By: Jimmy Buffett Publisher: Little, Brown and Company Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: Little, Brown and Company Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 256 Publication Date: May 13, 2008 Release Date: May 13, 2008
Product Description: Best-selling writer Jimmy Buffett weaves an irresistible new tale---filled with colorful characters, wry humor, and the pursuit of a very clever pig.
When Southern belle Ellie McBride moves her twins from Vertigo, Tennessee to New York City, they wouldn't dream of leaving behind the family pig Rumpy. But the posh hotel where Ellie has found work (and living space) has "No Pets" writ large on its portal. So hiding Rumpy from the hotel staff---especially the ultra-carnivorous hotel chef, who would like nothing better than to transform their pet into pork roast---becomes imperative.
The concept of a pig and his 12-year old buddy narrating a story is darling -- yes, I said darling (see 'precious') -- but even Jimmie Buffett can't stretch it into a novel. As it goes on and on and on, the story drags and the villain, Monsieur Boucher, becomes plain annoying.
Jimmie Buffett admits up front that a friend brought him a delightful 25-page story about a pig living in a 4-star hotel. He should have left it alone. At 25 pages, it was undoubtedly a charming story. At 200+ pages, it gets to be a real bore -- probably even for the 5th graders who would make up its ideal audience.
No, even I, a card-carrying Jimmie Buffett fan, liked it. Further, if it took two years to write, his editor must be meaner than mine (and simply threw his hands up and said, in the end, "Do what you will.)
Fun read for adults and children This book was a very fun read for both adults and children. The story is a little silly, but definitely entertaining. Very predictable.
Embarrassing Jimmy should be embarrassed for putting this book out. Why do we have to rate this a one star? Why isn't zero available?
Swhy? I'm a big Buffett fan - own dozens of recordings and all of his other non-children's books, but this one was a big disappointment.
It should have been marketed for pre-teen readers - it was a like a Disney story.
It is very thick with hyperbole - extremely talented twins, perfectly adjusted to their parents' divorce and excelling in every thing they do (he doesn't just play soccer - he's the star of the team, she doesn't just like fashion - she's a designer and seamstress of epic proportions, the mother isn't just a chef - she draws the attention of the whole world).
The villian is even very Disney-esque, and the further the story goes, we learn that all animals (except for humans) communicate fluently with each other. Every character gets their own dream happy ending.
I would recommend this book for young readers. I would encourage Amazon and other bookstores to move it out of the adult fiction category.
Funny story I have never read any of his books before but read the product description and review online before listening to the CD. It was very reliable to the description and it was a fun book. It is a book about a family that has a pet pig and lives on a top room in a hotel and has to keep their pig from management and a coworker in order to keep the mom's job and stay there and really gets into the pig's feelings. Kind of unique.
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