The demands of the real world have kept me on a co
Submitted by sk on Wed, 04/12/2000 - 07:54
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The demands of the real world have kept me on a constant run for over two weeks. However, in my travels I found time to read Carl Hiaasen's latest
novel. If you like Hiaasen (and who doesn't) it's outrageous humor soothes the tired soul.
Good to have you back, sk. 'Fraid I have to confess that I'd never heard of Hiassen before this. What of his would you recommend for a first-time reader?
Glad to be back. I suggest you start with SKIN TIGHT or TOURIST SEASON.
Those are both good ones. I have a hard time picking a favorite. Maybe Double Whammy or Native Tongue? Actually, I think Tourist Season was the first one I read, and I was hooked, so going with sk's recommendation is probably a safe bet.
Hiaasen is wonderful. Crazy, over-the-top stuff. I understand that while the older stuff that he co-authored with Bill Montalbano is decent, he didn't really hit his stride (novel-wise) until his recent solo stuff.
Bertie, you clearly haven't been giving our (my and sk's) lists a careful read. :)
Anyway, check one out and post a review. They are candy; each one only takes a few hours to read.
It's a fair cop, guv'nor. Guilty as charged. But society is to blame...etc. (I got those from "A Little Book of Criminal Cliches".)
I'll try to find a Hiassen [hmm...there should be a pun somewhere in that name].
I second welcoming your return, sk. Now if UncRoger would just turn up, my week would be complete.
Unfortunately, I am physically unable to read the new Hiaasen for awhile. So I'll have to live vicariously through you. How did you like Sick Puppy in relation to his other stuff?
I too used to wait for paper backs. Especially those by Robert Parker, Robert Crais and James Lee Burke. A few years ago I figured "what the hell" and started buying the hard covers. They stand up to several readings (I read almost everything at least twice), and I feel this is an expence I can justify. As to SICK PUPPY it obviously deals with the rape of the natural beauty of Florida. The protagonist, Twilly Spree, is the millionare son of a coastal real estate developer. Twilly makes a litter-bug state lobbyist his target and decides to queer plans to develop a barrier island. Along the way Twilly runs afoul of the current state Governor and becomes an ally of a certain former Governor and his State Police officer friend. The book is full of delightfully offbeat types that set all Hiaasen books apart. Like most Hiaasen works SICK PUPPY manages to to send a ecological message without being preachy. Over all I preferred this book to his last attempt LUCKY YOU.
Sorry but I didn't log in before the last entry.
Excellent! Glad to hear it's a Skink/Jim Tile book. My wife just finished Native Tongue and she thoroughly enjoyed it.
I also didn't think Lucky You was quite up to par. I liked it, but not quite as much as the others. I break Hiaasen up into two groups:
Fantastic: Double Whammy, Skin Tight, Native Tongue, and Tourist Season
Very Good: Strip Tease, Stormy Weather, and Lucky You
I liked STRIP TEASE enough to put it in the first group. Now the movie was a different thing all together. I heard somewhere that it was voted the worst movie of the 90s. I go along with that sentiment. Although I'm not sure how any one could make a good movie form a Hiaasen novel. I suppose it is like the animated attempts at the Lord Of The Rings trilogy. Well intended but unsatisfying.