Swamp Story

A Novel

De: Dave Barry

Narrado por: Dave Barry

Pulitzer Prize–winning and New York Times bestselling author—and actual Florida Man—Dave Barry returns with a “hilariously funny” (Steve Martin) caper full of oddballs and more twists and turns than a snake slithering away from a gator.

Jesse Braddock is trapped in a tiny cabin deep in the Everglades with her infant daughter and her ex-boyfriend, a wannabe reality TV star who turned out to be a lot prettier on the outside than on the inside. Broke and desperate for a way out, Jesse stumbles across a long-lost treasure, which could solve all her problems—if she can figure out how to keep it. The problem is some very bad men are also looking for the treasure, and they know Jesse has it.

Meanwhile, Ken Bortle of Bortle Brothers Bait and Beer has hatched a scheme to lure tourists to his failing store by making viral videos of the “Everglades Melon Monster.” The Monster is, in fact, an unemployed alcoholic newspaperman named Phil wearing a Dora the Explorer costume head. Incredibly, this plan actually works, inspiring a horde of TikTokers to swarm into the swamp in search of the Monster at the same time villains are on the hunt for Jesse’s treasure. Amid this mayhem, a presidential hopeful arrives in the Everglades to start his campaign. Needless to say, it does not go as planned. In fact, nothing in this story goes as planned. This is, after all, Florida.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Dave Barry. All rights reserved. (P)2023 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Just what I needed —-

A silly Lil Abner-style-escape. That is, if Lil Abner lived in So Fla and not in mid century Sunday comics.

Funny and engaging

I saw Dave Barry’s interview on Sunday Morning and figured what the heck “I’ll get this audio book” and I’m glad I did. It kept my attention and gave me a few chuckles on the way to and from work.

It Twisted My “Mellon”, Man

Barry’s humour is as natural as ever and never comes off ham fisted. The novel had a great pace overall and the entire cast of characters made me smile chapter after chapter. Glory be to all the Glades men that inspired this highly entertaining romp.

Ridiculousness at its finest!

I stumbled upon this when I needed something to read and it was available. I got
it from the library. I loved it so I bought it on Audible. While Dave doesn't do different voices (which is a pet peeve of mine) I feel like his tone is perfect for the book, also he clarifies who is speaking so even without a specific voice for that person it is obvious who is talking. This story is ridiculous, but as is mentioned in the book a few times, "it is Florida". So the book is explaining why it is such a ridiculous story. Also the story is clearly poking fun at social media and how things become viral and sensations. The story is crazy and I love it. I will listen to it again knowing what is going to happen. I will get mad at the jerks, cry at the sweet moments, laugh at the funny bits, and rejoice when good things happen. It is a fun read!!

A lot of fun!

It was a ridiculous story with some ridiculous characters but very funny and engaging. It kept me listening from start to finish and was very entertaining.

Florida Anyone?

Absolutely hilarious and crazy story. I found myself laughing throughout at the sheer stupidity of the characters.

A Very Enjoyable Florida Tale

Swamp Story is a perfect blend of Florida type nonsense and Dave Barry humor. The story has characters on par with Hiaasen's best, and his influence is clearly felt. The story has some drama, but never takes itself too seriously.

The performance is quite good. Sometimes the author reading their own work doesn't pan out. Barry has been in the limelight before, and is actually a great choice to deliver the proper flow, tone, and pace to the reading of the book.

Highly recommended.

Dave Barry is a very funny guy

The narration is spot on. The story is pure Miami Herald humor writer Florida, fleshed out into a fun extended narrative. No one other than Hiasson and Barry comprehend the people and world of Fla like these guys

Bear with me! And keep your shirt on! Holy F#@%!

Dave Barry is such a funny guy that I don’t believe he needed to fill this book with obscenities. (Hence only 4 stars.) Yes, in real life these types of characters would cuss. But this is a novel, not real life. I would’ve found it just as funny without the foul language. And if this book were real life, the characters would’ve been air lifted away by Everglades mosquitoes! I know. I’ve been there!

If you can stand to listen to the cussing (which is worse in the beginning of the book), this is a great story that is both clever and very funny.

That having been said, the book is a wacky story about several idiots who want to make money by creating and sensationalizing a fake Everglades monster (cryptid). What stood out most is the idiocy of the popularity social media and the news media can generate surrounding worthless ideas. The book makes fun of that. I loved that part of it!

But I would’ve loved it more without all the cussing.

And that having been said, this story has everything: Eastern European villains, alligators, criminals, buried treasure, a crooked lawyer, social media fanatics, an emotional support boar (yes, you read that right), a pregnant Burmese python, muscle men, drunkards and druggies, car and atv chases, incompetent politicians, Florida state troopers, a fake swamp monster, loan sharks, murders, news reporters, a nice guy, a little baby, and a romance, to name a few.

This review was brought to you by Bortle Brothers Bait and Beer.
(If you listen to the book, you will appreciate this review much more!)

Amazing!

I don’t often leave reviews but this story is too good not to share. Gonna listen to it again to hear everything I missed while laughing.