Rating: 
Summary: Humorous nudity - Catch the fever
Review: The thing about a Carl Hiaasen novel is that you laugh your head off. This book, well maybe Native Tongue and Skin Tight to a greater extent, will get the elderly out of your row of seats in the airport gate area and mothers herding their children protecting them from the lunatic laughing a few seats away. Because Hiaasen is that funny. You have a little of that with Brian Haig and more of it with Elmore Leonard. But Hiaasen makes you guffaw, wheeze and eventually wipe the tears from your eyes.That these people are fantasy people is no more apparent than the educated Erin Grant showing more than her heart to make ends meet. But that's OK because the circumstances, albeit ridiculous, call for it. Not much to talk about in plot. There is a strong message about the 'agent oranging' of the Florida environment. And it's not an insignificant message. But the real aspect of the book and unless I'm mistaken all of the books is their ribald humor and ability to make you laugh. 4 stars. Larry Scantlebury
Rating:
Summary: Demi Moore owes Carl and his fans a big apology
Review: While not Carl Hiaasen's best work -- I'd nominate "Skin Tight" or "Native Tongue" for that -- "Strip Tease" is far wiser, funnier and richer than the anemic film version by Demi Moore would have you believe. Instead of FBI secretary-turned-stripper Erin being a strangely desexualized perfect being, in the novel, in the novel, she's a complicated mess. In other words, a real human being. Her ex-husband is a piece of crap, yes, but not the cartoonish lout we see in the film. In fact, everyone in a Hiaasen novel is a bit of a goofball, once their foibles are looked at unflinchingly, which is part of the fun. Those only familiar with "Strip Tease" via the movie don't get any of that: The good guys are too good to screw up, and the bad guys are too stupid to have any redeeming qualities. And to top it all off, Demi apparently doesn't understand that stripping is meant to titillate, not spiritually enlighten its audience. Those aroused by the film ought to get out more. In fact, the book tops the film in every way, with the possible exception of what Burt Reynolds brings to the film. But even then, in his role as a corrupt politician -- and, ultimately, the engine for the story -- punches are pulled and he's not quite as sleazy as in the book. Apparently, giving people a lesson into how greed is destroying the Everglades was just too heavy for the film audience. Those who liked the film -- and they exist, strangely enough -- still ought to pick up the book, to learn all about the characters and read the situations that didn't make the final cut. For current fans of Hiaasen's work, the book is roughly on par with "Stormy Weather," although much more politically barbed than that work, which took aim at humanity's folly generally. And for Demi Moore, what were you thinking? You owe Carl and his fans a big apology, as well as your own fans, who deserve better.
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