Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable, but memorably disappointing
Review: What is good about "Big Trouble" should be obvious to any Dave Barry fan. The humorus situations are thrown together intricately in unexpected ways that really charazterize Dave's genius. The Book is not as laugh-out-loud funny as his best columns but it contains an overall heir of humor that is unparalleled.However Barry has made a few regrettable mistakes. First off is the overdone foul language. "Adult Language" can be a very effective resource and or device in a book. It can be funny as well as frightening when used correctly. But when thrown at you in heaps as big as it is in "Big Trouble" language such as this becomes annoying. The amount of obscenities almost makes me embarrassed to give it to anyone as a recommendation. The other problem is the tone change. There is a brief segment near the middle of the book that is completely dark in tone (especially the scene involving Snake and Anna's breasts.) These scenes felt like they were in the wrong book. For pages there was almost no humor and everything was extremely dark. The mood certainly increased the suspense, but suspense is not the goal of this book and, in fact, it detracts from it. Dave, If you ever read this, I want to congratulate you on your well crafted and appropriatly weird plot. However the dark mid-section and amount of foul language were completely uneccessary and repugnant. There are times where such darkness is appropriate but certainly not in a jolly novel like this, it disrupts the mood entirely. And the language could be toned down and perhaps (gasp) almost eliminated. A few obscenities here and there can enhance a drama or comedy. Overkill like this is tyring and disappointing. I gave the book 3 stars because it is a good attempt. And perhaps there are people out with Brains the size of Roger's that will apprecite the F-word being in every other line. But I believe (and hope) that I speak for the majority of your fans when I ask you to limit the foul language and leave out such darkness. (And this coming from a 17-year old!) So as to leave on a happy note: Dave, I love your pummelling of our fine city! You are the god of satire and should definitly keep your future novels (please try again!) set here in Miami.
Rating: 
Summary: Gut Splitting Funny
Review: An all-out blast! I can't call myself a Dave Barry fan because I tend to avoid non-fiction, and this is his first novel, and what a first novel it is. If you don't laugh your way through this book, you have no sense of humor whatsoever. It's kind of like an episode of Miami Vice starring Laurel and Hardy. Just as all things shall come to pass.. this will be a movie someday soon, but don't wait for the movie.. Over half of Barry's hilarity comes from what the characters are thinking (including a very funny dog), which never works on screen. Buy the book, buy the book, buy the book!
Rating: 
Summary: An Incredibly funny introduction to the work of Dave Barry
Review: Yeah, I know...he writes award-winning columns. He has had many acclaimed collections of those columns published over the years. He has legions of avid fans and readers. Well, I guess I've been living under a rock (or on top of a pile of kibble)for the past 20 years, because this was my first exposure to the writing of Dave Barry...though you can be certain it wont be my last. Big Trouble was one helluva funny read. Its a highly convoluted (but surprisingly coherent)Elmore Leonard homage with the laugh-tack cranked to eleven! Barry peoples his odd-ball infested Miami with a host of bumbling crooks, baggy-pantsed teenagers, Russian arms dealers, and enigmatic Feds, and gives them all room to make you laugh. Client-from-Hell and Roger the Dog were two characters in particular that had me in tears. As some reviewers have already said, the ending is pretty obvious. That, and the fact that the book doesnt have much in the way of depth overall, has kept me from giving it 5 stars. But read it going in with the idea that this book is going to be a very tasty literary snack and you will not be disappointed!
Rating:
Summary: Classic Dave Barry hilarity!
Review: If you are already a fan of Dave Barry's columns, you don't need reviews -- you know his novel will be funny. For newcomers to Dave Barry, this is as good a place as any to start. "Big Trouble" is a totally effective cross between Dave Barry's classic humor columns and his first attempt at fiction. The result is a fast-paced, funny story that reads like one of his columns. "Big Trouble" is more or less a crime story. It follows several wacky characters independently until their roles all come together in the end: a reporter-turned-advertiser, teen-agers, bumbling and inept criminals, a drunk businessman, a bizarre dog, a hallucination-inducing toad, Russian arms dealers, paranoid hitmen, a cop with an inferiority complex, a homeless guy named "Puggy," a boa constrictor and a highway full of runaway goats. Throughout the crazy, hilarious story, Dave Barry takes shots at his usual targets: teen-agers' music and games, Miami drivers, journalism, advertising, law enforcement, stupid criminals and of course ... the airline industry. Really funny stuff, and not a half-bad story, too.
Rating:
Summary: Read it in One Sitting
Review: I read Dave Barry's, Big Trouble, in one sitting. Unfortunately for my family, that one sitting was in the only washroom in our house. Four and a half hours after entering the washroom,I came out, minus the feeling in the lower extremities of my body,with tears in my eyes from laughing. From the frog the size of a catchers mitt to the two bumbling crooks with the panty hose on their heads, this book will keep you laughing. Forget about what some say about plot, characters, dialogue, etc and just enjoy it for what it was meant to be, a good laugh. Big Trouble probably won't make it to Ophray's book club, but who cares. Read it and enjoy Dave Barry's unique sense of humor. But a word of advice before you sit down with Big Trouble, be sure there are at least two washrooms in your house. ENJOY
Rating:
Summary: Big Trouble
Review: Loved it, loved it, loved it. Everyone I gave it to loved it. Those Florida loser characters were a scream. Loved Roger, the dog, too. Hilarious, refreshing, fabulous quick read. Want more like it. Right up there with the early Hiaasen's, Shames, Swanson, etc. Hint: Don't read it in the bathtub. Definite danger of drowning from laughing.
Rating:
Summary: Dave Barry is the funniest writer ever!
Review: Dave Barry tries his hand in Fiction, and Succeeds!
Rating:
Summary: Lots of Fun!
Review: Dave Barry is a genius. The characters are expertly developed and the situations that they find themselves in are Hilarious. Barry also was able to create a large amount of suspense which made things even more funny.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent parody
Review: This is typical Dave Barry. A hilarious read with excellent characters. No, it's not gripping social commentary, if you're looking for that, you're in the wrong aisle. The book is Carl Hiaasen and Elmore Leonard taken to the extreme. After reading several Hiaasen books, I have determined that "Big Trouble" is a take-off on his. The plot is typical of South Florida literature with unforgettable characters and bizarre twists.
Rating: 
Summary: Sorry, not funny
Review: I have been a fan of Dave Barry since his early books (Bad Habits). Therefore, I purchased this novel inmediatly, expecting the usual barrel of laughs. Well, it is not. The book is a little painful to read. By example, Barry fills holes on the dialogue with the expression "Oh, Jesus" (not used by just one characther, but by most of them). He cannot keep a conversation flowing smoothly. The other point is that the book turns into an action movie, as if Mr. Barry was thinking about the potential of selling movie rights. Dave is a witty observer of human nature and the cultural absurdities, but the story does not give space to these strenghts. An scene in which a woman is humilliated while some crooks expose and touch her breasts is unnecesary and ruins the "fun environment". Once again, it seems more concerned with giving Hollywood producers some skin. Anyway, there are some funny characthers and situations, and Dave Barry is able to make a complicated plot easy to follow. I did not enjoyed "Big Trouble", but if Mr. Barry writes another novel, I am willing to give it a try.
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