Strip Tease, by Carl Hiaasen
Sep. 21st, 2006 07:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
feliciakwSeveral days ago, I finished reading Strip Tease, by Carl Hiaasen. I discovered Hiaasen last summer and really enjoyed what I read.
My History with Hiaasen:
Last summer, I saw Hiaasen's most recent novel, Skinny Dip, at Target. It sounded off-beat and quirky, and it sounded like a lightweight detective fiction, so I checked it out of the library. Quirky is something of an understatement. "Off-beat moving into the bizarre" is more like it. But in spite of the harsh language, it was an entertaining read. I was often left thinking, "This sounds like something George would write." And I really liked a couple of the characters.
To my delight, one of the characters appeared in an earlier book, Skin Tight. I read that one, too, and again, off-beat moving to the bizarre, still enjoyable, and again I was left thinking, "This sounds like something George would write." So what to read next?
Well, Strip Tease had been turned into a movie (which I'd never seen--and I don't see how they'd be able to transfer the stylistic humor, which is half the fun of his books, to the screen), so I thought I'd give it shot. I didn't find it nearly as enjoyable as the previous two books I'd read. None of the characters really did anything for me, and instead of being bizarre in an off-beat sort of way, most were bizarre in an unpleasant sort of way. And while I was expecting harsh language, some of this was just . . . no.
I did grow to like the heroine character, Erin Grant, and I really liked the detective, Al Garcia, and his family. Of course, I have something of a fondness for clever, hardworking, (mostly) straight-shooting hero-type characters, so that was a given. Actually, that was the character I was waiting for, and he didn't show up until about a third into the book. Once things got going, though, it was okay, and the demise of the heroine's ex-husband was weird enough to leave me thinking, "That almost sounds like something George would write."
But the first two-thirds of the book weren't overly enjoyable to get to the last third (except for Det. Garcia).
Maybe I'll try one of his children's books sometime. He's won awards for Hoot, so maybe I'll get around to that one someday.
My History with Hiaasen:
Last summer, I saw Hiaasen's most recent novel, Skinny Dip, at Target. It sounded off-beat and quirky, and it sounded like a lightweight detective fiction, so I checked it out of the library. Quirky is something of an understatement. "Off-beat moving into the bizarre" is more like it. But in spite of the harsh language, it was an entertaining read. I was often left thinking, "This sounds like something George would write." And I really liked a couple of the characters.
To my delight, one of the characters appeared in an earlier book, Skin Tight. I read that one, too, and again, off-beat moving to the bizarre, still enjoyable, and again I was left thinking, "This sounds like something George would write." So what to read next?
Well, Strip Tease had been turned into a movie (which I'd never seen--and I don't see how they'd be able to transfer the stylistic humor, which is half the fun of his books, to the screen), so I thought I'd give it shot. I didn't find it nearly as enjoyable as the previous two books I'd read. None of the characters really did anything for me, and instead of being bizarre in an off-beat sort of way, most were bizarre in an unpleasant sort of way. And while I was expecting harsh language, some of this was just . . . no.
I did grow to like the heroine character, Erin Grant, and I really liked the detective, Al Garcia, and his family. Of course, I have something of a fondness for clever, hardworking, (mostly) straight-shooting hero-type characters, so that was a given. Actually, that was the character I was waiting for, and he didn't show up until about a third into the book. Once things got going, though, it was okay, and the demise of the heroine's ex-husband was weird enough to leave me thinking, "That almost sounds like something George would write."
But the first two-thirds of the book weren't overly enjoyable to get to the last third (except for Det. Garcia).
Maybe I'll try one of his children's books sometime. He's won awards for Hoot, so maybe I'll get around to that one someday.
