Carl Hiaasen is back with another brilliantly funny Florida romp in Fever Beach. Packed with his trademark mix of eccentric characters and biting humor, this wild ride tackles American politics and social issues with the perfect blend of satire and thrills. Expect mystery, mayhem, and plenty of laughs as Hiaasen skewers extremism and corruption under the Florida sun.
Tricia Ford: Your storylines and characters are laugh-out-loud funny. You’re one of a fairly short list of writers whose books literally make listening in public slightly uncomfortable because all the head-turning laughter draws attention. And then there is the satire—it’s cutting and hysterical.
Carl Hiaasen: The narrative voice in the novels is the same one that's playing most of the time in my brain, which sometimes is a little scary. For better or worse, I don't have any other way to tell a story except through that kind of satirical, angry lens.
Do you think the people you're writing about, or the “real life” people they are based on, get it? Do they know you are talking about them?
Usually I'm not writing about one particular person, but a particular type. And they don't tend to be self-aware, so they rarely recognize themselves as characters in the novels. If they ever do, I don't hear from them.
What is the lesson you'd like “Florida-man” types to take away from your stories?
It's a bad idea for novelists to present their works as life lessons about anything. We don't traffic in wisdom and sober perspectives. For me, personally, it's just gratifying to know that readers are laughing at my books for the right reasons—because they get what I'm trying to say. They're in on it.
What can the rest of us learn to help us deal with the "Florida men" in our lives?
Find a reliable pharmacist and then stay on your meds.
Speaking of bawdy humor and sarcasm: Do you think the younger generation “gets it”? Are people in general losing their sense of humor, and can listening to stories like Fever Beach help the younger generation cultivate a better appreciation of sarcasm?
Look, it's a tough time to be young right now, and it's a tough time to be old. Lots of people are afraid that our democracy is unraveling—but that's the worst time to go silent. Everybody needs to laugh, even in the face of a constitutional upheaval. Without humor as a weapon, we really are in deep trouble.
What do you wish the human race would do to help protect our natural environments?
Last time I checked, the political leaders of the human race weren't all on the same page when it comes to environmental reforms. It's naive to expect a poor, starving nation to shut down all its coal-burning plants. On the other hand, it's obscene that the world's richest country—the United States—is still freely poisoning the air and water of its citizens. Each new generation ought to be angry, and fight harder, than the last.
What’s your favorite thing about Florida?
The best thing about Florida is that there are still a few places to go where you won't lay eyes on another human the whole day. The mosquitos greet you like fresh meat, but the view is worth it.
