- Hardcover: 456 pages
- Publisher: Thorndike Press; Lrg edition (February 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0786250372
- ISBN-13: 978-0786250370
- Product Dimensions: 24.4 x 15.6 x 3.1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 708 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Humorist Barry (Big Trouble) brings together a motley group of South Florida eccentrics on an ill-fated casino boat voyage in his second full-length comic mystery novel. A tropical storm is bearing down on the Florida coast, but the Extravaganza of the Seas, a luxury gambling ship, sets sail on its nightly excursion in spite of the weather. Aboard are Fay Benton, an attractive cocktail waitress trying to make ends meet for her kid; a collection of pot-smoking would-be rockers (at least one of whom lives with his mother) who make up the ship's band, Johnny and the Contusions; a pair of wise-cracking octogenarians who've escaped an extended-care facility; and some Mafia-connected gangsters who use the ship's nightly voyages to smuggle drugs onto the mainland. Bobby Kemp, the ship's titular owner, insists that the Extravaganza go out in the storm because he's chosen this night to hijack the drug deal. In the background, a local television station plays a role straight from Keystone Kops as its reporters frantically cover the approaching storm with consistently fatal results. Barry once again showcases his gently satiric style, with barbs aimed at overbearing mothers, corrupt officials, inept authorities and, of course, the American crime novel itself, which he sends up with absurd plotting, astronomical body count and plenty of gratuitous nudity and (PG-rated) sex. Belying self-deprecating disclaimers about his talent for fiction, Barry demonstrates that he can draw some captivating characters and keep a reader's attention in spite of-or perhaps because of-slapstick antics and a fascination with scatology.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Humorist Barry demonstrates once again that he has reached that plateau of success where he can do no wrong-almost. This second novel represents something of a decline from Big Trouble, his first venture into fiction, which emerged as an incident-crowded mystery topped off with rapid-fire laughs and a dash of satire. This time, the laughs are not much more than titters, and the incidents are only intermittently compelling. In brief, the story is built around events on one of the floating casinos that takes paying customers three miles off the Florida coast each night to gamble. It leads readers into a crazy complexity of money laundering, drug dealing, murder, sex, violence, hijacking, and undercover work. As it is written by Barry, the book probably will meet with a certain amount of popular favor, but a caveat is in order: This is not the Barry of his syndicated columns or his nonfiction books. As he himself puts it, "This book contains some bad words," which he justifies by saying that his "unsavory characters" talk that way. A likely story.
A.J. Anderson, GSLIS, Simmons Coll., Boston
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
A.J. Anderson, GSLIS, Simmons Coll., Boston
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
THE CAPTAIN PUNCHED IN A NUMBER AND HELD the phone to his ear. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
THE CAPTAIN PUNCHED IN A NUMBER AND HELD the phone to his ear. Read the first page
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Most helpful customer reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing,
By
This review is from: Tricky Business (Mass Market Paperback)
I picked up this book because I like Dave Barry's columns, and I ofen find them to be laugh-out-loud funny, even the juvenile scatological parts. I hadn't read his previous novel, but I saw this one and picked it up on the spur of the moment. I'd have to say I was disappointed.In the first place, it was advertised as light-hearted fun. I didn't find it all that funny, and the graphic violence spoiled the momentum of what funny parts there were. Just as I was starting to chuckle at something a little amusing, something awful would happen, and I'd say to myself, "Hey, this isn't funny." (...) In the preface, Mr. Barry mentions that he had gotten some negative feedback from his previous book about bad language. He goes on to say that the books are about bad guys, so naturally there will be bad language. Well, okay, I didn't mind the language. But I did mind the violence. It comes down to this for me: broad comedy doesn't mix well with graphic violence. You need to make a choice about what kind of book you want to write. If you want to write a book about vicious killers, don't try to make it funny. If you're trying to write a funny book, don't write about vicious killers. It's that simple.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Awesomely funny, but what's with the nightmarish torture?,
By KvH (Ann Arbor, MI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Tricky Business (Mass Market Paperback)
This is a very funny but uneven book. I would've given it five stars for laugh-out-loud lines and comic situations, except for a scene of graphic torture that was so upsetting that it almost ruined the book for me. I'd still recommend the book, but not for people who are sensitive to such things. Or if you have a friend who's already read it, have them put a yellow sticky note on the 2 pages you need to skip. Someone meets a gruesome end; that's all you need to know. If you don't put that scene into your brain, much of the rest of the book will have you laughing or at least very amused (there are smaller bits of medium-gruesome violence, and the book would've been better without them too, but I don't think those other bits of violence will really upset most people). It's a wonderful mix of crazy characters and preposterous situations, and only the sadism mars it.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good but not great,
By
This review is from: Tricky Business (Mass Market Paperback)
I considered 4 stars, but settled on three since Big Trouble set such a high bar. This is a very readable book, with lots of engaging fun, but I expected - like Big Trouble - a tightly orchestrated slam bang book. It's a fast, good but not great read (look at the re-sale prices). The reviews that knock the book for language and "vileness" are over-reacting. It's got nastiness, but all in context and not gratuitous. I can only hope that a movie treatment, if there is one, comes up with more riotous interaction.
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