kane - Frank's beautiful ex-girlfriend whose family tree is so full of nuts that her last name should be PECAN or WALNUT or ALMOND. Trevor's looking for her lost brother, the supposedly dead rock 'n roller Joe Merchant; (3) Colonel Cairo who's looking for his lost arm, a treasure trove and control of Joe Merchant's fortunes; (4) Desdemona, macaroon-maker extraordinaire, who has been receiving instructions from 'the generators' on how to build a space ship; and (5) more subplots than a Robert Altman movie.

There's plenty of blood, guts and action to keep even a Steven King fan interested. One of Frank's best buddies blows up a fleet of jet skis, and while it's funny on the page, it makes the reader think about man's impact on the pristine ocean.

With Desdemona, Buffett even throws in some new age cosmic jokes, with hilarious results.

There is a twist, however, and it caught me completely by surprise. I had to go back and re-read the passage several times before it sunk in.

If you're looking for the tight, compact style of Hemingway or if you're into stream of consciousness like Faulkner, this book is probably not for you.

However, if you want a good story peopled with lots of interesting characters who are flawed but wonderfully written, and if you've ever wanted to just chuck it all and live in the Keys, you will probably devour WHERE IS JOE MERCHANT as quickly as I did and you'll be wanting more Frank and Trevor stories.

Enjoy!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Josh's Review on "Where is Joe Merchant?", April 16, 2004

By 

Josh (Taylorville, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Where Is Joe Merchant? (Mass Market Paperback)

In my opinion, the book "Where is Joe Merchant" is a very interesting story about a rock star disappearing and the search to find the truth. I feel that Jimmy Buffett did an excelent job of creating his characters and thouroughly explaining their thoughts and actions. In all, I feel that "Where is Joe Merchant" was very well written and put together. I rate it 5 stars.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun Plot & Wonderfully Bizarre Characters, February 7, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Where Is Joe Merchant? (Mass Market Paperback)

I can honestly say that this book appealed to both the avid reader AND the avid Parrothead in me! This was interesting and entertaining, with a typically Jimmy Buffett exotic setting and some fascinating and bizarre characters. Characters such as Frank Bama, Trevor Kane, Blanton Meyercord (my personal favorite!), Rudy Breno, Charlie Fabian, Colonel Cairo and of course the amazing Desdemona all made this a hard-to-put-down story.

A special note for Parrotheads: Although this is a book for anyone who likes reading bizarre love & adventure stories, Parrotheads will especially appreciate the subtle (and even not-so-subtle) references to your favorite Buffett songs. Pay special attention to the names of the chapters! :->

Anyone who has always wondered about Desdemona while listening to "Fruitcakes" and "Desdemona's Building a Rocket ship" should definitely read this book - all the answers are here!