Nature Girl

By: Carl Hiaasen

Narrated by: Lee Adams

Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

Honey Santana, impassioned, willful, possibly bipolar, self-proclaimed "queen of lost causes", has a scheme to help rid the world of irresponsibility, indifference, and dinnertime sales calls. She's taking rude, gullible Relentless, Inc., telemarketer Boyd Shreave and his less-than-enthusiastic mistress, Eugenie, into the wilderness of Florida's Ten Thousand Islands for a gentle lesson in civility.

What she doesn't know is that she's being followed by her Honey-obsessed former employer, Piejack. And he doesn't know he's being followed by Honey's still-smitten, former-drug-running ex-husband, Perry, and their wise-and-protective-way-beyond-his-years 12-year-old son, Fry. And when they all pull up on Dismal Key, they don't know they're intruding on Sammy Tigertail, a half white-half Seminole failed alligator wrestler, trying like hell to be a hermit despite the Florida State coed who's dying to be his hostage.

©2006 Carl Hiaasen (P)2006 Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Old fans and newcomers alike should delight in Hiaasen's 11th novel, another hilarious Florida romp [with an] engaging and diverse screwball cast...Hiaasen's humorous touches and his all-too-human characters carry the book to its satisfying close." (Publishers Weekly)

Hiaasen is always a hoot

Not his best but not bad. Funny with the typical odd characters.

Loved it

I loved this book. I found myself wondering multiple times as I listened how he was going to bring it all together. His characters are so quirky, but lovable, (except Piejack). I laughed out loud often, which got me some weird looks as I was on the treadmill at the gym! Great escapist listening .

Another winner for Hiassen

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

Yes I recommend this to anyone who enjoys Hiassen's off colored comedy. Smart read, compelling story, quirky characters.

What did you like best about this story?

I like when the bad guys get their comeupins.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book made me laugh but brings to light the long, sad death of the earth.

funny parts

nature girl is entertaining, and Honey is a great character. Overall, I didn't think this one was as good as Skinny Dip, which had me in stitches.

Throws an 11..

What makes Hiaasen such a wonderful writer? Absurdity, main characters that are flawed but decent, incongruous minor characters, and entertaining plots are the reason I read him. The problem is that after fifteen years of what started as new bizarre type of writing now sounds almost normal. Hiaasen’s obsession with replacing hands with other objects continues here; but alas, it is weak and never really helps the story. Hiaasen is actually too sane to portray Honey as crazy. Honey acts and reacts rationally through out the book. The plot is very weak with too many characters, none of which are very powerfully drawn.

The book does has its good moments, the fire ants paragraph and the obsessed Lilly. Nonetheless, Hiaasen has fallen victim to his own success. Buy it, and enjoy a few hours of fun; it is well worth some smiles, but contains none of the outright belly laughs of his earlier books. Also remember that Hiaasen at 3 is better than most writers at 5.

Entertaining

I enjoy Carl Hiassen's odd characters and the entertaining way that he alerts readers to the the abuses by money grubbers of nature, but this time, I found it all very predictable (this is my 3rd Hiassen novel). It is clever, well narrated, and gives some food for thought among the absurdity of it all. Good, but not the best.

Fave so far

I've read many of Hiaasen's works and this, so far, is my favorite. I just identified too much (scary) with Honey. I understood how close we all are to that nervous breakdown. So, if you want to listen to a tale of crazy-inspired revenge, life altering decisions, and some warm and humorous romance spend the credit on this one!

Just OK

Let's face it - Carl Hiaasen is a very funny writer and a good writer as well and this book starts out both good and funny, with lots of laugh out loud quips.....and then....

well...somewhere in the middle it loses itself and starts to drag and seems to go nowhere.
It's not a bad book, just certainly not up there with his best- "Skinny Dip" !
By the middle of the book I just didn't seem to care much about the characters or how they ended up...but, that being said.....I'd continue to read anything Carl Hiaasen writes because I am a big fan of his wit & writing style.

I love this book

This book speaks to me. I just love it. I've read it several times.

One of Hiaasen's Best

The characters and the story are absurdly perfect and so, so funny. Loved every minute.