Customer Reviews

Lucky You

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(42)
3 star:		(28)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Reading a Carl Hiaasen novel is somewhat of a guilty pleasure for me, as I am indirectly a target of many of Carl's jokes being a South Florida lawyer. However, whenever I am temporarily tired of heavy prose or detailed non-fiction and in the mood for a "quick fix", a page turner written with humor and a little suspense by an author who doesn't take himself too seriously , I pick up a novel by someone like Hiaasen or Kinky Friedman. You will not find the "young handsome hero gets chased by the CIA and/or FBI as he falls in love with the beautiful Supreme Court law clerk" nonsense of thrillers by Baldacci and Grisham, just some goofball characters giving Florida a bad name who ultimately get what's coming to them.

In Lucky You, the plot centers around a Lotto ticket stolen from a female African American veterinary assistant by two bizarre rascists, who envision forming a neo-Nazi militia with the extra 14 million bucks. The two hapless crooks, Bode Gazzer and Chub, have one 14 million dollar winning ticket of their own, but with taxes and extended payouts they assume 14 million will be insufficient for their grandiose plans, and thus they pilfer the other winning ticket.

Our heroine, ridiculously named JoLayne Lucks, is everything a character should be in Hiaasen's world - she loves nature, is kind to animals, and wants to use her winnings to buy a pristine plot of land and prevent some Mafia developers from bulldozing the whole thing for a tax-shelter shopping mall. She lives in tiny Grange, Florida, a city known for its religious "miracles" including the self-mutilated "stigmata" man, a lady who thinks a road stain of brake fluid depicts the face of Christ, and a shrine to the Blessed Virgin which, on command, emits tears. These tears, scented with cheap perfume, are operated surreptitiously through a hidden hydraulic pump. All of these scandalous gags are meant to fleece tourists, on holy pilgrimages, out of their modest earnings. The straight man in the novel, features writer Tom Krome, goes to Grange to write a story on the lottery winner Ms. Lucks and is inexplicably drawn into her efforts to get the ticket back from Chub and Gazzer.

As in all Hiaasen books, the slimy characters get what is coming to them, and for the most part the author keeps most of the balls in the air effectively, keeping the reader mildly interested in the sensational plot even though you knowingly suspend belief from page one. The book has its faults to be sure- I wish Hiaasen would not be so over the top with his names, like a lottery winner named "Lucks", and a neo-Nazi named "Gazzer." Also, I thought the actions of Sinclair, Krome's boss at the paper, should have been deleted by a sympathetic editor. Sinclair, trying his best to catch up with Tom Krome, heads to Grange where he proceeds to sit in a moat full of turtles (painted like religious figures) and utters nonsense babble in rapturous delirium. These passages, unlike most of the book, were difficult to read.

All in all, while Hiaasen will never be confused with F. Scott Fitzgerald or Henry James, he has written a very entertaining novel here with passages that were downright hilarious. Some here... have insisted that Lucky You is his worst novel, which still would not be that bad in my opinion. As for my own "ranking order," I certainly feel Lucky You was every bit as good as Strip Tease and Stormy Weather, maybe a spot below Native Tongue and Tourist Season, but who cares? Ranking them is like comparing different types of melon. If you like his style, you'll enjoy this novel. I give it 4 stars, and am glad I picked it up.

From time to time I recommend Hiassen's books to coworkers, friends, and family. A few have become fans like me, but many others end up giving the books back to me(looking a little uncomfortable as they do) and never look at me the same way again.

These people stop asking for my advice on reading material. Apparently, not everyone appreciates Hiassen's sense of humour.

I've read all of Hiaasen's books and consider Lucky You to be one of my favourites (Strip Tease, Stormy Weather, and Sick Puppy are the others). Hiaasen turns his outrage (in this case directed at land developers, religious scam artists, the newspaper business, and red neck militia wingnuts) into a hysterically bizarre novel about two militia wannabes who win the lottery, but decide that if they can find the owner of the other winning ticket, they can double their take.

Sure, the targets here are easy to take potshots at (racist morons with guns and religious zealots) but that doesn't mean it isn't funny to watch Hiassen open fire.

If you are looking for a nail biting suspense thriller, Lucky You probably won't do it for you. Hiassen may give readers a rollicking ride, but this zany plot with its collection of quirky characters won't satisfy anyone looking for a serious thriller. Lucky You won't leave you breathless with white-knuckled thrills, but you may laugh so hard you can't see through the tears.

Read this book if you like a little twisted humour with your crime fiction.

Don't read this book if you belong to a militia or have ever seen Jesus' face appear to you in a plate of mashed potatoes. There is a good chance that you won't appreciate Hiassen's unique brand of humour..

Entertainment Weekly didn't think this book was that great. ER is crazy; this is Hiaasen at his best. Carl provides me with real "comfort" books, ones that I can curl up with, forget the world and just laugh and laugh. The only problem with this and his other books is that it ends.
The only criticism that I would make is that Hiaasen sometimes try to carry his "hilarity" into descriptions of violent or unpleasant death. There are some things that just aren't funny.

I read this book and Hiaasen's Sick Puppy back-to-back. The styles are almost like two different writers. This particular book adds nothing to Carl Hiaasen's works that he has not done before. The plot really had some potential, but was never realized. The idea of ruthless lottery winners not being satisfied with winning only half the lottery is not that farfetched. But the characters, in typical Hiaasen style are out there, slightly resembling some people you could find in the real world. The hero and heroin share a strange attraction and team up to recover her stolen ticket from some not-ready-for-primetime militia leaders. In between these characters lie a group of people taking advantage of religious beliefs and so-called miracles. The typical Hiaasen trademarks are in here; something always seems to happen to someone's appendages and there are the cracks on the evil tourist industry in Florida. Unfortunately, the author almost seemed to be writing this half-heartedly. This book is light reading and moves pretty quick but for real humor, you should check out his other books.

Carl Hiaasen is the author of some of the most engaging, delightful, twisted, hilarious stuff in print. Lucky You is one of his best, the story of greed, grace, low-life types (picture this: a glue-sniffing jerk with a crab claw hanging from his infected hand as he peers at you from the leg holes of a pair of orange Hooters short shorts that hes pulled over his head), religious fanatics, skinhead survivalists  all focused on skullduggery surrounding two winning Florida lottery tickets, each worth $14 million. Theres always a lot going on in Hiassens books, sub-plot leading to yet another sub-plot, but somehow he manages to wrap them all up by the end.
Great read.

If you've never read Hiassen before, I urge you to start with an older book--Skin Tight, for example. This book feels phoned in. The characters are awful stereotypes instead of the quirky and hilarious send-ups that Hiassen is capable of. The good news: Hiassen is getting back on track with his latest, Sick Puppy. I'd say Lucky You is the worst of the handful of Hiassen books I've read.

Like clockwork, Carl Hiaasen delivers a book every two years chock-full of the oddest characters in the Sunshine State. "Lucky You" does not depart from that formula, providing a story full of rednecks, reporters, Hooters waitresses, and other assorted odd Floridians. While it doesn't pack the pure laugh power of "Skin Tight" or "Native Tongue," it proves to be an enjoyable ride.

The biggest criticism I can think of is that Hiaasen takes no chances with this story. His common themes (the environment, dumb criminal rednecks, smart-assed reporters) are all in evidence, just as they were in most of his previous works. Yet, the basic formula continues to entertain, for Hiaasen is a master of delivering a story at a breakneck pace. My only question is how much longer can he continue to write what is basically the same story?

"Lucky You" is the story of two winning lottery tickets and the people who are lucky enough to own them. One of them, JoLayne Lucks, is a small-town vet's assistant who wants to use the money for altruistic purposes. The other, Bode Gazzer, is a career criminal and would-be militia participant, who wants to arm himself and his sidekick for the impending NATO invasion. JoLayne and Bode come together in one horrifying moment, and for the rest of the book, we learn what happened and why JoLayne wants to catch up with Bode and his sidekick.

To reveal more of the plot would be to ruin many of the twists that make Carl Hiaasen as enjoyable as he is. If you're a Carl Hiaasen fan, you might not love this book, but you'll find yourself laughing out loud. If you've never read any of Hiaasen's previous works, "Lucky You" might not be the one you want to start with, but it shouldn't be missed.

What would do if you won the lottery? Would you spend the money on you, or to buy some Florida swampland to help save endangered turtles? And what if the ticket was stolen before you could redeem it?

These are some of the story lines that appear in Lucky You, one of Carl Hiasson's older works of fiction and one of the best created by the King of Florida Fiction. I liked this book so much I put it up there with two of the authors other works, Striptease and Skinny Dip.

Hiassen's works all have the same zany charecters entertwined with a few sane, reasonable protagnoists (well some have their quirks) but the charecter development in this book makes has incredibly tender moments as the heroine fights for her personal goal of saving her turtles and getting back what was rightfully hers.

I highly recommend this book for its story, its style and its entertainment value.

Once again, Hiaasen proves that he is a master at making you laugh hysterically and cringe in horror at the same time. Yes, I too miss Skink, but we must go on to other characters that only Carl can develop in such a bizarre way. I will never be able to look at a road stain or a little turtle in the same way. Hollywood, please don't try to destroy a a wonderfully funny novel like you did with "Striptease." By the way, if you love Hiaasen, I know you will also thoroughly enjoy reading any book by Christopher Moore. Give him a try. If you don't laugh out loud countless times while reading his mystically demented tomes, you need an extra fix of humor. Write on, Hiaasen and Moore!

Hiaasen lets fly in this one, with his sights set firmly on innate stupidity and greed. The ecological theme is toned down somewhat, in favor of religious and political fanaticism and idiocy, as well as a character that belongs in a South Park cartoon. Come to think about it, most of them belong into South Park cartoons. Which is all good.

Hiaasen is occasionally berated for his predictability--especially of 'stock characters'. The claim has some justification, but it is part of what one kind-of expects. On the other hand, however, he invariably delivers, and when he goes over the top----as in the creation of the White Clarion Aryans----he does it in such a way that you're never likely to forget the characters. One of my daughters is a Hiaasen fan like me, and the WCAs have become somewhat of a stereotype or point of reference when referring to a certain breed of lunatic.

And, let's face it; in a world where people see the face of Jesus in frozen cheese sandwiches and the root systems of potted plants...when Hiaasen comes with some freakwit seeing a divine face in a patch of asphalt----it doesn't really seem that outrageous or contrived anymore, does it?

A great, fun read, with ample material for endless quotes and laughs.

Till Noever, owlglass.com