Dave Barry

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Big Trouble

In his introduction, Barry says this book falls into the genre known as the "Bunch of South Florida Wackos" genre. Another apt description I've heard is "It's pretty much the same sort of stuff he writes in his columns." Big Trouble is a little edgier, but otherwise if you've read Dave Barry's syndicated humor column (and who hasn't? If nothing else, you ought to read his collection Dave Barry Talks Back), then you basically know what you're going to get here.

The plot of Big Trouble, essentially, is this: Assassins are trying to kill Arthur Herk. Meanwhile, former newspaperman Eliot Arnold's son is trying to "kill" (using a squirt gun) Herk's stepdaughter Jenny. Meanwhile, professional bum Puggy has been hired to carry equipment owned by (unknown to him) two Russian bar-owning arms dealers. Two other, less likeable professional bums names Snake and Eddie decide to get revenge on Puggy and the Russians, which lands everyone in what the title describes.

In other words, the plot involves stupid people acting stupid, teenagers acting awkward, adults acting either stupid or awkward (or both), and all the smart people either trying to clean things up, or trying to get as far away from the action as possible.

All of this takes place in Miami, and Barry goes to great pains to explain how all of this is perfectly normal (more or less) for that area.

But, despite the pair of jaws on the cover, no alligators show up during the course of the book. We do encounter a stupid dog, a snake, and several goats along the way, however.

Big Trouble has a few laugh-out-loud moments, but nothing as funny as Barry's best columns. It's not a bad book, but it's not a particularly notable book. It reads quickly, and will doubtless be forgotten equally quickly. You could do worse if you need something to do on a medium-length plane flight.