 I'm an unabashed fan of Jimmy Buffett's music, (a Parrothead Llama?) and Christmas is his birthday, so Happy Birthday Mr. Buffett!
The Buffett mystique is that he's living his life doing what he loves to do and sharing the experience vicariously with his fans. All the insights into living well that he has offered over the years in more than a dozen albums from the slow realization that "it's my own damn fault" in Margaritaville to the power of positive thinking in "Veja veja veja du...believe it and it will come true" in Off to see the Lizard make him our pick for today's LlamaLlink. People who have done what they set out to do are always interesting and when they accomplish what they set out to do with style and good humor, it is truly worthy of careful study. This book is a fun read. It reads like a Buffett album, with the jokes, good times and laughter juxtaposed with touching and beautiful passages. There are kind and compassionate stories about his father who suffers from Alzheimer's disease, and simple tales of family outings, pancake breakfasts and New Year's parties. There are passionately elaborate descriptions of fly fishing, electronic gadgets and flying machines. There is the terror (and joy) of surviving an airplane crash. Many poets have trouble when writing longer formats, and this book has some structural peculiarities, but like the rest of the Buffett works there is bravery of expression to be found in this book too. In one of his early songs, Buffett sighs, "Oh the stories we could tell..." and in this book Jimmy has finally sat down long enough to tell us a few. |
