Nature Girl
by Carl Hiaasen
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Book Reviews of Nature Girl
Book Review: Telemarket Swamp
Summary: 4 Stars
This is another dependable comedy from Hiaasen and it delivers everything that his readers would expect - neurotic characters with weird quirks, ridiculous capers, far-flung conspiracies that come together in absurd ways, the unique culture of backwoods Floridians, and some messages on the absurdities of modern society. Hiaasen also has a real gift for sarcastic comedy mixed with occasional and effective snippets of drama, and this book delivers in that regard as well. Readers who are new to Hiaasen will find this book perfectly hilarious and will surely wish to explore his works further, though returning fans will find some repeating patterns. Like some previous reviewers I found many parallels with "Sick Puppy" in particular, with the main capers developing in similar ways, and with this novel's unstable but loveable heroine Honey Santana pretty much acting as a female version of Twilly Spree. This book's female characters (especially Honey) also exhibit a lot of unlikely personality quirks that seem forced and not too well grounded in reality. In any case, this novel still works well as a rip-roaring comedy for new readers, plus established Hiaasen fans who are happy with dependability. [~doomsdayer520~]Book Review: Carl, What Happened Here?
Summary: 2 Stars
A novel with a plot as weak as broth & a very predictable ending. It took 2/3 of the book to build up to what appeared to be some substance. That story substance never really happened. Hiassen has his group of misfits play out on an isolated island in the Everglades. Different lives somehow cleverly wind up there & become enmeshed in the manic plot set up by the OCD heroine, Honey Santana. Honey seeks to educate a bothersome telemarketer; more or less teach him a lesson. The island becomes over-run with misfits.
The quirky characters may have worked well in "Strip Tease". Here, the descriptions of their quirky lives is humorous, but they don't have much of a story to support them. They become tedious.
The deeper human side of the cast comes out. I believe that was the author's intention. Some parts were humorous which gained this 2 stars, rather than one. The most entertaining part for me was I read the unedited version before the mass produced novel was made. Save your time and money on this one. There's plenty of other good novels out there.
I was really surprised a NY Times Bestseller was this bad.
Book Review: Vintage Hiaasen
Summary: 4 Stars
What I like about Carl Hiaasen's books is that they are filled with a crazy riot of quirky characters and situations that would seem to be entirely insane and unrealistic but somehow read as entirely possible. The main characters are also unique individuals (some would say crazy people) with deep-seated values and opinions. You cannot help but love and root for them. This book is no exception. The main plot line follows Honey Santana, a single mom living in the Everglades, who takes offense at the rude behavior of a telemarketer, Boyd Shreave, and decides to teach him a lesson. The telemarketer is lured to Florida under the guise of a free trip and a real estate sales pitch, and Honey takes him (and his paramour) on a kayaking "ecotour". Along the way, other people intervene, including Honey's ex-husband, a stalker fisherman intent on seducing her, Boyd's vengeful wife and the PI she hires, a half-blood Seminole trying to escape the curse of his white blood, and many others. This book is like the best kind of book therapy, wildly entertaining, totally out there and, ultimately, completely satisfying.Book Review: Worst of Hiaasen
Summary: 1 Stars
This is by far the worst of the Hiaasen books. As I was reading it, I was convinced that Carl hadn't even written it, but instead had licensed his name to some hack who tried to write in the Hiaasen style but failed miserably.
We surely have to give a fiction writer some artistic license and suspend our disbelief to some extent--for example, the guy in Skin Tight who uses a weed whacker for an arm prosthetic--yet the story still has to be fundamentally true to life and we have to recognize the characters' actions as being consistent with human nature. Good comedy, no matter how abusrd, must contain a kernal of truth in order for us to be able to relate to it. When someone or something in the story goes beyond the bounds of believability, it should do so in a funny, amusing, or ironic way. I found Nature Girl to be silly and not at all funny. The whole premise of the story, that a woman would pay to fly a guy from Texas to Florida just to get revenge for a rude phone call is just too absurd.
Looking forward to the next novel being up to Carl's prvevious standard.
Book Review: better than what many other amazon.com reviewers suggest
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased 'Nature Girl' at a thrift store and looked forward to reading it until I read the amazon.com reviews. <yikes!> But upon finishing it I have to say it is one of Hiaasen's better efforts. He seems to have gotten off his rabidly ecological high horse and decided to write a rather slapstick yarn that pokes fun at Americans and Americana in a deliciously sardonic fashion. True to Hiaasen form, it is both the wacky characterizations and his gift of somewhat crude colloquial expressions that make 'Nature Girl' a worthy read.
So what about the story? Well picture several yokels living on the edge of the Everglades who get involved with rather sleazy and oversexed yuppies. Oh, add in a hunky half-breed Seminole struggling to live the purified life of his forefathers. Plop them all on a deserted, mosquito-infested island and you have, well, total chaos. No deep drama. Some sex, some violence. Read this and you'll smile without thinking too much.
Bottom line: it's nice to see Hiaasen back on form. Recommended.