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Summary: A wonderful and funny book...
Review: Having lived in the Caribbean for almost five years and having recently visited Anguilla, I found the Blanchard's tale to hit extremely close to home. Their descriptions of island life were both hilarious and surprisingly similar to my own. I throughouly enjoyed this book and wish they would write a sequel!
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Summary: great book....better restaurant!
Review: Quick read is well written, fun and somewhat inspirational. Read it on the beach, in Anguilla, then have dinner with the Blanchard's.
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Summary: A shallow, engrossing and thoroughly enjoyable book.
Review: I could hardly put this book down and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The writing is good but not, by any means, poetic or inspiring. The story is not compellingly constructed. In fact, it is pretty simple: an American couple, having sold their business in Vermont, thinks it might be great to open some sort of small beachside restaurant on Anguillia in the Caribbean. They take the plunge, Complications follow. Bigger complications (a hurricane) follow early success. The seductive allaure of "chucking it all", going where it is always warm and almost always beautiful, of leaving behind the urgencies of the States and living closer to the beauty of nature, is something that, I would guess, many people have considered and a few have tried. Just what is it that people, in particular the Blanchards of this tale, are trying to leave behind? What do they expect to find? Are they fleeing unhappiness or chasing a higher level of satisfaction in life? This is not the story of two people fleeing the too closeness of relatives, of getting burned out on work or turned off by commercialism or violence in our culture. It is, simply, the story of a dream of owning a restaurant in the Caribbean paradise and trying to make it work. The dream quickly gets out of hand. They find a location, but the monthly rent will be far too high and the cost of bringing the property up to useability will be far too much. So, the dream changes and they change with it. No beach front home, just an apartment overlooking a gas station. No tiny eatery on the beach, they decide they have to do a big time, classy restaurant to have any hope of paying the rent or recovering building costs. Why is this simple tale so engrossing? Well, if you love the Caribbean, or any southern lattitude, you'll likely enjoy this story. If you have traveled south, so much the better. It is an adventure told by two people who know how to combine hard work, skill and total dedication to making their dreams realtiy. Horay for the Blanchards! We get a real taste of island culture and see it through the eyes of people who appreciate, and love, what they have found. As stated, it is a simple story, simply told. The lack of affectation or higher goals in the writing, however, is part of the charm. It is a quick, fun read which I recommend to anyone interested in knowing more about the Caribbean and the joys and sorrows of starting a restaurant, or any business, in the islands. There are only two things that seriously bothered me about the book. First, the primary writer and voice of the narrator, Melina Blanchard, gives all of the island characters a kind of old fashion black dialect. The locals come off sounding like they just stepped out of "Gone With the Wind". While I don't doubt that the islanders do not speak like Vermont Yankees, I have major reservations about whether they all sound the way southern blacks were thought to sound by whites 50 or 60 years ago. I really wonder how the islanders react to this verbal protrayal. Many people in the Caribbean, of all races, speak with a lovely, improved version of a British accent, one that sounds rather nicer than that of many northern visitors. Secondly, the most dramatic part of the story, Hurricane Luis, is given rather short shrift at the end of the book. It was husband Bob who got caught in it and, since he is obviously not the primary author of this work, we don't learn nearly as much about the whole experience as in the earlier phases of the adventure. We also are not given, even in the just released paperback version, an update on where matters stand with the restaurant and the lives of the Blanchards and their Caribbean dream. Too bad. I guess we will all have to go to the restuarant and ask them. Hope they've got a moment or two then to fill us in. p.s. The Blachards should have added: "Don't try this at home. kids". Very few people could have pulled this off. They had money in the bank and experience from starting eight other businesses before they went south. Plus, they were willing to work and work and work some more. If you want to sit on the beach and contemplate the meaning of life, don't ever consider opening a restaurant or hotel in the Caribbean or, probably, anywhere else.
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Summary: NO HOAXES!! A pleasuring tale of Carribean adventure. . .
Review: Reading this book, you are taken to the world of Anguilla, a small Carribean island where it is so beautiful that they don't need a weatherman. The Blanchards started up a restaurant bearing their name years ago on this island heaven and it became one of the highlights of the Western Antillies. In this book, you are taken through their journey, their lives together, of building a restauarnt of a fine reputation. I MUST ADVISE: The book is cannot be fully appreciated unless one actually travels to Anguilla to experience the happy and peaceful mood of the entire island and to actually meet the Blanchards to see how lovely people they are. It can be seen that at the beginning of the novel, it is pointed out that although, yes, the Blanchards had already started a restaurant, Mangoes, before their current one, it would not be discussed for the means of telling the story. Also, just because Melinda and Robert's name both appear on the cover, and just one is the narrator, it does not mean that they both didn't write the book together, sharing their experiences and building the structure for the book. This trip to the beach will be one you never forget....
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Summary: A Second Trip Down the Beach or, A Hoax about the Beach??
Review: I read the book and found it to be not the story of two people, but the story of one. Apparently, Bob was not interested in writing the book yet his name appears as an author. The book did not appeal to me or my wife who both love the island of Anguilla. -Strike 1.
Despite this, while my wife and I were in Anguilla we decided to try Blanchards. I even brought my book to be signed.(My book is not signed) From reading the book, and the reviews from the USA Today, among others, the Blanchards bailed out of "corporate deal making" and started a restaurant in Anguilla without any previous restaurant expierence. Upon futher review, this is not the case.
Not only did they previously own a restaurant in Telluride,CO, they actually owned one in Anguilla, which they sold.The restaurant, Mangoes, still exists to day.
Srike Two.
No doubt the cusine and atmosphere are superb. However, the shameless hawking of, son Jessie's "upcoming" artwork is just that, shameless. Art is in the eye of the beholder,so if you go there ,like it, and want to buy it contact me and I will get the same for $2000 to $3600 less.
Strike 3...
Bottomline: How could you write a book like this and omit so many relavent facts? Answer: To create a fairy tale story to get publicity for your restaurant. Also, How could the mainstream press fall for this? Answer:????? By the way, there are many great restaurants on the island of Anguilla. Anyone, please advise if I have any of the facts wrong. Clearly, the Blanchards did not let the truth get in the way of a good story.
EBM
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Summary: An Armchair Trip to Anguilla
Review: Melinda and Bob Blanchard have written a wonderful account of the trials and tribulations of building, maintaining, and operating a restaurant on a tiny Caribbean island. When these adventurous folks found themselves more or less out of business in Vermont(their gourmet food business had failed) they decided to chuck it all and retreat to the Caribbean. They tell a fascinating story that includes all of the obstacles that a restaurant patron might never think of when sitting down to a meal at Blanchards restaurant: the need to buy building materials and all of the supplies such as tables, linens, dishes, glassware, etc. in Miami and have everything shipped in; the difficulty of finding competent help; the daily struggle to get perishables sent to the island; the vagaries and dangers of the weather. Despite many setbacks and problems, Melinda, who narrates this book, never whines about their circumstances. Their love for the way of life overshadows everything else. It was so interesting to read about how they conquered the myriad obstacles along the way (lack of water, cooking for a full house with no electricity one night, growing flowers and shrubs in an area with little rain, finding a house at a reasonable price on a resort island). I also liked learning some of the history and government of this island and how it arrived at its present status. A lovely trip!
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Summary: So wonderful
Review: This book was great! I really hope all who read this review go ahead and buy the book. It shows true dedication and love for life. It gave me an inspiration that I know I will have for a long while. I would love to one day make it to the island and visit the Blanchards restaurant. Thank you for writing this book!
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Summary: You'll want to go to this Beach
Review: A Trip to the Beach is a terrific book. Throughout the chapters the reader becomes very familiar with the cast of characters who help Bob and Mel Blanchard move to and open up a restaurant on the laid-back island of Anguilla. The book carries you through what life is like on "island time" and the challenge of trying to be organized on an unorganized Caribbean island. You get to know the Blanchard's and their staff at the restaurant on a personal level. The trials and tribulations of everything from clearing customs with a bed to trying to find fresh poultry above grade D in Anguilla will keep you smiling throughout the book. Highly recommended as good summer reading.
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Summary: Devil's Advocate Review
Review: Nearly all reviews of the Blanchard's book "A Trip To The Beach" fall all over themselves with compliments. Well, it WAS a good book, but let me introduce some sense of persepective here. First, the audio version reminded me, yet again, that authors should never be allowed to read their own work. Although it was charming to hear Melinda Blanchard's nice voice, it was equally annoying that she ripped through the text without ever altering her tone, even from one paragraph to the next. A professional reader would have made the experience much more enjoyable. Second, it was disturbing to discover (from other sources) that Melinda and Bob actually owned another restaurant on Angulla before opening Blanchard's! They hint at this by referring to their book as a compilation of events over a ten year span - and they even said they owned a restaurant in the past (no location) but not mentioning "Mangos" (their previous Anquillan restaurant) seems unnessarily devious and has the reader wondering what can be believed. Third, wouldn't you have thought that, after ten years on an island paradise frequented by the rich and famous, that the Blanchards would have better stories and anecdotes to tell? They had some good ones, to be sure, but one suspects that if you went out drinking with the Blanchards you'd hear some much better stories. And, finally, so many of the stories ran on and on and on. There was a long, rather boring boat building/racing sequence, the hurricane that wouldn't end, etc. The Blanchard's would have been better advised to fill that space with more stories like the Sandra Bullock dinner party or even the tourists who ran out their entire water supply washing sand off their feet. BUT...with that said...I do recommend this book. The Blanchard's are surprisingly good writers and you will easily fall for them and their Anguilla. Like the other reviewers, I would love to visit Blanchard's and envy those who have. And I would even read another book by this enterprising couple should they ever choose to write one. They just need to get someone else to narrate the audio version :-) CJ
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Summary: Super Book
Review: I do love travelogues. This one is especially wonderful. Most get off on one tangent or another and really exploit that, but this book captures a dream a lot of us have which is to move and live on an exotic island. I loved this books picture of the people, island and troubles that the Blanchards go through. It is a dream that comes alive throughout the pages of the book. If you are looking for good beach reading on vacation this year, I highly reccomend it. Very good to escape to that perfect island in your mind.
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