Big Trouble

Okay - to begin I have to establish my perspective. There is something that Humor and Horror have in common: Different people think that different things are funny or scary. Not everyone loves Monty Python and the Holy Grail.... but for those who do, it is the absolute pinacle of film humor. I bought this book just before boarding a plane, and I laughed until I cried the whole flight. I could see people turning their heads... craning to see what in the world could be making someone laugh so hard. If this book were *only* funny - that would be enough. But there is a reasonably plausible thriller-crime story wrapped in there too. The characters are bizarre. There is a bum who begins the book getting picked up in a van which ferries him around to different polling places in Miami where he casts votes in place of people who have died at 10 dollars a vote. At the end of the day the van deposits him in Coconut Grove where he decides to spend his 35 dollars - the most money he has EVER had - on beer. He finds out that beers in upscale CG are 5 bucks each - "which Puggy thought was way high, even for a guy pulling down ten dollars a vote". We meet renegade Russian arms dealers, crazy cops, poisoned toads and our hero - who amazingly was a Miami newspaperman like Dave Barry! Unfortunately, Big Trouble was turned into a movie starring some very talented people which was as bland and humorless as the book was brilliant and hilarious. I mention it because if you saw the movie and thought "oh... that stinks" but you thought "hmmmm... I would have thought the book would have been better than that since Dave Barry wrote it" and you were thinking "should I read this book or not....." my recommendation is: Read it. But only if you're ready to laugh your head off. It helps if you're already familiar with Barry's writing and already think he's the funniest American writer since Samuel Clemens.

I'm a fan of Dave's columns, but was skeptical of his ability to successfully pull off being a novelist. I was pleasantly surprised. His sense of humor remained intact, while he presented a solid, smoothly flowing and entertaining storyline, filled with wonderful characters. I'm looking forward to his next novel.

This book serves two very important functions: First, from a reader's standpoint, it makes you laugh, laugh some more, and then stop to wipe the tears of laughter from your eyes, so the pages aren't blurry anymore and you can go on reading. (Repeat sequence as required.) Second, it sends a message to mystery genre writers who take themselves seriously - DONT! This book pokes fun at just about every cliche used in the genre, and does it remarkably well. If you are a Dave Barry fan (and either you are, or you're taking *yourself* too seriously!) rush out and get a copy of this book and just enjoy. Oh, and watch out for goats on the road, snakes in the airport, and above all - enemy toads!

I know I'm asking for trouble by making the above statement, but I never in my life have been able to sit down and read a Shakespeare play from beginning to end or, at the same time, enjoy it. I just finished "Big Trouble" in about 2 1/2 hours, and enjoyed every second of it. I gave it 5 Stars because I never put it down. I'm not sure how to say this tactfully, but I'll do the best I can. I've read several of the reviews of this book, and I've noticed that they are all either 5 Stars or 0 Stars, meaning you either hate it or love it. I've also noticed that whichever end of the spectrum the critic was on, they got EXTREME about their views. All of these people need to settle down. From the guy who told Dave Barry not to quit his day job (his writing job? the one that got him the Pulitzer Prize?) to the lady who said not to drink milk while reading this book because you'll laugh so hard you'll squirt it from your nose. This book is not at all bad, nor will it make you feel complete because of the masterpiece you just read. It's simply a great book, based on the fact that I read it in one sitting and really like it. I've read several books like this, including all of the "Chronicles of Narnia," anything by Terry Brooks, and "The Fountainhead," so nobody can say I haven't read anything with substance, because "The Fountainhead" is nothing but substance. All I know is that I enjoyed "Big Trouble," and that, to me, is what books are supposed to do. Anyway, I hesitate in doing anything that will cause me to shoot anything from my nose - this is from experience. The one negative thing I can say about this book is that Dave Barry's humor perhaps doesn't always fit. Then again, I read Dave Barry for his humor, so it's not THAT big a deal. And one last explanation of my comparison of Dave Barry to Shakespeare. I didn't mean I don't like Shakespeare - if you get past the language, pretty much all of his work is great - so try not to dwell on that if you are. Feel free to email me and ask me what I mean, but I'm just going to end up telling you to read the book and leave me alone.