Rating: 
Summary: Fruitcakes in the Cosmos
Review: What starts out as a "normal" novel about a lovelorn guy & his seaplane transmogrifies into a sci-/psi-fi yarn involving characters and experiences way beyond the ordinary! I found this transition pleasant & stimulating. Buffet knows how to drag the reader from the comfortably familiar (or the unexperienced-but-imaginable) into deeper waters, all the while providing enough support that the reader doesn't drown in weirdness. Although the novel ventures into some wild & uncharted territories, one of the scenes regards an area with which I'm quite familiar. Desdemona makes love with an operator of the Arecibo Observatory under their magnificent radio-telescope (& radar) dish antenna (The movie Contact will give you some great visuals of this place if you need them). He nails the description of the site solidly. He's been there (and under the dish isn't part of the tour) or he's cribbing off somebody who has. I can only speculate that he knows the other off-the-beaten-path places as well. 5 stars for novelty, 5 stars for fun. If you want a novel that stays firmly grounded in middle-America, pass this one by, but if you have a sense of adventure, a hankering to pirate around the Carribean in an old sea plane, or just want to expand your mind a bit, relish the experience of reading this one!
Rating: 
Summary: had fun reading it
Review: I have never been much of a Jimmy buffett fan. I read Joe Merchant after reading "A Pirate Looks At Fifty." I loved the travel aspects and the fun Jimmy seems to have. I also enjoyed his style of writing. I was not disappointed by Joe Merchant either. If there is any criticism it would be that there are too many characters. I often had to go back to find out who they were. I fell in love with the descriptions of Carribean life. Jimmy, keep playing music, and give us a sequel to Joe Merchant. You have a new Parrothead.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I like Jimmy Buffett - I really do; and I wanted to like his book, Where is Joe Merchant? Unfortunately, the book wasn't very good. The plot was labored and the story itself did not hold my interest. It was not a good sign when midway through the book I couldn't care less if they found Joe Merchant or not. (The search for an allegedly deceased pop who is regularly sighted? Where have I seen THAT headline before?) While the hero, Frank Brown's mis-adventures were mildly entertaining, and the sly allusions to characters in old Buffett songs was clever, it was not enough for me give it a higher rating. As other reviewers have mentioned, perhaps Jimmy was trying too hard. Buffett's first effort at writing is by far the better book.
Rating: 
Summary: Ouch.
Review: "Where is Joe Merchant" is a professional enough work, but one that doesn't have the wild inventiveness and manic spark of Carl Hiaasen's work or the sweet charm of Jimmy's other works. It's clearly an attempt to marry the two worlds, but if such an attempt can succeed (and I imagine someone will do it at some point), this book ain't it. In "Tales from Margaritaville," Jimmy showed that he understood the short story form, infusing his tales with characters and situations that also appear on the album "Off to See the Lizard." Lightning doesn't strike twice, though, with this work. The settings and characters seem forced rather than charming, which is a shame, as Jimmy is certainly capable of creating settings and characters to rival the TV shows "Northern Exposure" or "Ed." This time around, though, Jimmy fails to put such on paper. This is only a book worth reading by the Parrothead completist.
Rating:
Summary: Carl Hiaasen he ain't...
Review: Sorry Parrothead fans everywhere. I found the book disjointed and the plot hard to follow. Buffett should stick to short stories and music. A novelist he's not. A sporting attempt, however. If you really like novels with whacked-out offbeat and oddball characters, I suggest trying Carl Hiaasen. Try "Stormy Weather" or "Tourist Season" for starters. Nobody depicts the wackiness of South Florida quite like Miami Herald columnist and novelist Hiaasen.
Rating:
Summary: Let's not get carried away
Review: I've been looking at the reviews written by others and I have to believe people are carried away by their love of Jimmy Buffet. I wish I were him after reading A Pirate Looks at Fifty, and I wish I were him again now that I see how much everyone liked his book despite the fact that it was just average. I love the quick and easy type of 'light' reading where this book fits, but the plot was disconnected. At times I began to forget the fact that the book even had a plot. What I really did enjoy was living vicariously through the the characters in the Jimmy Buffet lifestyle. I also will admit to being surprised by the ending, whiich made the book enjoyable in the end. But the storyline itself was not that great. I continued reading just to stay close to the water and the airplane.
Rating:
Summary: finding Joe Merchant
Review: Well, I received this book from my 10 year old for mother's day and I am searching for Joe myself! My daughter is a parakeet as I am the true parrothead! I loved his book "A Pirate Looks at Fifty" and this one is very easy to fall into! Yes it is a good summer reading and beach book. Just try not forget to turn over while sunbathing! Could be painful!
Rating:
Summary: BUFFETT AT HIS BEST
Review: This was an incredible piece of work, Buffett at his best! I picked this book up at an airport on a trip to Hawaii, and found myself still enthralled in this book upon landing. It's a love story, an adventure, a tale of a simple man and his dog and the wild adventure that insues is one for the ages. I am sorry that [another] review was so insulting to the man and his work, any true Parothead would know that Jimmy Buffett is not a man concerned with marketing, money, or putting a ....... piece of literature out for his fans to make some money. I would have to encourage people to read the book for themselves .................... Joe Merchant is a timeless tale of the life that we all secretly would love to live.
Rating:
Summary: an awesome tale
Review: great book about caribean travels. you never know where the story will go next. It keeps you on your toes.
Rating:
Summary: Just the Right Amount of Mind Candy!
Review: I'm not a rabid Parrot Head or anything, but I do enjoy listening to Jimmy and I love to hear him "wax tropical". I often envy the carefree lifestyle he lives and writes about and this book is no exception. After reading this book for the third time, I am tempted to burn my suits, sell the house and cars, and move the family to the Virgin Islands (I'm partial to St. John). Jimmy's cast of colorful, and I do mean colorful, characters takes you into a world of tropical fantasy, rum drinks, conch fritters, beach bums, pirates, and of course musicians. I recommend this book to anyone who feels like leaving reality at the doorstep for a while and taking a trip with Jimmy.
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