Lunatics

A Novel

By: Dave Barry, Alan Zweibel

Narrated by: Dave Barry, Mark Thompson, Sean Kenin, Orlagh Cassidy

Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

One of them is a best-selling, Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist. The other is a winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor. Together, they form the League of Comic Justice, battling evildoers in the name of... Okay, we made that line up. What they do form is a writing team of pure comic genius, and they will have you laughing like idiots.

Philip Horkman is a happy man - the owner of a pet store called The Wine Shop, and on Sundays a referee for kids' soccer. Jeffrey Peckerman is the sole sane person in a world filled with goddamned jerks and morons, and he's having a really bad day. The two of them are about to collide in a swiftly escalating series of events that will send them running for their lives, pursued by the police, soldiers, terrorists, subversives, bears, and a man dressed as Chuck E. Cheese.

Where that all takes them you can't begin to guess, but the literary journey there is a masterpiece of inspiration and mayhem. But what else would you expect from the League of Comic Justice?

©2012 Dave Barry (P)2011 Penguin Audio

mentioning Trump in your book did not age well

This was one of my favorite books. I recently listened to it again and I have to say mentioning Donald Trump in your book just did not age well. Your fictional Donald Trump is far too knowledgeable about politics compared to the real Donald Trump. I had to stop listening at that point.

Starts out great then sinks

I loved the beginning of this book. Heck, even the middle. I am adept at suspending belief and just going with a plot for the fun of it. But somewhere around the last third of this book, it got too over the top for me and ended up just plain silly. I did love the two narrators. That was fun. And I'll always be a Dave Barry fan no matter what.

If you want to try a Dave Barry novel, I'd recommend Insane City instead.

😆

love this. its absolutely hilarious. I laughed out loud through the whole thing. I could listen again and again

Zany.

Would you listen to Lunatics again? Why?

Definately! Another fun book from Dave Barry, and also Alan Zweibel. I don't think it's as good as some of his other novels, like "Big Trouble" but still good. And silly. And wacky. The story is completely unbelievable and yet weirdly possible, and full of the expected Dave Barry-ness-ish whimsy. I especially loved the low flow toilet rant. The narrators/authors clearly had a great time reading the book and I laughed my way all across the world with the characters as they got in deeper and deeper trouble, all because of a child's soccer game, a lemur, and a man dressed like Chuck E. Cheese.

Funny but the end?

Funny book, except for the last chapter, when they go into political bullshit and they use excessive foul language

This is funny -- like a train wreck

Dave Barry's Tricky Business is funny.

Lunatics,well, has a few moments.

Think of it as the worst moments of the Three Stooges, Moe constantly poking Curly and Larry in the eye. Hour after increasingly pianful hour.

It is easy to imagine how Barry & Zweibel wrote this book. Dave wrote something outrageous, Zweibel tries to top it. Each and every time the next chapter has to become ever more improbably humiliating to the characters. It isn't long until I wished the authors would do both in and move on to exploding whales.

Is it really funny that Phillip Horkman had to name his pet shop the Wine Shop because his in-laws, the Wines, funded it? How about an Islamic Terrorist dressed as Chuck E Cheese? Or a nun aboard a nudist cruise? Or the two idjits running against each other for President on the Democratic and Republic tickets?

Obviously, there's some folks who think this is funny. But if you're wanting to enjoy something that is LOL funny, go for Barry's Tricky Business, or any of Carl Hiaasen's works. In fact, begin with Hiaasen's first if you've not read it, and enjoy all 18. Weeks of great listening . . .

Guilty Pleasure

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. Tremendous fun.

Who was your favorite character and why?

There were really only 2, which is the point of the story.The interplay is very funny

What about Dave Barry’s performance did you like?

He "was" the character

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

I usually to not seek out "comedies", but this came as a recommendation from a friend as a good break from more "serious" content. I have to say that I laughed out loud more often than not. This is not high-brow humor, but the dialogue was hysterical. A pretty short book, which serves as a nice, fun interlude

Warning ! may cause uncontrollable laughter

If you could sum up Lunatics in three words, what would they be?

OH MY GOD!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Peckerman! I know this guy

What does Dave Barry bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Definitely the delivery! I have recommended this to several friends and told them to get the audio version! I am a voracious reader but this one MUST be heard,

If you could rename Lunatics, what would you call it?

and then I said....

Any additional comments?

Persons suffering from weak bladders should definitely exercise caution when listening to this audio! If you are listening while walking or riding public transportation you will definitely find people moving away from you...which may be a good thing..I'm just saying...

Very entertaining unless you don’t like swear words

This Is a fast-paced and Funny listen. Don’t expect a lot of depth, just a series of madcap adventures that keep on flowing from one continent to the next.

Light reading, will make you laugh!

What did you love best about Lunatics?

The reader really made this funny. I don't know if it would haave been this funny from a book.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Lunatics?

Too many funny parts to pick one.

If you could take any character from Lunatics out to dinner, who would it be and why?

None of them.

Any additional comments?

I laughed from the beginning to the end of this book.