Rating: 
Summary: Wacky, wacky stuff
Review: "Stormy Weather" is just plain wacky. Carl Hiaasen deftly casts a diverse group of characters whose only common bond is being in post-hurricane ravaged Florida. But this bond inescapably links these characters in a land of moral destitution and the book details their life changing and in some cases life ending experiences. This book walks the fine line between zany and bizarre; going just far enough to test the even the limits of fiction without going as far as insult. It keeps you laughing throughout the outlandish journey. I don't think I could stomach a steady diet of Hiaasen tales, but it hits the spot for those looking for a lite but entertaining snack. A very good story and inventive fiction. I recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Wacky, wacky stuff
Review: "Stormy Weather" is just plain wacky. Carl Hiaasen deftly casts a diverse group of characters whose only common bond is being in post-hurricane ravaged Florida. But this bond inescapably links these characters in a land of moral destitution and the book details their life changing and in some cases life ending experiences. This book walks the fine line between zany and bizarre; going just far enough to test the even the limits of fiction without going as far as insult. It keeps you laughing throughout the outlandish journey. I don't think I could stomach a steady diet of Hiaasen tales, but it hits the spot for those looking for a lite but entertaining snack. A very good story and inventive fiction. I recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Wacky, wacky stuff
Review: "Stormy Weather" is just plain wacky. Carl Hiaasen deftly casts a diverse group of characters whose only common bond is being in post-hurricane ravaged Florida. But this bond inescapably links these characters in a land of moral destitution and the book details their life changing and in some cases life ending experiences. This book walks the fine line between zany and bizarre; going just far enough to test the even the limits of fiction without going as far as insult. It keeps you laughing throughout the outlandish journey. I don't think I could stomach a steady diet of Hiaasen tales, but it hits the spot for those looking for a lite but entertaining snack. A very good story and inventive fiction. I recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Hurricane aftermath...
Review: ...adds up to a laugh riot. This book is quirkily hilarious, and very sharp. Even the most minor of characters in this wacky story is brought out in funny detail. The major players are both bizarre and believable, and their interactions are a storm in themselves. Yet it all makes a kind of wonderful sense. I liked this book so much I tell all my friends to read it, too. Don't shortchange yourself with an abridged audio version; you need every wry detail.
Rating:
Summary: Cloudy Grey Humor Extraordinaire!
Review: After weeks of overtime I escaped to the Sierra Foothills, hosted to a relaxing Thanksgiving weekend with Stormy Weather (thanks Bill & Karen!). The greatest disappointment of this book was that it ended before the weekend & I had no sequel! "On August 23, the day before the hurricane struck, Max and Bonnie Lamb awoke early, made love twiece and rode the shuttle bus to Disney World." So begins this marvelously improbably tale which weaves together the paths of newlyweds, cons, thugs, and a living-off-the-land, scraggly haired ex-governor. Easy to pick up and slide into, difficult to put down, this romp into Hurricane Andrew's wake tosses quirky characters into chaos. Not as extreme as Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Adams), more of a down-home Good Omens (Pratchett & Gaiman) without devils or angels. Character development is not intense, but the contrived situations that bring those characters to light actually seem plausible. Fewer laughs in this book and more subconscious chuckles. If you want something traditional & predictable, leave this one on the shelf and go buy Grisham or Clancy. But if a road-kill scavenging, toad-licking ex-governor piques your curiousity (and he's a much better guardian of the land than our current "president"), grant serious consideration to this book! Five stars for creating an extremely improbable story and making it seem as natural as a tale about the Springfield 'burbs! Five stars for fun. A truly amusing diversion. (If you'd to comment on this review, please click the "about me" link above & email me. Thanks!)
Rating:
Summary: Trashed Trailers and Skull-"Jugglery"
Review: Carl Hiaasen has delighted readers by skewering Florida institutions ranging from trophy bass tournaments to televangelism to cosmetic surgery. It is a killer hurricane that is the unlikely backdrop for "Stormy Weather". A host of talented writers - Dave Barry and Tim Dorsey among the best - feast on the seemingly endless stream of absurdity provided by Florida's uniquely bizarre mix of rednecks, lowlifes, shysters, snowbirds, and corrupt politicians. But none succeed in capturing Florida with the biting irony and black humor that Carl Hiaasen brings to the pages. "Stormy Weather" is another outstanding example of social satire at its best: the insufferably shallow New York advertising man, the terminally corrupt Miami code inspector, the low-life con artist and her criminal sidekick, the sleazy mobile-home salesman and his cheating wife. Back from Hiaasen's "Double Whammy" is the aberrant but lovable road-kill eating, swamp-loving "Skink", and black state trooper Jim Tile, as close to normal as one will find in a Hiaasen novel. Even the "hero" is wacky - a human skull-juggling proprietor of an exotic wildlife exhibit. In the wake of a massively destructive hurricane, "Stormy Weather" chronicles the fictional - but highly plausible - descent of the swindlers, scammers, and criminals to prey on the victims of the storm. If Hiaasen's usual complement of oddball characters is not enough, the cast is supplemented with packs of storm-liberated wild animals prowling the Miami suburbia. Hiaasen's brilliant expose of the dark side of human nature is never preachy, but whose caustic humor leaves the reader alternating between knowing grins and out-loud guffaws. In anticipation of the author's inevitably unique forms of justice that will be meted out to the miscreants, the pages fly. In part poignant, biting, bawdy but always funny, "Stormy Weather" is another fine example of Hiaasen's literary wit.
Rating:
Summary: Great fun
Review: Carl Hiaasen writes books that could take place only in Southern Florida or South Louisiana. If you've ever been to either, you know what I mean. Hiaasen manages to populate his books with a collection of low-lifes and weirdos that should be repulsive but wind up hilarious. The plots are like episodes of Seinfeld, twisting and turning in all directions before coming full circle. Stormy Weather is one of his best, in my opinion. The targets are classic Hiaasen--tourists, snowbirds, and developers. No one skewers them all like Carl Hiaasen.
Rating:
Summary: vintage Hiaasen: Miami plagued with loonies, post-hurricane
Review: Carl Hiaasen's books fall largely in the domain of "if you've read one of them, you've read them all". This is especially true of the characterizations, but thankfully not the wacky story lines. And Hiaasen has a hiliarious way with words, which can sometimes be rather vulgar (yes, some folks might be offended). In Stormy Weather we have greedy out-of-towners and locals trying to make a fast buck after a hurricane wipes out half of Miami. Of course these folks are violent, crude, and more often than not do not get their way due to hilarious mishaps. Hiaasen is well-known for his hatred of crooked politicians, racists, polluters, and big business. And in Stormy Weather all these elements suffer rather badly, to no surprise. Bottom line: while it doesn't hold a candle to his classics (Skin Tight, Strip Tease), Stormy Weather stands firmly among Hiaasen's better works. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: What a hoot
Review: First of Mr. Hiaasen's I have read. I laughed reading it,after I read it, driving the car, and now. This may seem unbelevable to some but coming from the Detroit area I have met some of his fictional cast. The Governor Skink,reminded me of a few friends after the war,they may still be out there somewhere. In all fiction there is a deep current of fact. Just look out you bad guys Skink could get you.
Rating:
Summary: Andrew's aftermath
Review: For those readers who are unfamiliar with Carl Hiaasen's novels, the opening scene with the two Miami honeymooners, Bonnie & Max, might read like a contemporary novel on a bored and restless couple. But add the 1992 Hurricane Andrew, the corruption in Florida, and several con artists, and Hiaasen has given us a virtual witch's brew of wickedly funny characters, each unique in their own way. Fans of Hiaasen's prior stories will be glad to learn that the infamous Skink will make his appearance and force his "wildlife" culture on Max Lamb, a pompous ad man who has the gall to videotape the hurricane victims in all of their misery. His bride of only one night, Bonnie, quickly reinforces her initial impression of him (disgust), but finds herself in the midst of a great adventure in the process of rescuing him. Augustine, the unfortunate owner of several escaped wild animals (including rhesus monkeys and buffaloes!) gets caught up in the rescue mission with Bonnie. The animals alone take on the starring roles when it comes to the "just desserts" that Hiaasen so fondly dishes out to his most deserving characters. And THESE are the true stars of his story: Edie Marsh is a tough cookie who, failing to "get" one of the Kennedys on a rape charge, settles for scoring money on an insurance fraud scheme. Her rapid, sparring repartee alone is worth the price of the book; she fears no one and uses everyone, including her hapless partners in crime. "Snapper" is one of these partners, the stock "low-class stupid Southern bigot" character, but he also occasionally displays some cynical wit. His come-uppance is custom-made for him. Ditto for the other "slime" such as Avila, the crooked housing inspector who does his best work speeding by houses at 40 miles an hour. Tony Torres, the unscrupulous mobile home salesman, also gets more than he bargained for. The more vile the character, the more creative Hiaasen gets with the revenge tactics; if revenge is usually considered to be best served cold, Hiaasen prefers to toss in hot peppers and loads of fireworks. This is easily as entertaining a novel as "Strip Tease" (and PLEASE try to find a copy of "Strip Tease" without Ms. Demi on the cover, so as not to be reminded of the horrible movie version that blasphemed the book). Thankfully, it seems that a Miami hurricane would be far too expensive to reconstruct, even for a movie, so there is no danger of Mr. Hiaasen's wonderfully over-the-top satire getting the hatchet treatment by a conventional, "by-the-numbers" Hollywood producer. I was surprised to learn that there was an epilogue with this story, since my copy didn't have one; it didn't seem necessary. My only beef was with the money (I won't get too specific and spoil the plot). Why wasn't it used to help the victims? Even a radically non-materialistic jungle fighter like Skink would want to help poor families get back on their feet, wouldn't he? Then again, given his former-governor status and bufo-toad mind trips, maybe not. His dream is probably for everyone to get back to their "roots". Other than this minor quibble, the intertwining plots come together in an inspiring finale, and it's hard to resist a book in which Skink finally "gets lucky". Definitely a must-read.
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