Buffett’s Pig Novel was ‘Not’ Worth It

By Jim Patterson-Staff Writer

Jimmy Buffett has a new novel on the bestseller lists. Unfortunately it is a real stinker. This is sad news for me, because I enjoy Buffett’s music and I enjoyed his earlier bestsellers. This time he fails his fans.

Swine Not? A Novel Pig Tale is Buffett’s latest creative writing exercise with a very slim plot. A Tennessee mother takes her son and daughter to live in a ritzy New York hotel when she lands a job in the hotel’s restaurant. Oh, and they bring their pet pig, Rumpy, along with them.

The new job is just right for both family and pig. Rumpy is looking for her long lost brother Lukie and she believes he is in New York. What a coincidence!

Since the hotel bars “exotic animals,” the family has to keep Rumpy hidden. They live in a glass house on top of the hotel, trying to hide the pig from the hotel chef who is out for fresh pork in the form of Rumpy.

You’re saying: “What were you thinking when you agreed to review this book, Jim?” Good question. I thought it’d be non-stop pig jokes. I was wrong. Buffett uses the plot to advance his story to an outrageous ending. But the plot is unbelievable, as a result adult readers won’t give a damn whether Rumpy ever finds Lukie.

Young adult readers may find the book a bit more appealing. However, there are far better books for them to enjoy.

Swine Not? should have never been written. Buffett should have thrown the idea for this book to the pigs.

Swine Not? A Novel Pig Tale (Little, Brown) by Jimmy Buffett, $21.99, 234 pages.