Saturday, November 24, 2012

Lunatics, (Conclusion)

CJ:  Thank you Amazon.com for having this one on your recommendations for me!

FM:  Years ago, I would sometimes finish a book and say something like, “Wow, that would make a great movie!”  Now, it’s hard to find a good book that hasn’t been made into a movie.  More and more, it seems that authors write books with an eye toward getting it cinematized, because that’s where the real money is in writing books.  “Lunatics” has that made-for-movies feel.  Enter Donald Trump!  Cameo appearances; brief guest roles in movies and even TV shows; are not at all unusual these days.  This role for Trump is a bit more than a cameo, but I would wager that he would be up for it if it were offered to him!  His casual offering of a million dollars apiece to our heroes if they will endorse him, his expectations of his entourage of yes-men and yes-women who gasp when Peckerman calls him “Donny boy,” and his general demeanor throughout a rather lengthy scene are all designed to create an image that is consistent with (though decidedly NOT flattering to!) the public persona he has evoked.  This “realism,” if you will, in no way detracts from the humor, however; if anything, it amplifies it. 

CJ:  As usual I'm a slow reader! But honestly I could only deal with this book in small doses. It is so funny that I had to stop frequently to breathe! I can't remember when I laughed so much except maybe when I read my last Dave Barry book about 20 years ago.

FM:  And speaking of book-to-movie deals; what about that title? Movie-makers have been known to take even a classic and change the title for the movie.  (Have you seen “Blade Runner”?  It’s a pretty faithful rendition – a classic in its own right - of Philip K. Dick’s sci-fi masterpiece “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”)  For some reason, I’m a little disappointed by the fact that the title didn't show the same ingenuity as the story, which keeps us hurtling forward through an almost bewildering sequence of scenes.

CJ:  Every chapter has a new twist that only can be thought up by writers watching some pretty boring news & smoking some pretty good weed! Bits and pieces were predictable, but overall the journey from the soccer field to...the soccer field was good old fashioned gut busting hilarious! 

FM:  I rarely read comedic books, and whenever I do, I wonder why it’s so seldom.  (The same is true with biographies, as I stated a few months ago with a different book.)  Thanks again to CJ, who recommended this one!  In fact, I’m ready to read another comedic book next month, from an author I admire but haven’t read in a very long time, Joan Hess.  And since it’s our December book, I’m proposing one of her seasonal mysteries, “A Holly Jolly Murder.”  Enjoy!
 
CJ:  I’m ready to be introduced to a new author on my bookshelf!
 




Our book for December will be "A Holly, Jolly Murder" by Joan Hess! Copies should be easy to find at your library or used book store.  Note: the starting date for this book would presumeably be December 1st, so we'll skip a week and open for comments on December 7th.  See you then!

Friday, November 16, 2012

Lunatics, (Chapters 33-46)

In this third quarter of the book, the action slows down just enough to accommodate a more complicated plot sequence.  It’s almost a relief when, for instance, both of the main characters go off on a tangent about their previous experiences on camera.  Unlike the moments when reading, say, The Brothers Karamazov, we think to the author, “Come on, get back the story already!” these asides continue to be humorously engaging and even closely connected with the action at hand; not at all distracting. 

The extremely unlikely plot twists and improbable accidents of fate that keep the story moving forward (and keep our heroes alive!) are not believable – they aren’t supposed to be!  They play a large part in maintaining the farcical quality of this impressive work.  Will there be readers who are put off by that?  Probably.  They will simply be missing the point.  No matter where the wildly veering zigzag plot leads us, this aura of a Farce (capital F) remains remarkably consistent.  This is harder to do, as a writer, than many might realize. 

Having pointed that out, there is still the pervasive feeling here that the authors are improvising.  In one of the Indiana Jones movies, Jones and company are in a very tight spot when he is asked, “Okay, what’s the plan?”  He answers, “Plan?  I’m making this up as I go!”  When Barry and Zweibel were writing the section early on in the story about the events on the Washington Bridge when the “Lunatics” were first thought to be terrorists, did they already have in mind the idea that our heroes would go on to accidentally solve some of the world’s most pressing international problems?  Or were the authors just “making it up as they go?”  I suspect the latter, though I wouldn’t be much surprised if that’s not the case. 

The addition of the special chapters depicting the news coverage which begins well into the book is a smart move.  We get a sense of how the events are being perceived by the world, and the routine of alternating first-person narratives is given some relief.  The newscasters involved in these exchanges keep making a point of using each other’s first names, just as real newscasters do; as if they’re close buddies in real life who routinely have drinks together after work.  It’s hard to tell whether the authors are poking fun at this or just using it to add realism. 
 
In one of the newscasts, an announcer mentions that there are already plans to make the story of these two Lunatics into a movie.  They even disclose the fact that top-draw actors have already been approached to play the two men:  George Clooney as Horkman and Brad Pitt as Peckerman!  I greatly admire both of these actors, and while I have no doubt that they could play these roles admirably, they wouldn’t be anyone’s first choice (I could be wrong!) to play these two particular gentlemen.  I have mentioned before that I like to mentally “cast” people (sometimes famous actors, occasionally acquaintances of mine) in the main roles early on in a book I’m reading, as it heightens the visual impact of a story for me.  If you want to know who my picks were for these roles, just message me!



Our book for December will be "A Holly, Jolly Murder" by Joan  Hess!  Copies should be easy to find at your library or used book store.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Lunatics, (Chapters 17-32)


FM:  The plot of this amazing story continues to whiz by almost faster than it can be assimilated! I have read a few science fiction short stories and even novels that come close to this velocity, but I believe this story sets the record for me. It does slow down ever so slightly to introduce us to a new key character or three, but then accelerates again in a sequence of events so unlikely and bizarre that we have no time to even consider whether to suspend our disbelief. We just go with the flow because it’s so much fun! 

CJ:  I'm a little behind on my reading, but I honestly can't read more than 3-4 chapters of this a day. It is so gut busting funny that my cheeks hurt from laughing! 

FM:  As rare as it is that I actually laugh out loud at something I'm reading, my dogs kept wondering over and over if I was trying to get their attention!  The main source of out-loud chuckles still comes from the left-handed humor and witty turns of phrase that Dave Barry is famous for. Yet there is a difference in this humor between the two main characters, with the relatively cultured Philip employing a more subtle or understated delivery. Jeffrey’s delivery, on the other hand, relies somewhat on colorful expletives, much as Richard Pryor compared to Jay Leno. Again the question arises; is this difference a reflection of the styles of the two co-authors? I still have my doubts. Maybe I’m giving them too much credit, but I think it’s just good character development.  

CJ:  The banter back and forth between the two … umm, I think they are both antagonists ... reminds me of a chapter by chapter blow in a courtroom. I can almost imagine that the finale will be a judge passing sentence on the two main characters for their part in terrorizing Manhattan! 

FM:  "Antogonists" seems to be the right description, though the irony here is that they are "antagonistic protagonists," if you will.   In comparison, the appallingly mercenary attitude of a new character, Sharisse Fricker, could only be considered humorous in a farce such as this.  The fact that Sharisse’s well-planned scheme backfired on her is, of course, cosmic justice at its finest. The revolutionaries take for granted that the extorted money was destined to fall into their hands; the bizarre turn of events seems to make it clear to them that this is indeed the case. Our "heroes" maintain just enough presence of mind at just the right moments to go along with the misunderstandings, and the revolutionaries willingly misunderstand their motives and slips of the tongue just often enough to keep them from getting suspicious. All of this is as beautifully choreographed into the plot and dialog as in the very best of humor writing.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Lunatics, (Chapters 1-16)

I have long been an admirer of Dave Barry and his signature style of humor.  This book is full of his amazing wit, though necessarily tempered by a nicely developed plotting and writing style which, presumably, can be attributed to his co-author, Alan Zweibel.  I say “necessarily” because, like a too-rich dessert, Barry’s humor can be cloying in large doses.  His short essay-like expositions found in the newspaper are the perfect length.  Reading more than five of those in a row is simply too much of a good thing. 

In smaller doses, though, his humor has an appealing Mad-magazine-on-steroids zing that takes his readers by surprise and has us laughing out loud before we realize we’re going to.  Compact quips, such as in this book, describing a very angry man thusly, “His face turned the color of Hawaiian Punch,” are Berry’s stock in trade, and perfect for a fast-paced, tightly plotted novel such as this. 

The pace is surprisingly brisk, with the action unfolding almost faster than we can keep up.  But we don’t get the idea that this is done to disguise the fact that the story is short on substance.  In fact, there is an abundance of social commentary here, about racism, husband/wife relationships, environmentalism, and much more.  The balance between depth and pace is very impressive, but there’s no time to savor it; the book almost demands a re-reading, even at the first quarter mark. 

Pausing to catch your breath, one realizes, for instance, that this is a fascinating study in collaborative writing.  One can’t help but wonder about the process that the authors used to bring this result about.  Was it entirely a brain-storming session, with the ideas coming fast and furious?  Did they take turns, passing the manuscript back and forth, refining one another’s ideas over a longer period of time?  Did they spend as much time laughing at each other’s wackiness as we would have if we had watched the process in action?  Whatever approach they eventually hit upon, whether sooner or later, it works magnificently! 

It is tempting to assume, because the chapters alternate exactly one-to-one between the two very different main characters, that each author took a character to represent and took turns writing the chapters.  But even if the authors began with this idea, there seems to be too much consistency of style from chapter to chapter.  Yes, they could have gone over it after the fact and eliminated the rough edges that might have resulted; and yet, my instinct tells me it wasn’t that cut and dried.  One character cusses like a sailor (even though his wife admonishes him to watch his language in front of their daughter) and the other apologizes for a slightly off-color phrase.  The characters are each very consistent in their personalities; yet I hear Dave Barry’s “voice” throughout, as well as a strong counter-voice that rings true page by page.  And I expect this will prove to be a consistent aspect throughout the book.



Next segment, Chapters 17-32