Beat the Heat with the Hilarity that is “Swamp Story” https://ift.tt/h1ZHPXb
What I want in a summer book is one that makes me laugh. Don’t get me wrong, I love literary fiction and thrillers that keep me on the edge of my seat. But at the beach, lazing in the backyard, or curled up on the front porch, I want something fun, like Swamp Story, Dave Barry’s latest hilarious rendering of life in the Sunshine State. As someone who grew up in Florida, where it’s so hot you can get a sunburn at a stop light and where blind ambition is piped into the drinking water, I love how Barry captures some of what makes the Sunshine State unique — the optimism that just around the next corner you’ll encounter an opportunity that will make all of your dreams come true. If, that is, you don’t mind the heat, humidity, mold, mildew, and wildlife.
Swamp Story begins as a twenty-foot python slithers toward Jesse Braddock and her infant daughter, Willa, outside their cabin in the Everglades. Attempting to get her boyfriend, Slater, to come out of their cabin to help proves fruitless; he is too stoned and then distracted by the idea of putting it all on film for a soon-to-be mini-series titled Glades Man. Jesse is able to dispatch the snake on her own, while Slater resumes his real passion — getting high.
Over to the east in Coral Gables, unemployed journalist Phil Teagler and his friend, Stu Krupp, unemployed marketing executive, have reached a new low — dressing up as princesses for birthday parties at the homes of Miami’s elite. Unfortunately, on one particular day, all goes haywire, as an errant golf swing by a four-year-old, caught on someone’s phone, brings unwanted notoriety to Phil.
Enter Ken Bortle of Bortle Brothers Bait and Beer out on the Tamiami Trail, a business empty of commerce unless a motorist needs a bathroom break. Ken Bortle is a fan of Shark Tank and is convinced that he can resurrect his failing family business and bring Tik-Tokkers to the store in the Everglades by creating the Everglades Monster Melon. Ken enlists the help of Slater and Kark to film the Melon Monster: Phil in a re-painted Dora the Explorer head. The Melon Monster goes viral.
When Jesse makes the surprising discovery of gold bars buried out in the swamp, supposedly left over from the Civil War, she sees her way out of the Everglades. Unfortunately for Jesse, two life-long swamp dwellers, Duck and Billy, have also been searching for the gold and are determined to have it for themselves. Because this is Dave Barry, the master of absurdist comedic tales, the story becomes even more complex with appearances by various drug kingpins, a presidential hopeful, and Mr. Skeeter Toobs, reigning python-catching champion of Florida, who makes an appearance alongside Buddy, his emotional support boar.
Author Dave Barry, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, has written numerous fiction and nonfiction books, along with his annual year-in-review. He has a keen eye for painting the absurd, and Florida is his palette. If you’ve never spent time in Florida (and by spending time I’m not talking about a week at the Motel 6 in Kissimmee) you may be unfamiliar with the swampland of South Florida — the flat and oppressive heat and humidity; gators, snakes, and wild boars; the residents making a living giving airboat tours through the Everglades. To truly get to know this part of Florida, distinct from the manicured kid-centric parks around Orlando or the many beautiful beaches surrounding the state, you might read the terrific Swamplandia! by Karen Russell, which digs deep into the everyday life and pathos of an alligator-wrestling family. And of course, you can read all of Dave Barry’s novels, which clearly reflect Barry’s love for the Sunshine State in all its quirkiness.
Swamp Story is a rollicking good read, even if it is occasionally challenging to keep the large cast of characters straight. But it’s worth the effort because after all, it’s summer, and summer reading should be fun. And because it’s Florida, the place where dreamers dream big, and you might find yourself inspired to dream up your next big thing.
FICTION Swamp Story
By Dave Barry
Simon & Schuster
Published May 2, 2023
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