Native Tongue (original 1991; edition 2005)

It's been a while since I read this book, but I remember finding the humor a little forced and a little too Dave Barryish. And I don't mean that in a good way. ( )

Hiaasen is reading comfort food--predictable plots and quirky characters with a dash of the absurd. The three I've read are all very similar, but I like the way he handles his female characters--usually strong, smart and sexy, but not dependent on a man. ( )

I enjoyed this off-beat book about crooked developers, bungling crooks, and amusement parks. ( )

I don't know why this ended up in my reading list - musta been on sale or something. It's not a bad story - it has some good parts, but there's a lot of "satire" in it that just missed the mark. And too much "aren't I funny" from the author. He isn't that funny. The story isn't that "biting" or insightful and there's WAY too much time spent harping on about environmental destruction... I got the point by the halfway mark...

But... it's fast enough reading. Trimming out 50-75 pages would've saved me a lot of skimming over Joe's porn girlfriend (still don't know what the point of her was), Skink's stupid panther shenanigans, and the steroid-head's over-the-topness. I don't think I'll read any more of this author's stuff though... it just isn't as funny as he thinks he is. ( )

blue-tongued mango voles - -
Joe Winder, ex-reporter, now PR man for Francis X Kingsbury's theme park - -
all in Key Largo... ( )