Lucky You : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Merely hilarious
Review: Carl Hiaasen is a writer who likes to portray employing a great sense of humor vivid characters and tipical actions deeply embedded in the American culture, the poor lucky...girl, the medium class journalist, the corrupt judge, the redneck racists, the tricks to make quick and easy money

Do not expect more than gags in the dialogue and funny situations from this story

Good book for summer vacations particularly if you are from Florida and enjoying the sunshine of the Keys along Route 1,on your way down to Key West.

Rating:
Summary: A Nice intro to Hiaasen
Review: As an Elmore Leonard fan, I was recommended Carl Hiaasen as a writer that I might enjoy. I can see why, both write in a similar genre that includes interesting, sometimes offbeat, criminals and heroes. They are often characterized as writers of crime fiction.

Lucky You is the first novel by Hiaasen that I have read. Unlike the majority of Leonard's novels, Lucky You seems to follow the more traditional approach to novel writing. Hiaasen tends to tie up loose ends and answer more questions at the end of Lucky You than Leonard, who tends to leave things hanging after he has hit the "punch line" of his novels. That being said, I enjoy the work of both writers immensely.

Lucky You tells the story of Tom Krome, a newspaper columnist, that can't get his wife to divorce him. It is also the story of JoLayne Lucks, who has won half of the $28 million Florida State Lottery. The problem is, the winners of the other half are a pair of red-neck thugs that want to start their own militia. They can't stomach the thought of sharing the winnings with a black woman, and steal her ticket from her. After being assigned to write a story on JoLayne, Krome gets caught up in helping her retrieve her ticket, while at the same time evading the wrath of a judge, whose wife Krome had an affair with. Add a kidnapping of a blond waitress from Hooters that one of the milita members has a crush on, and the story takes off on several entertaining plot lines.

Some of the best humor in the novel comes from the ineptness of the wannabe militia men. Bo Gazer, the brains of the militia, has concocted theory after theory as to how the United States Government has fallen into the hands of Jews, Blacks, and homosexuals, bent on the fall of the Christian White Man. The deliberate absurdness of the theories, which include a consipiracy in which the United Nations will conquer America from the Bahamas, and his partners reaction is some of the most entertaining bickering I have read in a long time.

In addition to the satire of militias, Hiaasen hits religious zealots over the head with jokes and parodies. Road stains images of Jesus, crying statues of the Virgin Mother, and image of the disciples on turtle shells attract 'pilgrims' from far and wide to the city of Grange (JoLayne's home town). The owner of each attraction diligently stakes out their territory in an attempt to secure the largest chunk of the donations shelled out by the pilgrims. Hiaasen treats these practices with about as much absurdity as he does the militia.

By the end of the novel, the various plot lines reach their satisfactory conclusions. You feel happy for the good guys, and content that the bad guys got what they deserved, and there isn't much of a question as to who was who (unlike many Leonard novels). Lucky You is a great "crime" adventure with plenty of laughs, and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in the crime fiction genre.

Rating:
Summary: the ultimate Hiaasen lampoon
Review: Of the six "mysteries" I have read by Hiaasen, this novel best showcases his skills at satire and lampoon. It is delightfully scathing and literally makes you laugh out loud as he skewers one ignorant, greedy, and or ugly group after another and highlights irony in his characteristically understated fashion.

In "Lucky You" Hiaasen again savages the venality of Florida developers and pervasive corruption of government agencies and politicans. Again, this plot's central, most intelligent, and heroic figure is a woman, in this case she is African American. Other distinctive components of this novel (clearly part of his ongoing crusade) ridicule white supremacy, the rabidly right Cuban emigre community, religious "scams", and marital infidelity -- basically ugly ignorance in general. The scenes he depicts not only make you laugh out loud, but succumb to uncontrollable giggles. Hiaasen doesn't leave a stone unturned in this satire.

One of the understated themes is the feasibility of an "interracial" relationship when the two involved are bright well intentioned people, as this allows them to appreciate each other's essential integrity. A heart warming theme that Hiaasen portrays in a fashion that doesn't make your teeth hurt.

God this is a hysterical book; the ignorance he portrays is incredibly plausible, yet when cast in Hiassen's spotlight it actually becomes amusing. Clearly part of his solution is to combat ignorance by mocking it; if you are of a similar mind you will love this book.

Rating:
Summary: My favorite Carl Hiaasen book to date
Review: Maybe its because this is the book that introduced me to Carl Hiaasen and universe of quirky, mixed-up characters, but this is my very favorite book by one of my very favorite authors. The story is one that readers of Mr. Hiaasen are familiar with.

JoLayne Lucks is the protagonist of the story. She's a young lady who buys a winning lottery ticket and plans to use the money for humanitarian purposes (it's a bit of a secret in the book, so I won't spoil it). Bode Gazzer and his friend Chub play the bumbling thugs who buy the other winning lottery ticket. They intend to spend the money on starting a White Militant group, and can't stand the idea that they'll get only 1/2 of the total lottery. So they hunt down JoLayne to take her ticket. Of course, in every Carl Hiaasen story is the cynical reporter, this time played by Tom Krone. Krone is sent to report on the story and ends up helping JoLayne in her attempt to recover her stolen lottery ticket.

While this description may not sound particularly humorous, the misadventures of Chub and Bode are some of the funniest scenes you're likely to read. I had to put the book down several times to laugh out loud. These guys are just so dumb, and they continually blame their predicaments on the fact that they're white males that are being repressed. It was fantastic. And to add to the humor, JoLayne lives in a small town that specializes in religious miracles. The entire town earns its livelihood from the 'religious manifestations' that occur there (all of them shams, of course). There's the statue of Mary that cries, the picture of Jesus in a stain on the highway, and my favorite, a guy who has the same wounds that Jesus had on the cross. To make sure the wounds never heal, he wears socks filled with Crisco to keep the wounds fresh (sick huh?).

At any rate, if you're looking for a very slanted picture of Florida and the people who live there, this is the book for you. If you're looking for an easy book to read on vacation, this is the book for you. And most of all, if you're looking for a book to make you laugh out loud over and over, this is definitely the book for you.

Rating:
Summary: No Sick Puppy, but good
Review: As far as I am concerned Sick Puppy and Stormy Weather are the best, but Lucky You did capture me as well. Makes me want to avoid winning the Lottery until the very end!

Rating:
Summary: A fun read
Review: I actually had to read this for a class paper, but I ended up liking it.It was very well put together and it was interesting all the way through. The characters are very believable and interesting. I listened to the book on tape and it was very intrequing.I perhaps wouldn't go back and read it again, though. I liked it the first time and that was enough. Even though the end closed up all loose ends, it seemed to drag on alittle.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Funny, very catchy
Review: This book by Carl Hiaasen was a very solid book. I enjoy Florida fictional mysteries. I feel that this book was very worthy, for there is a payoff at the end that is worth the read. My only problem with the book is that it gets a little mushy towards the end. Aside from that, it is very well written and I would say that aside from Sick Puppy, this book is Carl Hiaasen's best work. Check it out it is worth it.

Rating:
Summary: Not up to Hiaasen's Standards
Review: Carl Hiaasen is an outstanding observer of Florida. His earlier novels balanced a biting social commentary with a story that flew and outstanding humor. Unfortunately, "Lucky You" doesn't live up to the expectations which we've come to expect from Hiaasen. He almost comes across as one of the folks he lampoons, a characiture of himself. If you're in the mood from some good Hiaasen, skip this book and go directly to his next one, "Sick Puppy". You'll be so glad you did.

Rating:
Summary: Hiiasen is the Vonnegut of Mysteries
Review: This was the first book by Hiiasen that I read. I have never laughed so much while reading a mystery, with the possible exception of The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight. Hiaasen is completely off the wall and his style of writing is delightful.

Rating:
Summary: Tries too hard
Review: I've read and hugely enjoyed most of Carl Hiaasen's books, but Lucky You disappointed me. Oh, the same quirky characters are there, and the dialogue has its usual wit, but the gags are too much, too often, and by the end of the book the humor was worn down to a nub.

That, plus many of the plot devices were amateur-clumsy, and one was completely unforgiveable.

If you're reading Carl Hiaasen for the first time, try another book. If you're a veteran reader of his, this one will give you some laughs, but be prepared for a disappointing outing.