Can I just say that I am not enjoying Jimmy Buffet's latest written offering? I keep reading, perhaps for the same reason I cannot turn my eyes away from a car wreck, hoping it will improve.
I've said many times, "Maybe I am not his targeted age group," but each time conclude that I'm not sure what age group would fit. This is an expansion of a manuscript someone else wrote (the illustrator) and maybe he just isn't connected enough to it to do it justice.
I'm not a big fan of the non-cartoon attribution of human intellect to animals, but that isn't it. It isn't compelling. Or weighty. It trivializes the pains and struggles of the human characters.
I wouldn't have picked it up and purchased it if it hadn't been for the Buffet name on the cover, and I expect not only to be entertained but also to feel something for the characters he develops. And that may be it - the characters are just there. They just don't seem to develop.
I doubt this will be my final word on the subject. I'm going to grit my teeth and complete it. Maybe it will all come together in the last half of the book and I will eat my words, perhaps even kill this post and write a glowing review that begins with, "It took a while to set up, but Swine Not? A Novel Pigs Tale is well worth the read!"
I wouldn't put any money on that though.
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