When Montana cowboy Tully Mars looks to run away from his problems, a boat headed for the Caribbean seems like the perfect place to start his life over. The consummate cowboy, Tully brings his horse with him to the tropical island of Cayo Loco to get lost. Instead, he not only finds himself, but a quirky gang of expatriate friends who not only have his interest, but have his back. But it is the 101-year-old Cleopatra Highbourne at the helm of her 142-foot long schooner who will change Tully’s life forever – assuming his past doesn’t catch up with him first.In the world of music, Jimmy Buffett requires no introduction. However, A Salty Piece of Land isn’t a song, it is a novel and the standards are much different. But someone forgot mention to Jimmy that this was something different. All he does is go out and write a funny, entertaining, insightful story about one man – Tully Mars – trying to get a fresh start in life and find some peace and happiness. Buffett creates a compelling character at the center of his story, who is all too human and prone to random acts of foolishness. But at his center, he is a kind person who looks out for those around him. This is Buffett’s biggest writing strength – creating compelling, interesting characters. From the rock star to the seaplane pilot, the treasure hunter to the quirky bad guys, everyone in this story jumps off of the page as a unique personality. Nobody is dull.That’s not to say A Salty Piece of Land is perfect. The plot doesn’t always make sense. There are several “coincidences” that leave you going “uh huh, sure.” The story really could have done with some editing, too. There are sizable chunks of the beefy 480 page novel that slow down to a crawl. If Buffett could have tightened it up by about 100 pages, it might have been a real page-turner. Instead, at times I weathered page after page of scene setting or internal monologue to get to the next amusing section. The quality of the writing isn’t Tolstoy. There is a pedestrian sameness to it – at least until you get to the dialog. That is where Buffett hits his stride and each character finds their individual voices. A Salty Piece of Land isn’t great writing, but it is good, fun storytelling. I have to make a confession that my enjoyment of this novel may have been fueled by it being the antidote to the bleakness of the previous novel I read, The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. Whether because of this or in spite of this, I have to admit that I had fun reading a book that didn’t take itself too seriously. It’s not writing that will have me begging for more of the same, but it was a nice diversion.
You would think that Jimmy Buffett's only talents were getting drunk and making fantastically mediocre music. Well you would be wrong. He is also a pretty damn good writer! I am a huge Jimmy Buffett fan so that is what prompted me to pick up his book "Where is Joe Merchant". Don't get me wrong, the book was certainly entertaining and enjoyable but it was by no means "amazing". I had heard from my girlfriend (also somewhat of a Parrot-Head) that "Salty Piece of Land" was a "good read" (see what I did there). So, I picked up "Salty Piece of Land" before I left for vacation one summer.Fast forward a few days and I was done with the book. To anyone who asks to this day, I will tell them that "Salty Piece of Land" by Jimmy Buffett is my favorite book of all time. Tully Mars is a great character to root for and the book is full of great quotes and life lessons (I have even seriously contemplated getting a quote from the book tattooed on my body). Make this the next book that you read and I promise you won't be disappointed.
Do You like book A Salty Piece Of Land (2006)?
So I bought this book last summer from Big Lots for about $3.00...Thought it would be a great beach/summer read, (I mean, look at the cover. How could it NOT be a great beach/summer read?) but for whatever reason I just couldn't get into it! I didn't really care about the characters or the plot. Which is crazy! I'm supposed to love it! It's by the guy who wrote "Cheeseburger in Paradise," and who doesn't love that song? And "Margaritaville?" Come on now! That's my jam!Anyhoo, gonna give it another go this summer. But for now, it's just gonna sit on my bookshelf. Sorry Jimmy :(
—Nastassja
This book rambles on and on and on......I almost abandoned it several times. The first few chapters and the last 1/4 of the book were very good but the middle half to 3/4 of the book needed to be severly condensed. A better idea for this rambling story would have been to make A Salty Piece of Land into 3 or 4 books, with one book being about Cleopatra Highbourne (a fascinating character). The remainder of A Salty Piece of Land could be divided into 2 or 3 stories about the antics of Tully Mars. I would not recommend this book.p.s. I am a parrot-head. I thought this would be the perfect beach read. That just did not happen.
—Nancy
In "Power of the Myth", Joseph Campbell said, "People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life." Jimmy Buffett's characters share that trait. They are everyday people who walk their own path in spite of themselves, make friends along the way and eventually accomplish worthy goals - maybe not GREAT ones, but worthy ones. Fictionally, they are rewarded, but it wasn't what they were looking for when they began their journey.In this book Buffett has explained to us how to live life. As my friend Katrinia puts down as a signature on her emails: Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"He succeeds with this book.
—Jack
