Squeeze Me: A novel

Skink may be getting along in years, but his is just as unpredictable as always. Oddly, there is one thing that you can always predict about him. His character.

I would have given this book a five-star review, but the snide political commentary was so heavy-handed that I’ve been forced to give it a demerit. For those unfamiliar with Hiaasen’s work, he’s a talented and skilled satirist who works from the far-left side of the American political spectrum. Which is fine until he lets it get in the way of his wonderfully absurdist stories.This one is set in a wonderland version of Palm Beach, Florida. Its protagonist is Angie Armstrong, a reformed veterinarian cum game warden cum ex-con cum wildlife wrangler. But the real stars of the show are the story’s bizarre collection of Floridians, caricatures all, including a roman à clef depiction of Donald Trump and his retinue.The plot is structured – I use the term loosely – around an outbreak of oversized Burmese pythons in the uber-wealthy community of Palm Beach. There are several creative murders and one death by reptile, and the pythons play a part in the climactic scene. But along the way Hiaasen lards the tale with enough political gloss to choke . . . well, a twenty-foot python. Which of course detracts from the story arc.An example? On page 314 of my paperback copy he uses the phrase, “groveling right-wing radio stooges,” to describe one class of the president’s sycophants. Okayyy . . . So how, exactly, does that advance the narrative?As a certified (certifiable?) constitutional, individual-freedom-loving conservatarian, I found all these little asides distracting. A liberal slant is fine, but hey, don’t screw up the story line!But still – I give this book a hearty thumbs up. Other than the gratuitous political asides, it’s well-written by a literate and very skilled craftsman and has enough laugh-out-loud scenes to make for outrageous fun. If you’re from the left side of the American political spectrum you’ll like its send-ups of the Trump movement and the idle rich. If you’re from the right side of the spectrum you’ll appreciate Hiaasen’s batty character depictions and satirical observations about the American scene as expressed in that nuthouse otherwise known as Florida.Buy this book. It’s funny as all get-out.

Laughed out loud as I read this. Great political satire.

The only way this story could be better is if it were true. Once again Carl Hiaasen writes smart, razor-tongued characters who can never be equaled.

Just introduced to Carl Hiasson’s adult books through Bad Monkey series on Apple TV. This book was recommended by a friend. Enjoyed the story but could have done with less of the political spin. It was still a fun read anyway!

I’ve read all of Carl Hiaasen’s adult fiction and many of his Miami Herald editorials. I enjoyed reading Squeeze Me, although I think the narrative warped from comedy into cartoonish or outlandish fable a little too often, mainly when featuring the ‘Mastadon.’ Although Mastodon supporters seemed to have trolled this review section, my take is that if the focus was mainly on Mockingbird and simply had Mastadon instigating the “No More Diegos” Twitter feed, that would have been enough for his character and it would have fit the narrative. I realize some readers may love all of those cartoonish jokes or scenes, yet some obviously objected to them all. My reasoning is that his real life already supplied those jokes if you read about his antics during his disgraceful treasonous and corrupt tenure in office. I thought the lead character, Angie, an animal retrieval specialist and Diego and the other characters were all good. It was cool to encounter Skink, again, who in this outing is purposeful, theatrical, a little menacing, and trying to make certain individuals think. Chapter twenty-four begins with a very cogent rumination concerning the frustration ecology-minded people have about nature conservancy and similar issues about our shared biosphere. Although this is clearly not Carl’s best book out there, it is not his worst. Scratch that, I guess it’s tied for worst place. It is not a good first book to check out this author, however, if you’re a fan I would say it’s worth reading. My initial reaction, beyond immediately adding it to my Kindle, was it’s so cool Carl is writing books for adult readers again. I hope his next book will focus more on plot and less on cartoonish nonsense. I also enjoyed several of the (subtle) shout-outs to John D. MacDonald and Warren Zevon and even… Kafka. And the answer to chapter 24 is that people are heroes in their own way, sometimes we pitch in and do small things to help out, but when there are more and more people helping out, I believe that is the key to how we save our planet. Teddy Roosevelt was also shouted out to in the narrative. It’s wise to recall that he took action because John Muir had Teddy’s ear long enough to suggest the idea of preserving lands and natural resources for future generations. Immediately, around the world, other nations likewise created national parks and state or provincial parks and protected lands. It proves the notion that the USA must be a leader, not a follower, in these types of actions. We do, in fact, need writers and artists and activists to kickstart us into action. On that level the book is cool.

I love this book--so much so that I read it in two days! Lots of subplots that are interwoven to its inevitable conclusion. This is the second book by Carl Hiaasen that I've read in which an animal (in this book, it's Burmese Pythons!) plays an integral role in the story line. Lots of interesting humans, as well.

Funny and exciting book a great read set in Florida

Just very damn funny. The book is delicious in its take-down of a fictional president code-named Mastodon and the Florida White House called Casa Bellicosa. This is my first taste of Carl Hiassen's writing and I'll be reading more for sure.

I sometimes find it difficult to get the books I want to read at local bookstores or the local library. Therefore, although it is occasionally expensive, Amazon is a great alternative to find the books I want.

This was so good and funny - couldn’t put it down

I've read all of Carl Hiaasen's books and he has never disappointed, I couldn't put this one down, just like all the others. We even see the return of a much loved character that I thought, with the previous book, he had written him out.Hiaasen was a close friend of Warren Zevon, someone that I have all albums by and he quotes him towards the end of the book 'I'll see you in the next life, wake me up for meals'. I suspect that will by pass most readers.The character of Mastadon is a thinly disguised dig at Donald Trump, previous reviewers didn't like that. Not being an American I found it amusing. Can't wait for his next book.

Very disappointing like most of Hiassen's novels. I loved "Skin Tight" and because of that I bought several of his novels which I found way inferior, but then, hey, no writer can strike pure gold every time they write a book, can they? This one had very good reviews so I thought that maybe this time I would find something as good as "Skin Tight". Man was I in for a deep disappointment. Laugh out loud? Not a single time. I barely smiled throughout the novel. The way he pokes fun at Trump has zero originality or creativity and is so over the top that I found it pretty silly. As for the plot and twists not very credible. So, overall, it wasn't boring, but not worth wasting one's time on it. I'd rather re-read G.P. Wodehouse for a good laughter.