Native Tongue

By: Carl Hiaasen

Narrated by: George Wilson

Length: 15 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Ex-reporter Joe Winder had been working in the public relations department of a sleazy family entertainment park, The Amazing Kingdom of Thrills, when he chanced upon a news-breaking story inspired by the disappearance of two blue-tongued voles and the bizarre death of Orky, the killer whale.

©1991 Carl Hiaasen (P)1992 Recorded Books

Very fun.

Hilarious. Tight. Easy to follow. Weill read . In the vein of the monkey wrench gang but more comedic

How does the narrator do it?

How can anyone read a Carl Hiaasen book out loud without laughing insanely! Yet, inspite of the over the top hysterical attributes of his books, there is a serious underlying message about what is being done to damage our natural resources. A great read or listen.

Hiaasen makes me laugh out loud

Having read or listened to many of Hiaasen's works, this one was about what I expected. Funny characters, funny situations, funny dialogue and funny outcomes. What I liked about this book is he made equal fun of developers and environmentalists. He even made me laugh at my own PR profession. If this were the only book that Hiaasen ever wrote, it probably would have earned five stars. But his books are like songs by the BeeGees; they're different but they sound the same. And if you like one, you'll probably like them all.

Makes the miles fly by.

Great listen when on a long trip. Typically strange Hiaasen characters. Great story. Lots of fun to hear. Wilson does a good job telling the story.

Hiaasen at his best!

So thrilled to find a “new” title from my favorite Florida author! So funny, so true!

Met expectations

Where does Native Tongue rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Compared to other audio books this was good - not great. The pacing felt a bit slow - although the narration suited the pace of the story so I can't blame the reader.

Any additional comments?

It was well read, and as it progressed the story became more engaging. Towards the end I laughed out loud at a few points. Overall, I'd recommend the book and urge patience as you wait for the story to kick into gear. The narrator did a great job.

What A Trip

A Florida fantasy worth reading. I laughed aloud. Unusual for an audio book. Hiassen is the perfect Florida satirist. Banned in Florida. A badge of merit.

Typical Hiaasen wryness throughout.

Great characters as per usual with Hiaasen. Maybe could have used a little editing to tighten up the flow of the story.

Decent, but not as humorous as I expected...

Carl Hiaasen's writing makes me think of Dave Barry, whose books I LOVE to read. This was a pretty funny book - although Barry's books are a bit funnier to me. Considering the location of the book and the location of the author, as well as the very similar writing style, I believe that Hiaasen and Barry MUST know each other, actually. Anyway - I digress - the plot was incredibly complicated, but it wasn't too hard to follow, and the multitude of characters were all well-developed. As a main character, I couldn't really decide if I liked Joe Winder or not; he was a person that I don't think I'd want to be friends with. Additionally, I can handle the crass language in this book, but would certainly prefer much cleaner dialogue. I did feel that the story dragged a little bit in places, and I HATED how Hiaasen refers to the main character as Joe Winder...every single time he says his name. As if the book was filled with 27 characters named Joe. He was the only one! I started thinking of his name as Joewinder. Overall, interesting and somewhat amusing. I may or may not read other books by this author.

Great..but not Hiassen's best

Loved the premise and story but sometimes it meanders around and around the same points.... However still happy to hear another Skink story. In this book we get more info about his origins and background. Narrator was excellent! Fun read!