Carl Hiaasen's environmentalism
I've generally admired the environmental activism of bestselling comic novelist Carl Hiaasen. He's been standing up for south Florida's swamps, manatees, and other natural wonders for decades, and too often he's been standing alone. In the early 2000s, though, I became frustrated by his overreliance on Edward Abbey techniques: too much focus on the hero's wonderful alleged individuality, too little attention to the environmental effects of the hero's gas guzzler.
However his most recent novel-for-adults, Skinny Dip, may be his best yet. Sure, the villains are overstated, the heroes over-hermitized, and some allegedly pure place (this time New Zealand) overdeified. But the shortcuts are defensible, meaningful, and best of all hilarious. He's minimized the role of the annoying recurring character Skink. His dialog has only gotten better. And best of all, he's found the perfect level of outrage to sneak in among the jokes. You learn about the tragic continuing ruination of the Everglades, but you don't feel hit over the head with it.
Hiaasen used to end his books with a where-they-are-now recap, a ploy that (though overused) is always good for a laugh. The problem with that ploy is its meta-fictionality: it reminds you that the author has made up this entire story, including future fates for his characters. He abandons that technique in this book, instead merely threading together a final loose end, allowing you yourself to apply the final tug that ties it together. To me that's a mark of writerly accomplishment.
I'm always interested in feedback, via info at johnclaytonbooks {dot} {com}
However his most recent novel-for-adults, Skinny Dip, may be his best yet. Sure, the villains are overstated, the heroes over-hermitized, and some allegedly pure place (this time New Zealand) overdeified. But the shortcuts are defensible, meaningful, and best of all hilarious. He's minimized the role of the annoying recurring character Skink. His dialog has only gotten better. And best of all, he's found the perfect level of outrage to sneak in among the jokes. You learn about the tragic continuing ruination of the Everglades, but you don't feel hit over the head with it.
Hiaasen used to end his books with a where-they-are-now recap, a ploy that (though overused) is always good for a laugh. The problem with that ploy is its meta-fictionality: it reminds you that the author has made up this entire story, including future fates for his characters. He abandons that technique in this book, instead merely threading together a final loose end, allowing you yourself to apply the final tug that ties it together. To me that's a mark of writerly accomplishment.
I'm always interested in feedback, via info at johnclaytonbooks {dot} {com}
