Rating: Summary: Entertaining, Like an Action-Comedy Movie Review: Fun and a very fast read, this one doesn't earn any points for originality. You will laugh, but you will be reminded of a million other plot lines if you don't live in a cave. Which is precisely the point. If you are a Dave Barry fan, it is cool to see how he tackles writing a novel, which is almost exactly as you'd expect: a funny novel with a lot of insane characters and a chaotic and satirical plot. I'd give it a B-.
Rating: Summary: Close but no cigar Review: This was one of those books I couldn't put down... and I didn't. Barry has put together a wonderful little tale that is a delightful afternoon read.The only thing it suffers from is poor build up. Granted I wasn't expecting very much, but I would have liked to learn some more about a few characters or seen everyone get a bigger piece of the plot puzzle. When I was finished I was hoping for more to read, but was disappointed. I chalk it up to high expectations (Thanks to all those darn reviews all over the cover :) ) If you love Dave's columns or are just looking for something to pass the time (Like I was) then Big Trouble is a good read. But if you're hunting for something more, I'd look elsewhere.
Rating: Summary: Big Trouble Review: This book is hysterically and absurdly funny.
Rating: Summary: Mr. Toad's Wild Ride... Review: You think your life is bad? Do you think that everything that can go wrong, has? Well I swear that the characters in this story have it worse than you. If you need to add some humor to your day, try reading "Big Trouble" by columnist Dave Berry (yeah, the guy who writes that funny column in the Sunday Newspaper.) This is his first fictional book (I think) that he has done and the movie just came out as well (starring Tim Allen and Rene Russo if you're interested.) It's a fast, good, and humorous read.
Rating: Summary: I love trouble! Review: I've read Dave Barry's column each week for years. Discarding the rest of the paper temporarily, I hone in on Barry's work as the highlight of Sunday's Washington Post. Barry's first novel is truly entertaining. The mystic treehouse resident is my favorite. Even the dense, but hunky, police officer makes me smirk. All the characters, and there are quite a few to keep up with, are quirky and fun. If you are planning to see the movie, read the novel first! I met Dave Barry in person in Florida where he was speaking to a group involved with helping people with disabilities. All I can say is-- who is your publicist? Dave is a stud muffin. Why do pictures on his books add 20 pounds and make him look a tad dorky? Is this a clever ploy by your wife? Smart woman!
Rating: Summary: Brain Candy Review: OK, so not everything has to be great literature. The book is funny (sometimes very), a page turner, and instantly forgettable the moment you put it down. Not surprisingly, it's soon to be a movie - someone more cynical (oh, who am I fooling?) may think it was written to go Hollywood from the start. For a similarly misadventurous-type of plot, Tom Wolfe does way better in Bonfire of the Vanities.
Rating: Summary: That's right nay sayers FIVE stars Review: It's a fun, fast read. He's no James Lileks but Dave Barry does a credible job with his first novel. I would like more. To all those who gave it one or two stars LIGHTEN UP. Read Clancy novels for Clancy stuff and read this one for fun. There's Miami humor in this book which I liked and the characters may not be deep enough for some but if Barry writes another book like this one I'll get it. THAT'S why it gets five stars in my book.
Rating: Summary: A must read Review: I bought the book after Sept 11th and it was a good book to buy and laugh at. The bad people in the book get what is coming to them. Every time I'd sit the book down, I'd go right back and pick it up to read more.
Rating: Summary: Great book, yet slightly disappointing Review: It goes without saying that any publication by Dave Barry will split your sides, as do his articals in newspapers across the globe. However, it seems that Mr. Barry was overmatched in his first attempt to write a feature length book. The novel starts our very strongly, with uproarious observations on South Florida, but the rest of the book seems to rely entirely on swearing, so much so that I once found myself tight-lipped for almost fifty pages. While this book contains some of Mr. Barry's unique style of writing, it seems to devolve to vulgar language whenever the story lags. Still worth buying, but it's not what I expected.
Rating: Summary: Strap yourself in, you're going to laugh Review: While I've always been a fan of Dave Barry's columns and non-fiction books, I didn't know how this might translate into fiction. I shouldn't have worried. In one word - hilarious. With all the absurdity and observations of his non-fiction columns wrapped up in a rocket fast story that pulls you along. Yes, the plot is a bit thin and the characters not really developed, but this is not intended to be serious literature. You learn as much as you need to know about the inhabitants of the story (who are all drawn larger than life to begin with). But that's enough for the story, which goes from the sublime, to the silly, to the absurd, but never leaves you the reader behind. Throughout it, you can't help but laugh, and laugh, and laugh. Fun fluff. That's all. Hopefully the movie will be more of the same. I didn't want to think during Dave's book, and I didn't have to. I just kicked back and spend several hours with the crazy inhabitants of Barry's world.
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