Salty Piece of Land - Book Discussion

Mr Play · Post by **Mr Play** » December 5, 2004 1:34 am

Warning - Do NOT read this thread if you haven't finished the book and you don't want to know what happens.

I finished the book tonight and I thought we should have a place to talk about it. I didn't see another thread, so please point me to it if I missed one.

Has anybody finished it yet, and what did you think?

phjrsaunt · Post by **phjrsaunt** » December 5, 2004 10:49 am

I'm waiting for Santa to deliver it...so it'll be a little while til I can discuss it.

Quiet and Shy · Post by **Quiet and Shy** » December 5, 2004 11:04 am

I finished the book on Thursday evening and then I couldn't post anything due to tech problems (I was going nuts Friday

) because I was so excited.

Bottom line, I thought the book was great; Buffett's best. He did a great job of creating interesting characters with fun and wild adventures, and added a lot of depth that really, really worked. Great quotes, too.

I'll come back later to discuss more, but right now it's time to head off for a Colts game.

SouthernSeas · Post by **SouthernSeas** » December 5, 2004 12:01 pm

I have only finished the first 102 pages. My live-in girlfriend gets p*** when I leave her and go into my office to read the novel. But, I am getting through the book fairly well....a little each night. So yeah, I am around the part where Tully and Donna Kay are climbing into the tree house. I am excited to see what happens next....hmm....will they rekindle their strange love?... Guess I will have to find out in tonight's reading session.

peckfins66 · Post by **peckfins66** » December 5, 2004 9:20 pm

I just finished the book last night and I thought it was terrific. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not an avid reader (at least books) but the story had me captivated from beginning to end. The characters and the interplay between them was great and the storyline itself was magical and uplifting. I'm going to have to go back and start over now with TFM and the rest.

Billy Cruiser · Post by **Billy Cruiser** » December 6, 2004 8:01 am

Somehow, I got the book early. I actually finished it before most of the rest of the people ever saw it. I've been weaiting to discuss it with some since then.
While I agree that it is a good book, I can't say it was his best. It is entertaining and the story lines are fun. The characters are fairly well thought out. But, it was missing something. Not sure what. I personnally couldn't have done better. Heck, I couldn't have done half as well. But, I felt like it was missing a little something. It seemed to have some parts edited out. That's too bad.
Overall, I enjoyed it. I'll probably read it again in a month or so. And, I do not regret reading it. I would recomend it to others.

Mr Play · Post by **Mr Play** » December 6, 2004 10:39 am

As far as missing something, it did cover a lot of ground in the final chapters. It seemed to loaf along for a while, and then - boom - all of a sudden it was over. I can see why, because there is only room for so many pages. I do wonder how much of the story was edited out.

I thought the ending was perfect. In the end you realize that every event led up to the next, and you can look back and see how even the little details are intertwined. Tully wasn't ready for Donna Kay, so that never would have worked. By the end of the book things evolve, and he is ready when the time is right.

I really enjoyed the song references throughout the book - from Jimmy's songs and others as well. There are subtle references that most people won't pick up on, but they tie the work into the rest of Jimmy's work and somehow bring credibility. Cousin Baxter is one that comes to mind.

I love to read but I don't do it enough, and I thank Jimmy for pulling me back in.

cmpete · Post by **cmpete** » December 6, 2004 1:21 pm

I finished yesterday. I LOVED the first 2/3s. Lost Boys, Punta Margarita, Belize and Archie...I LOVED the close - return of the light and subsequent events. (though I want to know what happens to Ix Nay next!) the Captain Keed section was rough waters for me. Parts of it sparkled, but it somehow didn't jell for me. I will be the first to admit that outside events (AKA real life) might have colored my impressions.

But honestly, I expected an attempt to throw Willie into the volcano, not to give a speech, get a clue and depart unmolested.

Loved the foam party!

If I ever grow up, I wanna be Cleopatra!

asuwookie · Post by **asuwookie** » December 6, 2004 8:51 pm

I too am through about the first 100 pages... As far as missing something...I feel that there has been some jumping around ...almost edited...tell us about fixing a liighthouse in the first chapter and then to stories of fly flishing, gay business men and ex lovers.

Don't get me wrong....I'm getting into it now and ...now that Donna is...well we know what happens in the treehouse...I can't wait to see what happens next!

conched · Post by **conched** » December 6, 2004 8:56 pm

cmpete...I feel like that part about Capt. Keed was his version of religion in a way...something to believe in. It was pretty silly, but deep at the same time. Or maybe it was parrotheadism he was referring to as religion.

I think Jimmy is a genius. I loved the style...where he had the Singer character writer letters to tell the story about getting the lens.

I love the twists and ironies revealed in the cemetery and at the end. I couldn't help but wonder if it the French woman was autobiographical...to an extent. Just a thought...Jimmy seemed to want to share so much about the family. Who knows?

The imagery Jimmy paints was awesome.

Sidew13 · Post by **Sidew13** » December 7, 2004 4:53 am

18 days till I get mine for Christmas

Mr Play · Post by **Mr Play** » December 7, 2004 2:14 pm

So, when will we find out how it's doing on the Bestseller's list? The current list has a published date of December 12th;

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/books/index.html

Quiet and Shy · Post by **Quiet and Shy** » December 8, 2004 11:19 pm

Great comments and insights. Isn't the Willie Singer charachter supposed to be (at least somewhat) autobiographical? That may explaing the Captain Keed stuff to some extent. I actually thought that was a very interesting twist on religion, heroes and cultures -- as Conched said, "something to believe in." Jimmy is quite a humorist, storyteller and philosopher in this book. Here are some quotes I wrote down from the book (in addition to those in my sig line.):

"It might have looked like a party, but I felt like the pinata." (~n) p93

"Unrest of spirit is a mark of life." p102

"Life is unpredictable, but there is a lot out there to do and see if you just tune in to the radio." p13

"Adventures don't come calling...you have to go looking for them." p3

"I think what connects some people to the art they like is not wishing they could paint it but rather wanting to be in the scene that the artist has painted." p130 (or composed and performed, in the case of Buffett's music)

"What I did learn in my leaving was that there are far more roads on which you may traverse life's paths than those that seem to have been preordained for you by others." p136

"There will always be those who feel more comfortable not venturing from the warmth of the hearth, but there are those who prefer to look out the window and wonder what is beyond the horizon." p136

"There is no reverse on the road of life. You just keep moving forward and every now and then you try to catch a little neutral." p319

"Some days, there is just magic in the air." p237

"Leap, and the net will appear." p184

"The world spins at 1,000 miles an hour. This is nothing." p324

"You don't have to tell any of us anything. That's what friends are for." p325

"We always knew that the light would one day come our way." p386

"It's the darkness that brings out what is sacred." p419

"Grief is like the wake behind a boat. It starts out as a huge wave that follows close behind you and is big enough to swamp and drown you if you suddenly stop moving forward. But if you do keep moving, the big wake will eventually dissipate. And after a long enough time, the waters of your life get calm again, and that is when the memories of those who have left begin to shine as bright and as enduring as the stars above." p431

"The earlier in life we know we are part of something magical and mysterious, the better off we are." p433

conched · Post by **conched** » December 9, 2004 3:44 am

"Grief is like the wake behind a boat. It starts out as a huge wave that follows close behind you and is big enough to swamp and drown you if you suddenly stop moving forward. But if you do keep moving, the big wake will eventually dissipate. And after a long enough time, the waters of your life get calm again, and that is when the memories of those who have left begin to shine as bright and as enduring as the stars above." p431

Thanks for the great posts with the quotes. This one quote really touched me as one of my best friends just lost her husband of 38 years last week. He was an avid fly fisherman. I thought of him lots while reading the book and this quote made me think of my sweet friend dealing with grief. Jimmy seems to have a way of always impacting situations in our lives.

I bought a second book tonight to get the poster from the theater and I plan to use it for my highlighted copy. I always make a soundtrack for Jimmy's books and am looking forward to doing that soon.

Desdamona · Post by **Desdamona** » December 9, 2004 4:52 pm

I haven't gotten my hands on the book (hubby grabbed it first!)
and I haven't read the threads here...
I was just wondering if anyone had seen
or heard the audiocassette or CD of Jimmy's
narration of the book yet.

12vmanRick · Post by **12vmanRick** » December 9, 2004 5:04 pm

Last night at the live production via satellite they were selling copies.. and they were SECOND PRINTINGS. Which DO NOT include the CD!

conched · Post by **conched** » December 9, 2004 8:04 pm

Desdamona wrote:I haven't gotten my hands on the book (hubby grabbed it first!)
and I haven't read the threads here...
I was just wondering if anyone had seen
or heard the audiocassette or CD of Jimmy's
narration of the book yet.

Des, I got the cd version. It is abridged. The reading by J. D. Souther is excellent. I have listened to quite a few audio books and I loved his voice. It ranks right up there with Beach Music and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. J. D. had an accent in the right area for all the characters.

I read the book along with the audio the second time around and had to pause the audio to read what was left out...some of it pretty significant to me. The portions Jimmy did read were excellent. A lot of the times I felt like I was listening to Jimmy!

Audio A+++++, but YOU still need to read the book.

Quiet and Shy · Post by **Quiet and Shy** » December 9, 2004 8:59 pm

I always make a soundtrack for Jimmy's books and am looking forward to doing that soon.

Conched: Maybe you've shared your book soundtracks on here before, but I'd really be interested to know what you're done for the other books as well as what criteria you've used in putting the list together. Thanks.

conched · Post by **conched** » December 9, 2004 9:12 pm

Quiet and Shy wrote:
I always make a soundtrack for Jimmy's books and am looking forward to doing that soon.
Conched: Maybe you've shared your book soundtracks on here before, but I'd really be interested to know what you're done for the other books as well as what criteria you've used in putting the list together. Thanks.

Haven't shared on here at all. For example, I took a copy of WIJM and highlighted all the music references in the book. I figured if Jimmy wrote about it, I wanted to know about it. I actually had to buy about 20 CDs to make a WIJM compilation which is about 2 90-minute tapes. It always turns out that that ONE song on the CD is only the beginning to learning about so many more artists. I only put 35 songs on that soundtrack.

sonofabeach · Post by **sonofabeach** » December 9, 2004 10:29 pm

I was thinking about making a soundtrack too with songs like
Lawyers Guns and Money, Wind Cries Mary, Take Another Road, A Salty Piece of Land , If I had a boat, Boats to Build, Cowboy in the Jungle, etc.
I'm not finshed with the book yet but I'm 300 pages in and so far it's already my fave.
Something about it draws me in, probably the foam parties on the beach with hot chicks and that awesome drink called "mother's milk"