http://cowboy-sailor.livejournal.com/ (![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
cowboy-sailor.livejournal.com) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh_ooc2009-08-02 06:01 pm
cowboy-sailor.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh_ooc2009-08-02 06:01 pm
Entry tags:
Spotlight on Fandoms: A Salty Piece of Land
A Salty Piece of Land
The Story-
A Salty Piece of Land is a novel by musician Jimmy Buffet. It's actually a sequel to a short story entitled Take Another Road from a compilation of short stories called Tales from Margaritaville.
The two stories tell the tale of Tully Mars, a cowboy from Wyoming who winds up on a series of adventures in the tropics.
To borrow from another Fandom Spotlight, here is the summary from the audio book box. It describes it much better than I could:
It's not on any chart, but the tropical island of Cayo Loco is the perfect place to run away from all your problems. If you're looking for a license to chill, come along as cowboy Tully Mars takes his pony to the shore—on an unforgettable Caribbean adventure as colorful and wonderfully bizarre as cocktail hour at your favorite expatriate bar.
From a lovely sunset sail in Punta Margarita to a wild spring break foam party in San Pedro, Tully encounters an assortment of treasure hunters, rock stars, sailors, seaplane pilots, pirates, and even a ghost or two.
Waking from a ganja buzz on the beach in Tulum, Tully can't believe his eyes when a 142-foot schooner emerges out of the ocean mist. At it's helm is Cleopatra Highbourne the eccentric 101-year-old sea captain who will take him to a lighthouse on a salty piece of land that will change his life forever.
The Characters-
Tully Mars- Our Hero and Narrator. The book is told in first person from his point of view. Tully describes himself as a good man with a few bad habits. He grew up in Wyoming, eventually working as a cowboy on his uncle's ranch in Heartbreak. When his uncle's ranch is bought out by a rich woman from California, Tully decides to indulge his lifelong ambition to see the ocean.
This decision is helped a bit by his punching the woman's personal assistant, throwing her massage table out a window, and her throwing the entire situation out of proportion with some trumped up charges with the police.
Willy Singer- Our other hero, and second narrator. Willy is a country singing star who later in life has taken up surfing and seaplane piloting. He meets Tully when he spots the man's horse on the deck of a shrimp boat. Tully recruits him to search for an original Fresnel lens for a lighthouse on Cayo Loco. He has many adventures in the south pacific during his search which he relates to Tully in a series of letters.
Cleopatra Highborn- The captain of the Lucretia, a schooner left to her by her father. She's a lighthouse nut, knows the Caribbean like the back of her hand, is addicted to Cuban baseball, and is 101 years old. She's met Thomas Edison and Ghandi.
Ixnay- (Pronounced Ishnay) A native of Punta Margarita, an island off the coast of the Yucatan. He and Tully become best friends while working as fishing guides at Lost Boy's Lodge. Until Tully raves about the film The Man Who Would be King, he'd never seen a movie, but he is well read, and is a genuine Mayan Shaman.
Mr. Twain- Tully's horse, who accompanies him on many of his adventures. He even went with him during his brief stint as a crewman on a shrimp boat.
The Stillton Brothers- Waldo and Willton Stillton are bounty hunters that have been hired by Tully's former boss to find him and bring him back to Wyoming. They can come across as a bit bumbling from time to time, but they are very dangerous. Especially Waldo who can be a bit psychotic.
Archie Mercer- Archibald Mercer is a former British Army Special Ops instructor. He decided to go into the tourist business and after an aborted endeavor in Orlando called Cat World, he now runs a successful Tropical Safari business. Tully and Ixnay approach him about buying one of his trucks, and wind up bonding over The Man Who Would be King. He, like many others, turns out to be a very useful friend for Tully to have.
Others- Thelma Barston- Never actually seen in A Salty Piece of Land, but her presence is felt throughout. Tully's former boss and “modern day witch”. She's a control freak who did not take kindly to being defied.
Donna Kay- The love of Tully's life, whom he fails to meet in Belize City.
Sammy Ray Coconuts- An aging queen suffering Menopausal depression. He's Donna Kay's business partner.
Hector- A guard at Tulum
Johnny Red Dust- An old War Buddy of Tully's dad, and Tully's mentor. He's a Navajo shaman, who not even death can stop from giving sage advice.
Noel Christmas and Dawn- Two college girls Tully meets in San Pedro. They are not what they appear.
Captain Kirk- Captain of the shrimp boat Tully works on.
Philip Parfait- One of the colorful characters Willy Singer meets in the South Pacific.
Solomon- Cleopatra's first mate.
Why should I read it?
Because it is wonderful! Especially if you like boats, and jungles and tropical islands, strange cults, debauchery, strange luck and whimsical characters. Or if you want different experience you can get the (sadly abridged) audio version. If you do, tell me if you agree that the narrator sounds like David Caradine.
Where can I find it?
Well you can get the book itself from Amazon. And possibly bookstores.
The Story-
A Salty Piece of Land is a novel by musician Jimmy Buffet. It's actually a sequel to a short story entitled Take Another Road from a compilation of short stories called Tales from Margaritaville.
The two stories tell the tale of Tully Mars, a cowboy from Wyoming who winds up on a series of adventures in the tropics.
To borrow from another Fandom Spotlight, here is the summary from the audio book box. It describes it much better than I could:
It's not on any chart, but the tropical island of Cayo Loco is the perfect place to run away from all your problems. If you're looking for a license to chill, come along as cowboy Tully Mars takes his pony to the shore—on an unforgettable Caribbean adventure as colorful and wonderfully bizarre as cocktail hour at your favorite expatriate bar.
From a lovely sunset sail in Punta Margarita to a wild spring break foam party in San Pedro, Tully encounters an assortment of treasure hunters, rock stars, sailors, seaplane pilots, pirates, and even a ghost or two.
Waking from a ganja buzz on the beach in Tulum, Tully can't believe his eyes when a 142-foot schooner emerges out of the ocean mist. At it's helm is Cleopatra Highbourne the eccentric 101-year-old sea captain who will take him to a lighthouse on a salty piece of land that will change his life forever.
The Characters-
Tully Mars- Our Hero and Narrator. The book is told in first person from his point of view. Tully describes himself as a good man with a few bad habits. He grew up in Wyoming, eventually working as a cowboy on his uncle's ranch in Heartbreak. When his uncle's ranch is bought out by a rich woman from California, Tully decides to indulge his lifelong ambition to see the ocean.
This decision is helped a bit by his punching the woman's personal assistant, throwing her massage table out a window, and her throwing the entire situation out of proportion with some trumped up charges with the police.
Willy Singer- Our other hero, and second narrator. Willy is a country singing star who later in life has taken up surfing and seaplane piloting. He meets Tully when he spots the man's horse on the deck of a shrimp boat. Tully recruits him to search for an original Fresnel lens for a lighthouse on Cayo Loco. He has many adventures in the south pacific during his search which he relates to Tully in a series of letters.
Cleopatra Highborn- The captain of the Lucretia, a schooner left to her by her father. She's a lighthouse nut, knows the Caribbean like the back of her hand, is addicted to Cuban baseball, and is 101 years old. She's met Thomas Edison and Ghandi.
Ixnay- (Pronounced Ishnay) A native of Punta Margarita, an island off the coast of the Yucatan. He and Tully become best friends while working as fishing guides at Lost Boy's Lodge. Until Tully raves about the film The Man Who Would be King, he'd never seen a movie, but he is well read, and is a genuine Mayan Shaman.
Mr. Twain- Tully's horse, who accompanies him on many of his adventures. He even went with him during his brief stint as a crewman on a shrimp boat.
The Stillton Brothers- Waldo and Willton Stillton are bounty hunters that have been hired by Tully's former boss to find him and bring him back to Wyoming. They can come across as a bit bumbling from time to time, but they are very dangerous. Especially Waldo who can be a bit psychotic.
Archie Mercer- Archibald Mercer is a former British Army Special Ops instructor. He decided to go into the tourist business and after an aborted endeavor in Orlando called Cat World, he now runs a successful Tropical Safari business. Tully and Ixnay approach him about buying one of his trucks, and wind up bonding over The Man Who Would be King. He, like many others, turns out to be a very useful friend for Tully to have.
Others- Thelma Barston- Never actually seen in A Salty Piece of Land, but her presence is felt throughout. Tully's former boss and “modern day witch”. She's a control freak who did not take kindly to being defied.
Donna Kay- The love of Tully's life, whom he fails to meet in Belize City.
Sammy Ray Coconuts- An aging queen suffering Menopausal depression. He's Donna Kay's business partner.
Hector- A guard at Tulum
Johnny Red Dust- An old War Buddy of Tully's dad, and Tully's mentor. He's a Navajo shaman, who not even death can stop from giving sage advice.
Noel Christmas and Dawn- Two college girls Tully meets in San Pedro. They are not what they appear.
Captain Kirk- Captain of the shrimp boat Tully works on.
Philip Parfait- One of the colorful characters Willy Singer meets in the South Pacific.
Solomon- Cleopatra's first mate.
Why should I read it?
Because it is wonderful! Especially if you like boats, and jungles and tropical islands, strange cults, debauchery, strange luck and whimsical characters. Or if you want different experience you can get the (sadly abridged) audio version. If you do, tell me if you agree that the narrator sounds like David Caradine.
Where can I find it?
Well you can get the book itself from Amazon. And possibly bookstores.