Category: book Nook
Strip tease by Carl Hiaasen
Book Number:RC 37185
3 sound cassettes
Congressman David Dilbeck has a bad problem. "I should never," he says, "be around naked women." But he just can't stay away. And late one night, at a gaudy Fort Lauderdale strip joint, Dilbeck loses control. He leaps onto the stage with the performers and proceeds to demonstrate his affections in a most unconventional way. The congressman barely escapes the scene, but not before being recognized by an odd little customer known as Mr. Peepers - an unlikely blackmailer, but (it turns out) a cunning one. To save himself from an election-year sex scandal, David Dilbeck desperately turns to Malcolm "Moldy" Moldowsky, a devious and cold-blooded political fixer. It is Moldy's mission to protect the congressman's reputation, shaky as it might be, and soon the stakes are murderously high. Meanwhile, the lust-struck Dilbeck secretly pursues the current woman of his dreams, a formidable nude dancer named Erin Grant. She has her own special plans for the wayward politician. The chase leads from the staid corridors of Congress to the sweltering cane fields of Lake Okeechobee, from a topless wrestling pit to a sunken Guatemalan banana boat. It's a manically inventive and suspenseful tale that resonates with the furious intelligence, merciless characterization and savage good humor that we've come to expect from Carl Hiaasen. "He is so good," says Donald Westlake, "he ought to be illegal." In Strip Tease, Hiaasen is better than ever. Strong language, violence, and descriptions of sex. Bestseller.
The above description of "Srip Tease" came from the web site. Below is part of an interview that Hiaasen gave after the movie release of Strip Tease. I enjoyed this one as much as the others. I do agree with his comments on the use of the narrative voice in books. I give it a 5 out of 5.
Happy reading,
Carla/TexasRed
Q. What did you think of the movie version of STRIP TEASE?
I think it proves how difficult it is to adapt a satirical novel to film. Andy Bergman, who wrote and directed the movie, was ferociously loyal to the plot of the book, except for the ending. The problem with STRIP TEASE and all my novels is that while there are cinematic moments and appealing characters, the deadpan tone of the humor is sustained by the narrative voice. Unfortunately, most movies don't have a narrative voice because they don't have a narrator. It was a tough assignment: Make a funny movie about a woman who's had her only child snatched away by a convicted felon. I didn't envy Andy, or any of the other screenwriters who've done scripts of my books. As for the experience itself, it was completely painless, especially when the check cleared. I was only on the film set briefly, but everybody was friendly -- Demi Moore, Burt Reynolds, everybody. A guy I liked very much was Ving Rhames, whom I thought made the perfect "Shad."
Hmmmmmmm, I'll look in to it.