{"id":3531,"date":"2007-01-07T20:12:00","date_gmt":"2007-01-08T01:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/brianjnoggle.com\/blog\/?p=3531"},"modified":"2017-12-07T13:35:17","modified_gmt":"2017-12-07T19:35:17","slug":"book-report-nature-girl-by-carl-hiaasen-2006","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brianjnoggle.com\/blog\/2007\/01\/07\/book-report-nature-girl-by-carl-hiaasen-2006\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Report: Nature Girl by Carl Hiaasen (2006)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Heather gave me this book for Christmas along with a number of earlier Hiaasen novels because she knew that I enjoyed (see also Strip Tease<\/a><\/i>, Skinny Dip<\/a><\/i>, and Basket Case<\/a><\/i>).<\/p>\n

This book, however, suffers from the same slow start that stifled Strip Tease<\/i>. Unfortunately, it has a slow middle and a slow end, too. Whereas the normal whacky Hiaasen characters come out of the Florida backwoods to amuse, ultimately, interact. We have a half Seminole on the run from his own demons and the ghost of an unfortunate tourist whose body he sunk in the swamp; a philandering ne’er-do-well telemarketing salesman and the mistress who’s above him; an activist and off-kilter single mother seeking revenge against the telemarketer for interrupting her dinner; a lecherous man lusting for the single mother; the ex-husband of the single mother; a private detective trailing the telemarketer; and so on. <\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the book doesn’t have a real central plot; instead, we’re following along a set of subplots that will intersect on a small Florida key. When we finally got the whole crew onto the key, I thought it would be a quick resolution, but I still had 100 pages left, and I was disappointed.<\/p>\n

The book isn’t Hiaasen’s best, and it’s definitely the weakest of the four books I’ve read so far. Heather was disappointed at my disappointment, but I tried to reassure her that one book had to be the worst. I hope this one was.<\/p>\n

Books mentioned in this review:<\/b><\/p>\n