At the neighborhood Christmas party this year, I was talking books with one of the guests. We got on the subject of Florida fiction, me wanting him to read Carl Hiaasen, and him telling me about Tim Dorsey. Apparently, he went to school with Tim, at Auburn, if I remember correctly. I jotted down the name, and the book recommendation.
Florida Roadkill, by Tim Dorsey, is in a similar vein as Carl Hiaasen. And when I say "similar," they both place their characters and story in Florida. Strange, quirky characters? Check. Comments about the Floridian environment? Check. Unethical real estate salesmen? Check. Serge Storm has been recently released from prison. While he may be a psychopath, he loves Florida and its history. Dorsey takes the reader along with Serge as he literally runs around to all of the historical sites in each city that Serge visits. Why are we on this strange trip? Serge and his two companions, both are drug dependant (Serge only drinks water never takes drugs - but he needs to be on medication), have taken $5 million off of a wealthy, perverted orthodontist. But the doctor has stashed the money in the trunk of a car, unbeknownst to the driver and his travelling companion. And that $5 million? An insurance payout that was part of a money laundering scheme, which should never have been paid out. So, what do we have? Two good guys with $5 million on them, three criminals, a drug cartel, a dirty insurance company CEO, a couple of contract killers, three good/bad bikers, an unethical retirement village salesman, a whirlwind tour of Florida, and the 1997 World Series (between the Marlins and the Indians). And a load of laughs.
There will be many people that will compare Dorsey to Hiaasen, but Dorsey is a bit more . . . dark. I suppose that is a good choice of a word. As you can tell, the novel isn't lacking for characters. In fact, as you read the book, you notice that characters come and go, with no apparent connection. Trust me, hang on for the ride. Dorsey weaves them into the story later on, and it is worth the wait. And he uses the 1997 World Series as a very good backdrop, one that I, as an Indians fan, wasn't too happy to relive the result. But it is an excellent way to bring together several threads within the novel. Further, I really appreciated the tour of Florida, provided by Serge at a lightening pace. Especially since I am familiar with a few of his stops. But I don't think that many people take the tour quite as fast or with Serge's addicted companions - those were laugh out loud moments.
I will be adding Dorsey to my wait list at the library, this is an author that I want to continue to read. And this was an excellent first novel, and a great start to a series (yes, Dorsey has written other novels with Serge).
Technorati tag: book review
Comment posted by Duffbert02/14/2007 11:45:17 PM
Homepage: http://www.twduff.com
I'm glad you found Dorsey... Another one of the "South Florida" genre writers that weaves a wacky tale. In fact, I was just at the bookstore this evening and saw he had a new one out (as well as one I missed prior to it).
It's off to the library website to put those titles on hold...
Comment posted by Gregg Eldred02/15/2007 10:56:28 AM
Homepage: http://www.ns-tech.com/blog/geldred.nsf
@Tom: It was nice to talk about books at the party. And this was a very nice "find." One thing that I like about finding a new author, especially one like Dorsey, that has quite a few novels, is that I now have a nice list of books to read.
Comment posted by Jerry Glover03/22/2007 11:29:49 PM
Homepage: http://www.jerryglover.com
Hey Gregg, just caught your comment at Duffbert's. Dorsey is on of several talented AU authors and creatives (we have a couple of cartoonists too). See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auburn_University#Graduates
Comment posted by Gregg Eldred03/23/2007 10:38:49 AM
Homepage: http://www.ns-tech.com/blog/geldred.nsf
@Jerry - Thanks for the link. But they seem to missing "Jerry Glover." What's up with that?
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