
Book Review : Florida Man by Tom Cooper
Hi friend! Thanks for stopping today.
My review today is for the book Florida Man by Tom Cooper.
*Disclaimer : I received a copy of this ebook for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Below youâll find the description of the book provided by NetGalley followed by my personal review and star rating. Enjoy! đ
Description :
Florida, circa 1980. Reed Crowe, the eponymous Florida Man, is a middle-aged beach bum, beleaguered and disenfranchised, living on ill-gotten gains deep in the jungly heart of Florida. When sinkholes start opening on Emerald Island, not only are Reed Crowe’s seedy businessesâa moribund motel and a shabby amusement parkâendangered, but so are his secrets. Crowe, amateur spelunker, begins uncovering artifacts that change his understanding of the islandâs history, as well as his understanding of his familyâs birthright as pioneering homesteaders.
Meanwhile, there are other Florida men with whom Crowe must contend. Hector âCatfaceâ Morales, a Cuban refugee, trained assassin, and crack-addicted Marielito, is seeking revenge on Reed for stealing his stash of drugs and leaving him for dead (unbeknownst to Reed) in the wreckage of a plane crash in the Everglades decades ago. Loner and misanthrope Henry Yahchilane, a Seminole native, has something to hide on the island. So does irascible and pervy Wayne Wade, Reed Croweâs childhood friend turned bad penny. Then there are the Florida women, including Heidi Karavas, Reed Croweâs ex-wife, now a globe-trekking art curator, and Nina Arango, a Cuban refugee and fiercely protective woman with whom Reed Crowe falls in love. There are curses. There are sea monsters. There are biblical storms. Thereâs something called the Jupiter Effect.
Ultimately, Florida Man is a generation-spanning story about how a man decides to live his life, and how despite staying landlocked and stubbornly in one place, the world nevertheless comes to him.
My Review :
I wanted to like this book – I really did. The plot sounded irresistible and weâre introduced to the book with the Miami Dolphins fight song. I mean, come on! Whatâs not to love.
Well, in my opinion…a lot. I could not connect to this book at all. The plot was just jumbled and made the book hard to read.
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But, please donât take my word for it – different books appeal to different people.