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3rd out of 83 books
—
25 voters
Stormy Weather
by
Carl Hiaasen
A hilarious new novel of greed and corruption from the bestselling author of "Strip Tease". The story focuses on southern Florida at the height of the tourist season, when a ferocious hurricane hits--luring con artists, carpetbaggers, and would-be saviors like hyenas to the lion's kill. "Hiaasen himself is a one-man force of nature".
Paperback, 388 pages
Published
March 1st 2001
by Grand Central Publishing
(first published 1995)
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Stormy Weather follows Carl Hiaasen's usual fomula, with his normal cast of characters. The confused female victim of the greedy jerk rescued by the "crazy" recluse and the caring, law-enforcement hero. The story takes place in the Florida Everglades, as usual, and contains the author's requrired amount of environmental "preachiness."
If Hiaasen's books are all so predictable, why do I like reading them so much? Because he is an incredibly clever writer with a dark, twisted sense of humor that I...more
If Hiaasen's books are all so predictable, why do I like reading them so much? Because he is an incredibly clever writer with a dark, twisted sense of humor that I...more
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Carl Hiassen has a satiric edge second to none, as he provides characters and plots that bring to light, make that "spotlight," the human vices and societal ills that plague all places, but especially the state of Florida. As Hiassen said in a recent speech, "they (reprobates and crazies)all come here (Florida). For those of us who speak fluent sarcasm and appreciate nothing better than witty sarcasm, Hiassen's novels, and Stormy Weather certainly, make our joy meters tingle in a most pleasurabl...more
Fool me twice, shame on me. What on earth was I thinking taking on a second installment by the same author responsible for writing Star Island? As if that calamitous wonder wasn't bad enough, this glutton for punishment nevertheless vowed to forge his way through Stormy Weather simply because it was sitting there on his desk for the taking. Don't know why there's no sun up in the sky.
This time the author scrambles a muddle of cartoonish characters whose lives intersect implausibly in the immedia...more
This time the author scrambles a muddle of cartoonish characters whose lives intersect implausibly in the immedia...more
This was the first Carl Hiaasen book I'd read, and probably the first example of "popular" not-quite-literary fiction I'd read in quite a while. I've been reading too much heavy stuff (Under the Volcano, The Savage Detectives etc.) and was looking forward to a light, fast paced read with some good laughs thrown in, and I'd always heard that Hiaasen was a perfect example of what they call a "beach read." Also I was intrigued by the idea that his books are always set in Florida, as I spent my chi...more
In this book, Hiaasen achieves a nice feat. He blends a modern noir with patches of dark hilarity, like the Coen Brother's Fargo. This is a tale of grifters ranging through post-hurricane-Andrew Florida, ripping off victims who have just been through a terrible natural disaster. Snapper, a grifter who had his jaw rearranged by a game warden, is so stupidly menacing he needs a part-time prostitute named Edie to mediate between him and the rest of the world. Edie and Snapper naturally are trying t...more
This is one of my favorite Hiaasen novels. It has 10 or 12 crazy characters (including a one-eyed ex-governor who lives off the wild in the Everglades) and it's hilarious! If you haven't read any Hiaasen, he is based in the Miami area and his books are all humor/crime novels that usually have basically the same theme: a somewhat crazy environmentalist fighting evil, corrupt forces (Florida govt., land developers) in the Everglades. It's really a love-it-or-hate-it genre, but if you love one Hiaa...more
Virtually everyone and everything is corrupt, except perhaps the deranged ex-governor of the state, in Carl Hiaasen's marvelously funny Stormy Weather.
Bonnie and Max Lamb are on their honeymoon at Disney World when the one-hundred year hurricane hits. Max, being a good red-blooded American, immediately grabs his video camera and heads for the path of destruction to tape all the gore and devastation. Bonnie is not happy, feeling this is somehow disrespectful, but when Max is kidnapped by Skink,...more
Bonnie and Max Lamb are on their honeymoon at Disney World when the one-hundred year hurricane hits. Max, being a good red-blooded American, immediately grabs his video camera and heads for the path of destruction to tape all the gore and devastation. Bonnie is not happy, feeling this is somehow disrespectful, but when Max is kidnapped by Skink,...more
Carl and I talked about going back to the Florida Keys over the Christmas-New Year break but in the end we decided to wait until a less crowded time. Reading a Hiaasen novel is almost as good as the actual trip and, I have to admit, a lot cheaper. So with the heat cranked up and wearing my favorite t-shirt, I devoured this book!
In STORMY WEATHER we meet up with one honeymooning couple. a women trying to scam the Kennedy's, a crooked jawed crook called "Snapper," a roof inspector afraid of heigh...more
In STORMY WEATHER we meet up with one honeymooning couple. a women trying to scam the Kennedy's, a crooked jawed crook called "Snapper," a roof inspector afraid of heigh...more
I love a good Carl Hiaasen book, alas this was not a good Carl Hiaasen. It starts off strong, sweeping the reader into the story following the wake of a hurricane. The cast ballons quickly and just as quickly gets thinned down in a series of gruesome endings, which, for the most part, are not ironic, fitting, or funny. As the cast dwindles down so does the plot, which revolves around: Bonnie and Max Lamb, the mismatched newly wed couple; Augustine, the good guy skull juggler; Edie, the con-woman...more
Usually I start reviews with a brief plot summary, but I'm not even sure how to sum this one up. The story takes place in the immediate aftermath of a hurricane that has hit Florida, and hard -- that part is easy enough. But against this backdrop Hiaasen sketches a tale that could only take place in one of his novels. With the normal social boundaries washed away by the storm, Florida becomes a land of chaos, and Hiaasen's characters reveal very interesting aspects of human nature.
In an initial...more
In an initial...more
Audio book performed by George Wilson
After a massive hurricane flattens Southern Dade County Florida, the place is overrun with various chiselers, scam artists, would-be contractors, insurance adjusters, and even honeymooning tourists. Hiaasen peoples this romp with the usual mix of characters – Bonnie and Max are on their honeymoon at Disney World when the hurricane hits, and Max just [u]has[/u] to head south to get home videos of the aftermath. Augustine Herrera has recently inherited his uncl...more
After a massive hurricane flattens Southern Dade County Florida, the place is overrun with various chiselers, scam artists, would-be contractors, insurance adjusters, and even honeymooning tourists. Hiaasen peoples this romp with the usual mix of characters – Bonnie and Max are on their honeymoon at Disney World when the hurricane hits, and Max just [u]has[/u] to head south to get home videos of the aftermath. Augustine Herrera has recently inherited his uncl...more
Not my favorite Carl Hiaasen book. If I hadn't already read everything he's written on my library shelves, I probably wouldn't pick up another. It's hard to say why I didn't enjoy this one as well as the others. The book contained all the same fun, comical, almost cartoon-like characters, great dialogue, great story-telling, but I didn't have the sense of a strong main character I could cheer for.
A huge hurricane has hit south Florida, and all the scumbags, low-lifes, and sleaze buckets descend...more
A huge hurricane has hit south Florida, and all the scumbags, low-lifes, and sleaze buckets descend...more
This book is an exciting tale about a hurricane and how it affected people. Some people took advantage of people. Some got taken advantage of. There are all kinds of characters and they all tie together in the end. Snapper is a crook. Edie is his partner in crime. Bonnie is a newly wed. Max is her kidnapped husband. Augustine is a salesman who helps Bonnie. Skink is an ex-governor.
I have a text to world connection. This book connects to how people suffered in the Katrina hurricane. This shows...more
I have a text to world connection. This book connects to how people suffered in the Katrina hurricane. This shows...more
This was a nice break from the more heavy Hunger Games and 11/22/63 which I had most recently read. Carl Hiaasen always has some really crazy larger-than-life Floridians in his books. They're eccentric, ridiculous, and usually pretty funny. Hiaasan usually takes on some social issue in his books, and in this case it was the aftermath of a hurricane. Specifically, I think it was Hurricane Andrew, the 1992 bruiser which wiped out a good bit of A1A and the surrounding area where the mainland and ke...more
I think this book would be a great read for the right personality. Unfortunately, it wasn't a good read for my personality. With that said, though, I will say there were a couple of places where a did snigger a little at the absurdity of some of the situations.
The basic premise of this book is a screwball comedy of errors involving a bunch of con artists who descend upon Florida after a major hurricane. There are about 15 different main characters whose stories are all taking place at the same t...more
The basic premise of this book is a screwball comedy of errors involving a bunch of con artists who descend upon Florida after a major hurricane. There are about 15 different main characters whose stories are all taking place at the same t...more
I'm a fan of Carl Hiassen's books; I've read several which are always set in Florida. This story takes place after a major hurricane strikes just south of Miami; no question here, it's Andrew. The story is based on the corruption that takes place in the confusion following a major disaster like that. The major characters in the story are all crooked in varying degrees or crazy. The ex-governor of Florida, Skink, is a recurring character in many of his books and he's really out-of-it in this stor...more
I love Carl Hiaasen's brand of humor. It has inspired me as a new author in the humorous fiction genre. Like all of his books, Stormy Weather is satire at its best. It is dark at points, outrageous at others, and over-the-top. It is pure fun; more fun than my first roller coaster ride!
Mr. Hiaasen has an active imagination which allows him to create delightfully memorable characters. He is consistent in this regard in all of his books. I haven't read one that has disappointed me yet and I have re...more
Mr. Hiaasen has an active imagination which allows him to create delightfully memorable characters. He is consistent in this regard in all of his books. I haven't read one that has disappointed me yet and I have re...more
Carl Hiaasen's works are usually very funny, intelligent, witty, creative, with a happy ending. What could you want more from an entertaining lite read? The imaginative characters, the adventure, the great use of irony and sarcasm, he keeps you guessing how things could possibly all work out for the best, and they do in his books which I like. I always find good qualities to admire in his heros, and can easily despise the villians, cheering when they meet their demise...in whatever creative fash...more
Jan 27, 2009
Ethan
added it
Stormy Weather by Carl Hiaasen is a hilarious book, centering around a couple visiting Disney World in Florida, when an extremely dangerous hurricane hits. The husband, Max, who is obsessed with natural disasters, goes in harms way to get video footage of the storm, where he is kidnapped by a former governor who is an insane environmentalist. Sound nuts, huh?
The author, Carl Hiaasen, while maintaining a comedic tone, manages to make all of these events sound so normal, as if it were a part of ev...more
The author, Carl Hiaasen, while maintaining a comedic tone, manages to make all of these events sound so normal, as if it were a part of ev...more
This was an interesting and very quick read. The author does a really great job of tying all the charachters lives together in the aftermath of a hurricane.
I can still see the image of the guy that tied himself to the bridge to endure the heart of the storm.
I can still see the image of the guy that tied himself to the bridge to endure the heart of the storm.
I listened to this on tape.The Carl Hiaasen book about Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew. It is populated with a corrupt building inspector who makes sacrifices to a cuban voodoo God, a smug mobile home salesman (whose products blew away in the storm), his greedy estranged wife, a mafia hit man, two naive tourists - one an opportunistic ad executive from New York - the other his innocent wife, an ex-governor turned backwoods pioneer, a wealthy zoo owner who likes to juggle skulls, a b...more
This is extremely disappointing for a Carl Hiaasen novel. It's as funny as Hiaasen's best, but the plotting is horrible. This is one of those books with two storylines that eventually converge, but they do so in the most haphazard way, and afterwards it's not clear why the characters don't just go their separate ways.
Both plots center upon a massive hurricane that strikes Miami. In one we have a tourist couple, a pair of newly weds who were honeymooning at Disneyland. When the hurricane comes, t...more
Both plots center upon a massive hurricane that strikes Miami. In one we have a tourist couple, a pair of newly weds who were honeymooning at Disneyland. When the hurricane comes, t...more
Another entertaining Carl Hiassen read starring Jim Tile, state trooper, and Skink, former governor of Florida reeking havoc on those who would destroy the environment. This story takes place after a hurricane when some ne'er do wells would try and defraud insurance companies. As all Hiaasen books, there are lots of characters who get intertwined and it all comes out in the end. This time we have a newly married couple whose husband is obsessed with taking videos of those suffering from the hurr...more
This was my first Carl Hiaasen book,and if it is typical of his others, I plan to read them all. Hiaasen is usually considered a crime/mystery/thriller writer, but Stormy Weather--while it revolves around criminal activities including insurance fraud, car theft, armed robbery, assault and battery, kidnapping, and murder--is essentially a satire of modern life seen through a very dark lens. Hiaasen has the penetrating insight into character and behavior and the ironic distance of the best satiris...more
I like Carl Hiaasen in that he has a well developed sour disposition towards the establishment and to money in general.
It's a thin line between make wry comments on society and just become a street crazy feeding cats and pushing a trolly. Sometimes he does cross the line and it can become uncomfortable heading towards nasty.
Stormy Weather was a bleak black comedy. It became a topical social commentary when hurricane Catrina struck. It now reads rather uncomfortably to be honest. I used to love t...more
It's a thin line between make wry comments on society and just become a street crazy feeding cats and pushing a trolly. Sometimes he does cross the line and it can become uncomfortable heading towards nasty.
Stormy Weather was a bleak black comedy. It became a topical social commentary when hurricane Catrina struck. It now reads rather uncomfortably to be honest. I used to love t...more
This book is almost twenty years old, but it seems even older, like from the 80s. A big part of it revolves around a guy who takes videos, which is considered rude. Now everyone has a video in their phone. It's supposed to be hilarious with a large cast of odd characters, but they seem almost cliches. The only funny parts are the tone is mostly pre political correctness. Anything from the 80s (or better the 50s) can be funny that way. Even then you notice how he is respectful towards Blacks, but...more
Two honeymooners wake up early, make love twice, and brace themselves for a spectacle they won't be watching from the sidelines.
A seductive con artiste stumbles into a scam that promises more cool cash than the lottery.
A shotgun-toting mobile home salesman is about to close a deal with disaster.
A law school dropout will be chasing one Gaboon viper, a troop of storm-shocked monkeys, and a newfound love life, while tourists by the thousands bail from the Florida Keys.
We're now entering the hur...more
A seductive con artiste stumbles into a scam that promises more cool cash than the lottery.
A shotgun-toting mobile home salesman is about to close a deal with disaster.
A law school dropout will be chasing one Gaboon viper, a troop of storm-shocked monkeys, and a newfound love life, while tourists by the thousands bail from the Florida Keys.
We're now entering the hur...more
Strangely enough, I find myself giving Weather three stars, even though I didn't really dig it overly much while reading it. Maybe I was mislead by all of the taglines all over the covers saying it was hilarious and funny. I just didn't get that at all, honestly. It's a funny and ironic take on Florida's quirky culture and landscape - but laugh out loud funny it's not. So I think there was a bit of false advertising that hurt my expectations going in. The characters are all quirky and over the t...more
I'll start by saying I don't read much fiction, and this is the first Hiassen book I have read. This was really a fun read and maybe I should be reading more like this. There are about a dozen characters, many with bad intentions, and a few who get sucked into doing things they probably would not otherwise. Having lived in south Florida, I feel like I've seen some of these characters and the endless subdivisions some of the action takes place in. There are many unusual twists, mixed in with some...more
The usual (maybe not 'usual' except for the folks who end up in the police blotter sections of newspapers) odd Florida characters from murderers to con artists to the distinctly cracked in the head somewhere are involved in various linked ways. This time it's a Florida hurricane which starts the ball rolling, as various couples find the hurricane itself has completely wrecked the lives they had been living before the winds hit and overturned everything that made them the people they felt themsel...more
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Carl Hiaasen was born and raised in Florida, where he still lives with his family. After graduating from the University of Florida, he began writing for the Miami Herald. As a journalist and author, Carl has spend most of his life advocating the protection of the Florida Everglades. He and his family still live southern Florida.
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