From Publishers Weekly
There's a Condé Nast Traveler article fighting to get out of bestseller Buffett's first new novel in a decade, a groovily laid-back, ramblingly anecdotal, sun-soaked bit of Caribbean escapism that his Parrothead fans will relish like another chorus of "Margaritaville." Tully Mars, a 40-ish ex-cowboy turned guide at the Lost Boys Fishing Lodge island resort, undertakes various sojourns around the Caribbean, to Mayan ruins, a jungle safari camp, a spring break bacchanal in Belize. Nothing much happens—"That day, we spent the rest of the daylight hours on the shallow waters of Ascension Bay and the lagoon amid incredible natural beauty unlike anything I had ever seen before" is about as busy as it gets—except that Tully meets a parade of colorful natives and expatriates, including a Mayan medicine man, a British commando and a 103-year-old woman who skippers a sailing schooner and wants to restore a historic lighthouse on Cayo Loco, the titular island. The characters are all hospitality entrepreneurs, and Buffett (A Pirate Looks at Fifty) also gives them shaggy-dog anecdotes, tidbits of Caribbean history and desultory life lessons to relate. There are glimmers of plot—bounty hunters, loves lost and found—but mostly Tully has little to do but savor the accommodations and atmospherics of tourist locales while the sea washes him with waves of love, happiness and maturity as infallibly as the tides. This book is as cheery and tropical as Buffet's music. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Singer, songwriter, and novelist Buffet is back, and so is Tully Mars, the inimitable protagonist from Tales from Margaritaville (2002). Recounting his transformation from cowboy to lighthouse keeper in eccentrically humorous style, Tully reminds us why Buffet's laid-back lyrics and stream-of-consciousness prose are almost hypnotically addictive. On the run after a tussle with his Cruella De Ville-like employer, psycho poodle-rancher Thelma Barston, Tully heeds the call of his beloved conch, evading a posse of bounty hunters as he heads south toward the swell of warm ocean breezes, encountering a predictable but nevertheless engaging cast of characters along the way. Eventually alighting on the edge of the Yucatan Peninsula, he crosses paths with Cleopatra Highbourne, the 103-year-old captain of the Lucretia, who entices him to join her in an almost quixotic quest. Hopping onboard the aging schooner, Tully embarks on a psychedelic odyssey that concludes with the restoration of an ancient Bahamian lighthouse on Cayo Loco--the aforementioned salty piece of land. This mystical, mind-bending journey will appeal to fans of Buffet's uniquely fuzzy blend of comedy and insight. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

ANNOTATION

Includes cd while supplies last.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

#1 bestselling author Jimmy Buffett is back at last with his first new novel in a decade!

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 its helm is Cleopatra Highbourne, the eccentric 102-year-old sea captain who will take him to a lighthouse on a salty piece of land that will change his life forever.

Once again, master storyteller Jimmy Buffett weaves a mesmerizing tale that combines both humor and emotional reflection. After all, one man's cathedral is another man's fishing hole. And in Jimmy Buffett's world, paradise is just a state of mind.

FROM THE CRITICS

Kinky Friedman - The New York Times

Buffett knows better than most that life is all about how we mix our metaphors. And yet the nonfictional aspects of the book appear to be as grounded and well constructed as, for want of a better image, a lighthouse at sea. Buffett has clearly researched his subject. But I suspect the true research for this novel has already been done on land and air and sea in all the years the author has spent as a highly active participant-observer of life. What makes the incredible so credible to the reader, what makes the old lighthouse shine again, is the spiritual savvy Buffett has gleaned from the beach of life as he's wandered in the raw poetry of time.

Publishers Weekly

There's a Cond Nast Traveler article fighting to get out of bestseller Buffett's first new novel in a decade, a groovily laid-back, ramblingly anecdotal, sun-soaked bit of Caribbean escapism that his Parrothead fans will relish like another chorus of "Margaritaville." Tully Mars, a 40-ish ex-cowboy turned guide at the Lost Boys Fishing Lodge island resort, undertakes various sojourns around the Caribbean, to Mayan ruins, a jungle safari camp, a spring break bacchanal in Belize. Nothing much happens-"That day, we spent the rest of the daylight hours on the shallow waters of Ascension Bay and the lagoon amid incredible natural beauty unlike anything I had ever seen before" is about as busy as it gets-except that Tully meets a parade of colorful natives and expatriates, including a Mayan medicine man, a British commando and a 103-year-old woman who skippers a sailing schooner and wants to restore a historic lighthouse on Cayo Loco, the titular island. The characters are all hospitality entrepreneurs, and Buffett (A Pirate Looks at Fifty) also gives them shaggy-dog anecdotes, tidbits of Caribbean history and desultory life lessons to relate. There are glimmers of plot-bounty hunters, loves lost and found-but mostly Tully has little to do but savor the accommodations and atmospherics of tourist locales while the sea washes him with waves of love, happiness and maturity as infallibly as the tides. This book is as cheery and tropical as Buffet's music. (Nov. 30) Forecast: There's nothing laid-back about the major promo effort the publisher is making to push Buffett's latest; the 650,000 first printing suggests the scale of the campaign. Expect this to hit bestseller lists fast. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Songster Buffett is back, and so is Tully Mars, protagonist of Tales from Margaritaville. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews