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Confessions of a Key West Cabby
This is a compilation of favorite columns by popular Miami Herald columnist and Key West taxicab driver, Michael Suib. 72 vignettes of life and laughter, pathos and humanity as seen through the windshield of his pepto-pink taxi cab in the Southernmost City, Key West, Florida. Different from the usual articles that you might expect to read in a daily newspaper, they are poetic glimpses and observations that find the absurd in the mundane.
200 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 8, 2019
Short tales previously published as newspaper columns; quick read, entertaining human foibles. I picked it up partly because I love vignettes of Key West, and partly because a friend drove a taxi in Key West after he retired, and he could have written his tales I'm sure :-)
June 22, 2015
Confessions of a Key West Cabby; there has got to be some great stories in this one! Well, sort of. In fact, there really wasn't anything that exciting or notable in these quick vignettes from Michael Suib. Sure, they were charming, but not all were relevant and the ones that really engaged me were far and few between.
Michael Suib, disenchanted with his life as a businessman, packs up and moves south with his wife to Key West. Among many odd jobs, he takes a job driving a cab in Key West. It's through this job that he encounters all sorts of characters, both locals and tourists. He gathers his stories into a few different sections such as "Love" (guess what these stories are about?), "Southernmost Homeless" (about the key's inhabitants who don't have a roof over their head), and others.
Suib definitely encounters some characters. Or at least, he describes them as such. I found the tourists to be some of the brashest. The homeless residents seemed to be like homeless people everywhere, and didn't have any defining characteristics that made them stand out or of note above the sad state that they are in. The tourists on the other hand could be quite horrible. And they definitely follow the rule that people act worse away from home. Luckily Suib had a no-nonsense approach to offensive customers and promptly would eject them from his cab.
The little stories were entertaining, and easy to read in small bits. But most of them weren't that interesting and I found myself questioning why they were in there. Some I didn't even really understand. Such as the lady who was looking for a decent meal for her nephew/grandson/whatever he was. Maybe I missed something but I didn't understand that story at all. Others were good, such as the offensive or racist people that he removed from his cab. It gave you a sense of justice.
Just ok, nothing special. I really don't feel like I know Key West any better. These stories could have happened at any tourist destination and weren't unique to the locale.
Confessions of a Key West Cabby
Copyright 2003
197 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2015
More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com
Michael Suib, disenchanted with his life as a businessman, packs up and moves south with his wife to Key West. Among many odd jobs, he takes a job driving a cab in Key West. It's through this job that he encounters all sorts of characters, both locals and tourists. He gathers his stories into a few different sections such as "Love" (guess what these stories are about?), "Southernmost Homeless" (about the key's inhabitants who don't have a roof over their head), and others.
Suib definitely encounters some characters. Or at least, he describes them as such. I found the tourists to be some of the brashest. The homeless residents seemed to be like homeless people everywhere, and didn't have any defining characteristics that made them stand out or of note above the sad state that they are in. The tourists on the other hand could be quite horrible. And they definitely follow the rule that people act worse away from home. Luckily Suib had a no-nonsense approach to offensive customers and promptly would eject them from his cab.
The little stories were entertaining, and easy to read in small bits. But most of them weren't that interesting and I found myself questioning why they were in there. Some I didn't even really understand. Such as the lady who was looking for a decent meal for her nephew/grandson/whatever he was. Maybe I missed something but I didn't understand that story at all. Others were good, such as the offensive or racist people that he removed from his cab. It gave you a sense of justice.
Just ok, nothing special. I really don't feel like I know Key West any better. These stories could have happened at any tourist destination and weren't unique to the locale.
Confessions of a Key West Cabby
Copyright 2003
197 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2015
More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews