Set in Key West--the nation's extreme limit--this is the story of a man seeking refuge from a world of drug addiction by becoming a skiff guide for...
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Aug 29, 2008
A.J.
rated it: 
Thomas Skelton leaves behind a life of drugs and debauchery, not to mention his studies, and returns home to Key West. He decides to become a flats guide, because it's only while out on the flats that he feels whole. But guiding is a competitive business. And Nichol Dance, an established guide, makes it clear that Skelton isn't welcome.
92 in the Shade is the high-water mark of McGuane's prose style. He writes with effortless flash, with a precise diction that is trademark. He slides More...
92 in the Shade is the high-water mark of McGuane's prose style. He writes with effortless flash, with a precise diction that is trademark. He slides More...
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Jan 11, 2010
Joshua
rated it: 
While it certainly took a few pages to fall into step with McGuane's adjective laden cadence, "Ninety-Two in the Shade" offered a freewheeling little tale full of sex, drugs and abject pride. Occasionally, McGuane spends a tad too much time looking to impress the reader with his erudition and, once again, occasionally he only manages to bore. That being said, when McGuane hits his mark, like with his descriptions of Goldsboro Skelton and Bella Knowles and their octogenarian sex romps,
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Sep 05, 2010
Georganne
rated it: 
A difficult read and ultimately not worth the time spent. That said, I liked the Gallatin Canyon stories, and as this was reported to be a another good one by McGuane I read it. The tangents, the many words I had to look up, the existential angst of the characters, the insider references to Key West life (I've lived in FL almost 30 yrs but didn't have a clue) it was all just too much. Another reviewer said 'written on drugs', that seems about right.
Dec 22, 2008
Troy
rated it:
Entry-level McGuane, one of my favorite authors of all time, and I'm not just saying that because he once answered a fan letter. Other favs: "The Sporting Club" and "Gallatin Canyon," a recent collection of short stories. His writing often is challenging because he uses language in unique ways, but I always find the struggle worthwhile. Just three words of warning about "92", however: Written On Drugs. (But Read Sober.)
Feb 05, 2008
James
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I was intrigued by this novel because some of my counter parts in the fishing world love it. Being born and raised in Florida, having spent a great deal of my childhood down in the Keys, and being an avid fisherman (almost charter captain); I thought for sure I would love this story. But I didn't.
McGuane shows he is a craftsman of metaphors and prose. But I found the story itself kind of flat and the characters lacking emotion. Everything was just it will be what it will be. The story oft More...
McGuane shows he is a craftsman of metaphors and prose. But I found the story itself kind of flat and the characters lacking emotion. Everything was just it will be what it will be. The story oft More...
Aug 15, 2011
Bob
rated it: 
I've now read 2 books by this author, this was the first and, so far, the most difficult. It was as though the author had a long, ongoing, detailed dream, and decided to put it down on paper. It was a struggle but it was well worth the effort. If you like neat, happy endings, you won't like this book.
Nov 16, 2011
Joe Samuel
rated it:
Read this in a day-and-a-half on the beach in Mexico circa 2005; a great story set in Key West told in an awesome voice that was unique but also reminded me of a wild combination of Cormac McCarthy and Carl Hiaasen.
Oct 15, 2007
Luxagraf
rated it:
McGuane gets compared to Pynchon quite a bit, which I’ve never understood save perhaps the sheer madcap pace of language and witticisms, but whereas with Pynchon these come in bursts, with McGuane they’re pretty much sustained. Perhaps that’s why McGuane writes shorter books — you can only keep up that pace for so long, both as a writer and a reader. The Bushwhacked Piano remains one of my favorite books and this one is equally good, but somehow too much the same, the same tragic inevitability t
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Apr 27, 2009
Sandra
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Vivid, complex characters in Key West Setting make a good read. Depicts the drug hazed culture of that author's youth, fleshed out in depraved personal relationships.
Aug 25, 2009
Tom
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I didn't finish it. It seemed to me that this book conveyed a sense of the 60's/70/s that didn't stand the test of time, but I'm not a die hard McGuane fan.
May 03, 2010
Brian
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dueling Key West fishing guides..lots of drug use, promiscuous schoolteachers, homocidal fishing guides, and Key West of the early 70s....
Aug 09, 2011
John
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Interesting novel about fishing guides in Key West. Definitely a product of the 60's (or is it 70's)?
Jul 17, 2011
Megan
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This was tough. I don't think I was smart enough for this book. Lovely writing at times, though.
Jan 04, 2009
Janet
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read this and others by McGuane in the late 80s, early 90s. trying to remember them.
Dec 16, 2008
Just found this used. I like the Bushwacked Piano a lot, and this sounds very nice.
Dec 17, 2009
Andy
rated it:
I didn't get through this one. In fact, I made it through 30 pages and put the book down. Not a real honest effort, but the language was a real barrier for me. I notice another reviewer said it's a 200 page book that reads like a 600 page book and that sounds about right to me. I don't think an author is doing you any favors when he obscures so much of the characters and the feeling of the book behind a thick wall of language. The sentences made me dizzy and I wasn't willing to work at it becaus
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Jul 08, 2009
Scott
rated it:
Not an easy read by any means, but interesting and enjoyable. The language takes a bit to get used to, but it was so good that after the first 30 pages (which is about when I really got into the flow of things) I went back and started over.
I've started The Cadence of Grass before (didn't finish), which was written some 30 years after 92/Shade. Cadence is a much tighter product than 92/Shade, but that precisely is why I enjoyed this book so much. Crazy characters, wacky action, and t More...
I've started The Cadence of Grass before (didn't finish), which was written some 30 years after 92/Shade. Cadence is a much tighter product than 92/Shade, but that precisely is why I enjoyed this book so much. Crazy characters, wacky action, and t More...
Jul 29, 2008
Jesse
rated it:
i don't know how i was even remotely interested in this book, a plot that went from nonexistent to obvious, pointless sexual fantasy, cheap cliche humor, detached run-on piss stream of thought, and so on. But there were these times of backwards eloquence that kind of absorbed you in color from all aspects of the world as it might appear to a florida pseudo-redneck. god i can relate.
Aug 24, 2007
Gavin
rated it:
Frantic, manic, but with a soul. "The Old Man and the Sea" meets "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas."
Aug 05, 2011
Seth
rated it:
McGuane's overwrought prose does much damage to an otherwise interesting group of lowlife characters. The film adaptation of this work, directed by McGuane, is far better and features one of the best Warren Oates performances of all time.
Apr 07, 2008
Jpaflas
rated it:
McGuane really is a good writer.. and this Key West type madness tale is a very entertaining quick read. And to either turn you on or turn you off, he was married to Jimmy Buffett's sister Laurie.
Feb 13, 2008
Stephen
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Set in Key West, and a bit crazy relative to the characters and their perspective. All a bit perverse, but a pretty funny read. McGuane is a realist if nothing else.
Aug 20, 2011
Jesper
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This is the second time I read it and I am really starting to love McGuane. He is a true master and 92 is funny, dark, and extremely well written.
Nov 21, 2009
Leslie
rated it:
I kind of hate to give this a low rating because I did enjoy the story but it was such a struggle to read that I just wanted it to be over with.
Mar 25, 2010
More straightforward, barely, than his other books I've read. But no less wild, and maybe even more enjoyable, to be honest. I do love it.
Aug 27, 2008
Derek
rated it:
Fantastic bk, and also a rare instance (see also "Fat City" and "Wise Blood") where the movie version does the bk justice.
Dec 16, 2009
His language is something I can bite into, distinct and satisfying. A sleek 154 pages to hold between my fingers.
