Tricky Business

By: Dave Barry

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

The Extravaganza of the Seas is a 5,000 ton cash cow, a top-heavy tub whose sole function is to carry gamblers three miles from the Florida coast, take their money, then bring them back so they can find more money. In the middle of a tropical storm one night, these characters are among the passengers it carries: Fay Benton, a single mom and cocktail waitress desperate for something to go right for once; Johnny and the Contusions, a ship's band with so little talent they are...well, the ship's band; Arnold and Phil, two refugees from the Beaux Arts Senior Center; Lou Tarant, a wide, bald man who has killed nine people, though none recently; and an assortment of uglies whose job it is to facilitate the ship's true business, which is money laundering or drug-smuggling or...something.

What happens to them all in the midst of the fiercest storm in years, the unpredictable ways in which this trip will change their lives and send them ricocheting off each other like a giant game of pinball, is the story of this astonishing, wickedly satisfying, all-too-human novel by, says Carl Hiaasen, "one of the funniest writers alive".

©2003 Dave Barry (P)2004 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Belying self-deprecating disclaimers about his talent for fiction, Barry demonstrates that he can draw some captivating characters and keep a reader's attention in spite of-or perhaps because of-slapstick antics and a fascination with scatology." ( Publishers Weekly

Gratuitous gore? C'mon Dave

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Yes, two things. First the sadistic conduct was not necessary. I understand this character was a bad man but I bought this book for the humor, not to have that degree of violence forced on me as I drove down the freeway. Second, it was very hard to track who was on which boat. I lost track until they got together and the typical Dave Barry chaos started

Would you ever listen to anything by Dave Barry again?

Probably, but I have to admit I swore off of him during this book and almost shut this book (and Dave) down

What about Dick Hill’s performance did you like?

I think Dick Hill is one of the best readers out there. I am surprised at his ability to come up with so many voices, including female voices. That was sure necessary here because Barry comes up with so many characters in this book

Was Tricky Business worth the listening time?

No, but I do enjoy how Barry brings everything together at the end.

Any additional comments?

Barry apologized for the profanity in his preface, but the profanity fit the characters and didn't bother me. Bad people don't day "Oh, fudge." But if there is this degree of graphic violence in his next book, I'm probably done with him

Did you want some waffles? I made some fresh.

This was a great book. I love the way Dave Barry takes a dozen different story lines and links them all together into a very satisfying ending. He has such great characters. You find that you know many of these characters in your own life and you feel about the ones in the book the same way you feel about the ones that live down the block from you (or down the hall from you). You don't know why he may focus on a character the first time he brings them up, but by the end you know the story wouldn't have been the same without them. Now hurry up and download it because your waffles are getting cold and I'd hate to have them go to waste.

Good title of an audiobook suitable genre

A light action/comedy story that's ideal for audio books. The story doesn't always require your full concentration and still remains interesting and entertaining.
I thought the narrator performed fairly well, given such a diverse range of character types.

Laugh out loud hilarious!

Once again Barry created exceptional characters and a confluence of events to create the perfect storm. Dick Hill’s narration nails it again. If only trump were in the conch shell. That would have made for a perfect ending.

Rollicking

Where does Tricky Business rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The story was full of cliches, but that mostly made it was laugh out loud funny and it certainly kept moving.

Would you recommend Tricky Business to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes. There is some squeamish humor when people are barfing on the boat. It's funny, but it's so vivid, the faint at heart should be warned!

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

The narrator had a variety of voices that was entertaining. However, I had a problem with his characterization of the 2 old men speaking with heavy Jewish/Yiddish accents, like something out of Vaudeville. That might have been indicated in the text, but it hit me as playing to a stereotype and not believable. Maybe if the story had been set in the 1960's the men would have been the appropriate age to have come from Minsky Pinksy. But I had a hard time believing that 21st century Florida retirees, even if they were in their 90's would have been part of any emigration wave that would justify such thick accents after living 60 or 70 years in New Jersey.

Laughing out loud!

Great book. Very twisted plot and character interaction. Characters were so well developed you could just about picture them! Dick Hill of course did a great job. What's next Dave Barry?

Probably the funniest book I've ever read or heard

Dave Barry at his best! Barry is a master at the multiple, interweaving plotline, with believable yet hysterically funny and complicated characters. Listening to his novels usually leave me not only satisfied and exhausted (hey you people with dirty minds!) but also feeling wonderful about life. This is because not only are most of his characters optimistic even to the point of absurdity, but also because his books almost always end on a happy, upbeat note.

Somehow he's managed to involve: the owner of a small empire of cut-rate chain businesses, the mob, a 'has-been/wannabe' rock band, television newscasters, a pissant petty criminal, a variety of cocktail waitresses and casino workers plus the funniest two elderly gentlemen residents of a retirement home in a workable, complex and wildly funny plot. His characters are so well fleshed out that, when many of them reveal surprise elements to the story, the listener is as, if not more, surprised than the other characters! Barry is a Miami resident, and I don't know if the city and its environs are as strange as he portrays them, or even 10% as funny as he makes it, but if I worked for the Florida Tourism Board I would try to incorporate his paradoxically inviting humor into my game plan.

In addition, Dick Hill does a fabulous job as narrator! Some people have a hard time portraying people of the opposite gender, but Hill makes it work. He realistically imitates the accents and voices of the characters so ingeniously that listeners can even tell the difference between two retired nursing home residents from the New York City metro area. You almost wonder if the two collaborated on the work - the combination is that good.

Prepare yourself. Make sure you don't drink any water before you listen to it, and go to the bathroom before you start. (Don't want any accidents, do we?) Schedule out enough time to listen to it so that you can realistically either listen to it in one go if necessary (my daughter and I did it driving from - where else - Florida to Iowa).

A Lot of Fun

This has got to be one of the funniest and entertaining books I've heard. Couple Dave Barry's story with Dick Hill's narration, and you have a complete package. Both were excellent. To my surprise, the story takes a more serious turn with the culmination of characters in the final quarter of the book, but Barry is able to inject his humor keeping the book fun. And did I mention that Dick Hill is an excellent reader? The book might not make you think about the world, but you'll find yourself laughing even when you're not listening to the book, quoting lines such as, "Play the song about the guy, you know, with the car."

Whacky Fun.

Cretinous goons? Yep, they're here. Serial slackers? Check. Snarky Q-Tip seniors? Check. A touch of smut? Check? A mix of neurotics, lunatics, and assorted psychotics? Check. And a manic collection of nutjob heroes? Well, check again.

"Tricky Business" is about a sea-going voyage-to-nowhere adventure of one mucilaginous mass of what Florida mutates around its edges. Oh, and it's laugh-out-loud Dave Barry told with the understated timing of Dick Hill.

Hilarious tale of an unfortunate plan

Actually loled many times while listening to this performance, and this caused many strange looks from people around me. Narrator does an amazing job with the multitude of voices - each one distinct and full of character. Highly recommend this one, and I will listen again.