Fringe Florida by Lynn Waddell - Book Review

Fringe Florida is a nonfiction book written by St. Petersburg journalist Lynn Waddell. It aims to take the reader through the lesser-known parts of the sunshine state.

What’s Fringe Florida about?

The full name of this novel is Fringe Florida: Travels among Mud Boggers, Furries, Ufologists, Nudists, and Other Lovers of Unconventional Lifestyles. So this book unravels that side of beautiful Florida that most of us (even residents of the city) would shy away from.

The author presents a bold account of unconventional Floridians in some of the most unbelievable places. There are various different stories in the book that tells us about these unconventional people. Some of the stories are delightful while some others are outright titillating.

The first story in the book is titled Menagerie of Fla-Zoons. It is about a capuchin, a monkey, how it was brought in a stroller to the Little League game. There are overall ten such stories revealing the unique Floridan culture.
The author has come up with the real stories from her experience with the unconventional lot and lifestyle of Florida. She has visited these unusual places, attended weird events like mud bogging events, etc. to write a first-person account about unexplored Florida.

The writing

The stories are told through the author’s wryly funny, bold and open-minded language. She isn’t afraid to divulge all the conventionalities with a direct and on your face audacity that will hit you hard if you aren’t open-minded yourself.

Verdict

For us, the book was 3.5/5. Books like Fringe Florida are not everyone’s cup of tea. But for those it is, the book is highly enjoyable.

Fringe Florida by Lynn Waddell