Orange Crush: a novel

This was a quick and enjoyable read. I thought it was a lot like a half-baked [movie] comedy; often not particularly good or funny, but occasionally the funny bits were hysterical. Also, the book got a lot better when it hit the serious parts.

The bit below is an example of my kind of humor; this is "early" (entitled) Marlon Conrad the main character:

"Three days of marching through the Balkans didn’t change his mind.

Marlon sat on the stone edge of a nonrunning fountain in a town circle. It was cold and still in southern Kosovo. Marlon looked around at the bullet-flecked buildings, the shelled stores, the filthy, underfed children that appeared now and then, running doorway to doorway. A crying old woman in tatters.

"What a bunch of show more losers."
...

They had been trudging through town and countryside, and Marlon was roundly disgusted by what he saw. Nobody seemed to have a job. He was just about to throw a fit and demand to be sent home when a love letter arrived from Babs. He kept marching. [That last part is incredibly funny, but I think you have to read the book to "get it."]

At first, it actually hadn’t been half bad. The abject poverty had seemed kinda pretty, in its foreign way, and Marlon took lots of snapshots. The problem was his traveling company. Everyone else in his platoon was a complete idiot." show less

Orange Crush fits into that peculiar American sub-genre of satire/thrillers set in the south, first popularised by Carl Hiasen. The addition of a political theme and Dorsey's relentless criticism of American elites makes this a really enjoyable read.

Marlon Conrad is a typical Republican governor, cruising towards a winning election, feathering lobbyist and business nests along the way. But there's a serial killer on the loose in Florida, an amnesiac on his team, and he's just signed up for the army reserves when a conflict in Europe flairs up...

I've had mixed experiences with these kind of books in the past. American satire is often of the sledgehammer variety, and I've found it's not usually as clever as it intimates. But Dorsey show more sidesteps the satire in favour of vicious parody, mercilessly tearing into the co-opted democracy Americans are living with, and the elite corporate interests who co-opted it. His frank and savage appraisal was genuinely funny to me.

In order to keep up this heavy barrage, the characters are by necessity somewhat thin - though their ridiculous names will keep them separate in your head. However, protagonist Marlon retains a nice depth and development throughout. Coupled with Dorsey's obvious knowledge and love of Florida, the novel has a unique enough voice and a nice sparkle to it.

Dorsey's other novels don't have this political focus, and without such ripe and deserving targets I'm not sure if his scatter-shot approach would yield such tasty results. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this one a whole bunch. show less

Having enjoyed another Tim Dorsey book as well as some of the earlier Carl Hiaasen books, I thought I'd enjoy this one. I listened to the Audible edition, and it was well read. However, the book just didn't work for me. Sure, there were bizarre characters and ridiculous situations, but it didn't have the snark or humor I expected. Some bits were quite entertaining but I felt I had to plow through too much boring bits to find the funny bits. I'm probably in the minority on this one, and I'll give Dorsey another try, but this one just fell flat for me. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Orange Crush is part satire on the political system and part murder mystery. Even though one may not know the state of Florida, one can still follow the story through wonderful imagery. The tone is set in the beginning and kept throughout the entire book. The author properly ended the book leaving no question as to what happened to each of the characters. Five stars were given on this review for a very good story. Highly recommended.

Follows the story of Florida's governor race.
Fabulously entertaining Serge Storms shows up quite late is this story, but not where you might expect. It doesn't keep this story from having a hilarious ride until you get there. It has all the scams and other political scandal you would expect from a Dorsey novel.

Zaney, Wacky story, always a good laugh

Love the Serge Storm series by Tim Dorsey!!! All his books are funny, entertaining with some mystery thrown into the mix!