Staff Picks
Florida Man: Offbeat Florida Books
- Sara M.
- Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Collection
Okay, technically Florida people aren't any weirder than people anywhere else - the Sunshine State just has strong sunshine laws that allow journalists much easier access to crazy crime reports. But there are a lot of slightly skewed, offbeat books set there for you to enjoy!
This list is part of the #BroaderBookshelf2019 reading challenge. Find more lists here.
Best. State. Ever.
A Florida Man Defends His Homeland
Published in 2016
Sure, there was the 2000 election and flying insects the size of LeBron James. But Barry is going to show you why Florida is a great state. And whatever else you think about Florida-- you can never say it's boring.
Florida Roadkill
A Novel
Published in 2006
Recounts several months in the lives of about 15 losers who are lower on the criminal food chain than even an Elmore Leonard character. Take the insurance executive who has turned to money laundering to save his failing business after Hurricane Andrew; or the three thug wannabes who end up as vigilantes defending a community of senior citizens against their rapacious landlord; or take Serge and Coleman, who can only be described as Cheech and Chong with guns. What ties these characters together is the seventh game of the 1997 World Series in which the Florida Marlins defeated the Cleveland Indians in extra innings. From murder by Levi's 501s to the annual Running of the Hemingways in Key West, "Florida Roadkill" is a manic, violent, lyrical, and hysterically funny post-postmodern crime novel.
Razor Girl
A Novel
Published in 2016
"When Lane Coolman's car is bashed from behind on the road to the Florida Keys, what appears to be an innocent accident is anything but (this is Hiaasen!). Behind the wheel of the offending car is Merry Mansfield--the eponymous Razor Girl--so named for her unique, eye-popping addition to what might be an otherwise unexciting scam. But, of course--this is Hiaasen!--the scam is only the very beginning of a situation that's going to spiral crazily out of control while gathering in some of the wildest characters Hiaasen has ever set loose on the page. There's the owner of Sedimental Journey--the company that steals sand from one beach to restore erosion on another ... Dominick "Big Noogie" Aeola, the NYC mafia capo with a taste for the pinkest of sands ... Zeto, the small-time hustler who gets electrocuted trying to charge a Tesla ... Nance Buck, native Wisconsinite who's nonetheless the star of the red neck reality TV show, "Bayou Brethren" ... a psycho who goes by the name of Blister and who's more Nance Buck than Buck could ever be ... the multimillionaire product liability lawyer who's getting dangerously--and deformingly--hooked on the very product he's litigating against ... and Andrew Yancy--formerly Detective Yancy, busted to Key West roach patrol after he beat up his then-lover's husband with a Dustbuster--who's convinced that if he can just solve one more murder on his own, he'll get his detective badge back. That the Razor Girl may be the key to his success in this deeply ill-considered endeavor will be as surprising to him as anything else he encounters along the way--including the nine-pound Gambian pouched rats getting very used to the good life in the Keys ..."-- Provided by publisher.
Ninety-two in the Shade
Published in 1995
Returning home to Key West, Thomas Skelton attempts to come to terms with the town's hostility and bizarreness as he tries to establish himself as a fishing guide in the face of a death threat from another guide.
Swamplandia!
Published in 2011
Twelve year old Ava must travel into the Underworld part of the swamp in order to save her family's dynasty of Bigtree alligator wresting. This novel takes us to the swamps of the Florida Everglades, and introduces us to Ava Bigtree, an unforgettable young heroine. The Bigtree alligator wrestling dynasty is in decline, and Swamplandia!, their island home and gator wrestling theme park, formerly no. 1 in the region, is swiftly being encroached upon by a fearsome and sophisticated competitor called the World of Darkness. Ava's mother, the park's indomitable headliner, has just died; her sister, Ossie, has fallen in love with a spooky character known as the Dredgeman, who may or may not be an actual ghost; and her brilliant big brother, Kiwi, who dreams of becoming a scholar, has just defected to the World of Darkness in a last ditch effort to keep their family business from going under. Ava's father, affectionately known as Chief Bigtree, is AWOL; and that leaves Ava, a resourceful but terrified thirteen, to manage ninety eight gators as well as her own grief. Against a backdrop of hauntingly fecund plant life animated by ancient lizards and lawless hungers, the author has written a novel about a family's struggle to stay afloat in a world that is inexorably sinking.