Insane City by Dave Barry

Insane City Reviews

• 
  Mitch Albom

  Had me rolling-- it could only happen in Florida!
• 
  Robert

  
  Dave Barry and
  Carl Hiaasen need to have a love child. I’ll let the medical professionals work out the logistics, and Congress appropriate the funds. But as a lover of satire and humor and all things bright, beautiful, and wonderful in the universe, this needs to happen. Now. INSANE CITY doesn’t even begin to describe the colossal aftermath of this potentially dystopian universe, but that’s the price you pay for greatness. Miami, we’re about to hit the mother lode. And the future never looked brighter, or bleaker, depending on whether or not you think the glass is half-full or half-empty.
  
  Since I look at the glass as half-full, I can’t help smiling ear to ear, laughing manically, tapping my chin, and pounding my desk in triumph, right before I smack my head and knock myself unconscious for about three hours. I’ll come to in a puddle of drool, possibly sucking my thumb, and steadfast in the belief that my name is Sally or Sarah or Roberta or maybe it’s Steve. No matter what happens, though, I’ll have thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
  
  If I were to sum up his first solo novel in more than 10 years, I’d say I’m thoroughly glad
  Dave Barry didn’t plan my bachelor party. This novel is batshit crazy, and only one step removed from certifiably insane. I laughed uproariously to the point that folks in Arizona probably wondered what the fuck was going on, and Texas citizens probably wanted to top the outstanding noise intrusion.
  
  If you like characters that are better off locked up in jail, shoved in the direction of the guillotine, or slipped the needle with copious amounts of an unidentifiable clear liquid that turns stars into rainbows and dogs into cats, then this book is definitely for you. There’s a douche tweeter, an orangutan who wants to mate with any human female in sight, bedroom divas, pompous assholes, bridal princesses, plastic surgery poster children, a flatulent stripper, a record executive turned spiritual healer who uses religion as a way to get laid, a groom posse, a married man with no ethical code when it comes to humping with the opposite sex, and a Haitian refugee. There’s enough pot to fuel the state of California for an entire year, and more humping songs and picture perfect porn than a dark lit theatre in the middle of the night. In other words, comedy, this is your paradise, and I was thrilled to be along for this wild ride, even if I did end up with whiplash, a broken nose, and a lump on the back of my head the size of a silver dollar.
  
  So if comedy is the elixir of the soul and the key to the fountain of youth, then this novel might add a few years to your life. Or then again, it might not, but either way it was an entertaining experience of which all humor lovers should partake.
  
  By the way, you need to leave sanity at the door and enter at your own risk. And if you want to have the wildest ride imaginable, you should totally have
  Dave Barry plan your bachelor party. I’m sure he’s more than willing to entertain offers.
  
  
  Cross-posted at Robert's Reads
• 
  Velma

  I farking ADORE Dave Barry. If he didn't live so far away, and if we weren't both already hitched, I'd certainly marry him. Or at least stalk him.
  
  Insane City is brilliant farce in the tradition of Carl Hiassen, who, I might add, heartily endorses his fellow Floridian comic genius. I believe that this hilarious novel is in reality a ghost-written explication of real-world examples of chaos theory and the butterfly effect, with Barry channeling Ian Malcolm. In other words, nothing is random.
  
  If you like funny, you must read this book.
  
  
  
  
  The book I read and reviewed here was an Advance Review Copy (ARC) provided to me by the publisher via my local Indie bookstore. I did not accept any payment in exchange for a review, and was in no way influenced to provide a positive review. I now consider my ass covered, FTC.
• 
  Jonathan K (Max Outlier)

  I'd heard of Dave since he'd written 30 books, received a Pulitzer for a commentary column in the Miami Herald and two of his novels were adapted to screen though this was the first time I'd read his work. And as I made my way through this over the top story, I couldn't help but think of the movie "Rat Race" which was equally zany!
  
  We meet Seth, an underachieving yet attractive guy who's about to marry Tina, the hot daughter of a billionaire. As Seth joins a Groom Posse at the airport lead by Marty, a wannabe attorney and two morons, we soon discover that trouble lies ahead once they land in Miami. Barry crafts a story filled with twists that begin once the groom party begins. Parallel to the wedding plot is the illegal arrival on a Miami beach of a Haitian family that include Laurette and two children. Drunk and disoriented Seth happens upon them and decides to harbor them in his Ritz Carlton room paid for my Tina's father.
  
  Meanwhile drunken debauchery leads to more trouble when Seth is separated from the posse and finds himself with Cyndi a hot girl he'd met at one of the bars. The posse manages to loose his luggage where the the wedding ring is stored. When he discovers it was dropped off outside an orangutan cage and a distant zoo, the fun begins!
  
  So say the plot thickens is an understatement due to pot laced brownies swallowed by billionaires, hilarious hijinks, chase scenes with the orangutan, efforts to dispose of the Haitians, pirate ships, oddball wedding advisors and more. If I included every scene, it would spoil the experience for the reader no less make this review too long.
  
  This is the kind of book that has you laugh out loud and would translate to screen with ease. Since humor is a favorite genre, this has been added to my Top Ten Best Humor stories and I plan to read a couple of his others.
• 
  Andy Marr

  Insane, indeed. And very funny.
• 
  Nancy

  So here's the weird thing--I love Dave Barry. Read all his non-fiction funny-books, in the 1980s, and can still quote verbatim from his book about having babies ("Babies and Other Hazards of Sex") But this take-off on The Hangover? Weak sauce.
  
  First--it's essentially a script. The dialogue between the Groom Posse is shovel-ready. The gags are in place. The character descriptions almost specify exactly which A-list comedy actors will fill the bill. (Vince Vaughn as Big Steve? Cameo role for Shaq as Wesley?) And really-- do you need to have an orangutan to make the plot complete?
  
  Yeah--there are funny bits, and great lines. But you have to wade through a whole lot overdone zaniness to get to them. Disappointing.
  
  
• 
  Pam Psboston7

  Note to all if you are teetering on a reading slump, switch genres it will kick start the bibliophile in you! This wasn't my sort of book but I was reading a fellow reviewer and they commented on the humor of Dave Barry books so... there I was!
  
  If the movie The Hangover, Why Him and Zola had a baby this book could be the screenplay... at times ludicrous other times hilarious it was definitely entertaining. I listened to it on audiobook and I was in between books.
  
  Takes place in Miami filled with all things that any pre-wedding, bachelor party antics you would expect plus a plethora of just everything-but-the-kitchen-sink thrown in that could happen to an individual. I don't want to give away to much as it sometimes best to read without knowing what is coming up. Just know it's a giggle or two with a dash of OMG!-hand on forehead, roll of eyes goodread.
  
  Respectfully Reviewed.
• 
  Teck Wu

  Wow Dave Barry can really write comedic stories. Insane City is insaneeee. A new favourite!
• 
  Kwoomac

  If you've read Dave Barry, you know to expect absolutely anything to turn up in his stories. Here we have Seth on the weekend of his wedding, getting into one mishap after another with his less-than-successful group of of friends "the groom posse". Miami is a great setting for a story as it's another character, an eccentric one, one where you shake your head while smiling about that crazy place. (I've only been once and I'm kind of embarrassed with how tame my visit was.)
  
  This reminded me of a poor man's P.G. Wodehouse. While the writing is no where as sharp as Wodehouse (and whose is?), you have your clueless screw up of a main character, getting himself into all kinds of impossible situations, surrounded by his sincere but bumbling cast of friends. There's the maybe-not-such-a-good-idea impending wedding looming. There's the uptight, upright super-rich snobby snoots, who just don't get, and definitely don't appreciate, Seth. Sadly there is no Jeeves. Our hero has to muddle his way through the mess that is his life on his own. Kind of. I know this isn't Wodehouse who was cleverly skewering the upperclass with his farcical tales. It's Dave Barry,who just wants to have a good time. There are pimps and strippers, an albino python, marijuana filled brownies, an amorous orangutan, and a pirate ship. Who doesn't love a pirate ship, matey? Loads of fun.
  
  
• 
  Thomas

  If one has never seen the movie The Hangover they might enjoy this book more than I did. I just kept thinking about that movie as I read this. Book starts off real good and keeps interest until the ending. I thought the author just kind of gave up at the end and wrapped things up all nice and tidy like. Ok read but not great
• 
  Cyndi

  This is the kind of book that would make a good movie. The kind of romcom I would love to watch. So much better than 'Hangover.'
  Guy knows she's out of his league, but she agrees to marry him anyway. The question is, "why?" As the answer is uncovered the story gets funnier and funnier.
  Warning: if you are like me and like to listen to books while you do yoga, be careful. The downward dog does not go well when you're laughing your ass off. ; )
• 
  Craig

  Many laugh out loud moments, especially in the first half. The first third or so definitely felt like a re-write of The Hangover crossed with the first episode of The Life and Times of Tim, but still, funny. Little too over the top during much of the second half and not nearly as many laugh out loud bits. First-half: comedy (albeit not original); second-half: action movie.
• 
  Susan Tunis

  “I know it sounds crazy.”
  
  I’ve been a fan of Mr. Barry’s for decades. He has elicited from me embarrassing snorts of laughter on too many occasions to count. Therefore, and new novel is always an occasion to be looked forward to.
  
  The insane city of the novel’s title is Miami, Florida, soon to be the site of the Weinstein-Clark wedding. At the heart of the tale is groom Seth Weinstein, and the novel’s first few chapters could be the opening of The Hangover III. It’s bachelor party night, and while amusing, I did think to myself, “If this is 300 pages of Boys Behaving Badly, I’m not sure I can take it.” Happily, that is not the case. Well, there is a lot of bad behavior from boys, girls, and, uh, various other creatures, but the bachelor hijinks soon pave the way for a far more absurd and entertaining tale. It’s goofy as all get out, but has both substance and heart at its very core. I could try to summarize the novel’s plot, but I think it would be a lot more fun to share a few brief quotes:
  
  “This isn’t what it looks like.”
  
  “So, you’re NOT bleeding from the head and hanging out with a Beyoncé look-alike and a Jerry Springer bouncer carrying a large snake?”
  
  “He had to stop being an idiot.”
  
  “Wait, he SHOT A JET SKI? Even in Miami, that has to be against the law.”
  
  “I know it sounds crazy.”
  
  “Eventually these people decided that this was just another one of those strange things that seem to happen in Miami.”
  
  “Nothing I hate more than an orangutan shooter.”
  
  “If you’re just joining us this morning, we’re following one of those weird stories that makes you shake your head and say, ‘Only in Miami.’”
  
  “It’s complicated.”
  
  “Even by Miami standards, this was a weird group making its way through the Bayside crowd.”
  
  “Any man fleeing from the police with three women, two children, and an orangutan is a friend of mine.”
  
  Oh, yes, it’s novels like this that make me wonder why I’m considering relocating to Miami. Dave Barry can still make me laugh out loud after all these years. And while no one will ever mistake his work for literary fiction, he did once win a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. He knows how to write a proper sentence. Furthermore, he did a nice job of creating characters who, over the course of the novel, manage to reveal their true natures.
  
  Don’t come to this one looking for sophistication or subtlety, but if you’ve had a bad day and are seeking a little screwball comedy, look no further. Insane City is guaranteed to lift your spirits.
• 
  Woodge

  This is another comic crime caper by Dave Barry. It's about a nice guy who's otherwise not much of a catch, traveling down to Florida to marry a hot blonde who's also the daughter of a multi-millionaire. In a span of mere hours things go fantastically wrong and the wedding is in two days. Will he make it? In a bazillion very short chapters the many things than can go wrong do and they pile up fast -- it was a bit of a struggle to care since so many of the (two-dimensional) characters aren't all that likable. And the ones who are more likeable aren't all that smart. But it reads so fast, I went all the way through this extremely unlikely tale that also includes an occasionaly violent, love-sick orangutan named Trevor. So that happened.
  
  (FYI: My wife gave me this. It was a preview copy that she found in someone's trash.)
• 
  Paul Pessolano

  “Insane City” by Dave Barry, published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons.
  
  Category – Comedy
  
  If you are looking for a break in your serious reading this book will provide it.
  
  “Any man fleeing from the police with three women, two children, and an orangutan is a friend of mine”. By the way, none of the three women are his betrothed.
  
  Seth Weinstein is getting married to the most beautiful girl in the world and he can’t figure out why. She is a big time lawyer and her father is one of the richest men in the country. He just can’t figure out why she would want to marry him, he is in a nowhere job and still living with his mother and father.
  
  The wedding is set for Miami and the honeymoon antics start early as his best men (the groom posse) pull a prank on him at the airport as he goes through security. Seth knowing this may only be the beginning begs them not to hire a stripper for his bachelor party.
  
  The groom posse and Seth arrive in Miami and waste no time in getting wasted. Seth who winds up under the bar is separated from his best men and the fun really begins.
  
  Seth gets got up in with the inevitable stripper and her friend/lover who is as big as a house, another beautiful woman (Cyndi) and her friend Duane who has a snake wrapped around his neck, a Haitian refugee who has two young children who almost drown trying to get to America, and an orangutan named Trevor.
  
  The book is an easy read that is both entertaining and funny. The book does contain adult language.
  
• 
  Peter

  What do a 250-pound orangutang, two billionaires, four young men at a wedding (The Groom Posse), a very large Anaconda, a Haitian refugee with children, a very large black stripper with pimp, a gorgeous and uptight bride with a pothead sister, the local police, a faux guru wedding official, a very pretty blond blue-eyed Cuban in a postage stamp dress, and the city of Miami have in common? The only answer can be--Dave Barry.
  
  Barry's humor is infamous, and here he brings it together into a tale of a wedding gone awry in which Tina (the bride) finds that her go-nowhere fiance (Seth) can go with the flow much better than she can, and her billionaire father learns that he can't control everything. There are not as many spontaneous guffaws as in Barry's short pieces--the humor is intravenously administered, drop by drop in a steady flow.
  
  If you are feeling tense and under pressure, book a flight to Miami, buy this book at the airport kiosk, and sit at the beach at South Beach for a day, soaking up the sun and Dave Barry's elixir of life.
• 
  Karla Jay

  I really needed a laugh and this book did it for me! Quirky characters, an entitled-rich bride's family, a caring main character, and nothing going right!
  I'll check out more of his books.
  
  
• 
  Joan

  Maybe a gender thing but like watching the Three Stooges.
• 
  Ruthie

  I guess I have outgrown this type of slapstick humor.
• 
  Laura Belgrave

  Okay, look, here's the deal: I adore mysteries, thrillers, legal dramas and, well, more or less dark or intense stuff. I even have three of my own police procedural mysteries out there. But now and then I need a break from reality and Dave Berry's Insane City, meaning Miami, is absolutely perfect because there aren't many, if any, fiction writers better suited to provide a belly laugh about Florida's most mesmerizing city than this award-winning writer. Hand-to-my-heart truth.
  
  But a diversion: Because an orangutan ultimately becomes a central character in this knee-slapping novel, I have to share a story. (Sorry, Dave Barry; not trying to steal your thunder, as if that were possible.) Once upon a time, I was city editor for a now-extinct daily evening newspaper called The Evening Times. True! We had three editions every day, which meant three deadlines every day. The pressure was hideous. The hours were hideous. But ONE day, the reporter then covering the police beat excitedly told me at about 5 a.m. that the police were trying to capture a destructive Caravella monkey, which was wreaking havoc throughout Palm Beach County. My blood surged at the thought. The headlines! The story! The excitement! I could hear the reporter talking to a cop source and I watched her scribble details. I pounded her for details. I pushed her to the limits. I called for photos! I rushed into the morning meeting to report what was going on and how we'd have a major scoop. I couldn't WAIT for the first edition to come out.
  
  Well: I was the unwitting target of an elaborate ploy, which is common among journalists, and I fell for it all the way. Mind you, this goes back to the '80s, prior to online search and all of that good stuff. So, when the first edition landed on my desk I quickly flipped through pages of the newspaper, looking for the story of the day THAT NO ONE ELSE HAD.
  
  Uh huh. Hysterical reporters, not to mention the managing editor, photographers, and even some cops, were all in on the prank. I was the brunt of a joke that to this day remains an occasional topic of hilarity among those of us who have kept in touch. You'd think I'd be smarter; my own journalism career began as a police reporter.
  
  The point? My five-star review may be influenced by that true-to-life prank. But that monkeys — or in Berry's case, an orangutan — can create chaos in a ridiculous fashion that only Berry could somehow make almost believable, is good enough reason to pick up the novel and read it. Seriously, and I'm not always serious.
  
  Oh? By the way? There is no such thing as a Caravella monkey. But again, there was no Google back in the day. And back in the day was a lot more fun. Read Berry's book. Do it now.
  
  
• 
  Marti

  This book did not start off to my liking at all as it seemed one giant guys before the big wedding day cliche. I wondered when and where Dave Barry had lost his "funny." I hadn't read anything written by him in a while but had thoroughly enjoyed several of his books in the past. Luckily, after about the fiftieth page, the story took off and almost never faltered again. There were several truly laugh until your sides hurt scenes, especially the hilarious one of the rehearsal dinner. To enjoy a novel, I have to be invested in the main characters and in this book, our somewhat hapless hero turned out to be quite likeable and one in whom I happily invested myself for the day or so it took to read this novel. The book's ending made sense and was kind of sweet without being syrupy. If you like funny stories, this might be one you would want to try, just don't expect the hilarity to begin until around page 52 or so.
• 
  Amy Neftzger

  My first impression is that this reads more like a movie instead of a book, given the way that the dialog is written and the scenes described. In fact, this would probably make a great summer movie for people who enjoy films such as Bridesmaids and The Hangover. There are so many wacky things taking place throughout the book and the plot moves constantly. Throughout the book Dave put his characters in some hilarious, not to mention embarrassing, situations.
  
  While some of the general plot is predictable, most of the specific (and often bizarre) situations are not and the book is full of one liners that will make you laugh out loud. While this isn’t great literature or a book with thought provoking insights, it continues to do what Dave Barry does best: makes you laugh.
• 
  Norm

  As an unabashed Dave Barry fan, I thought Insane City took off a little slow, on a topic (a wedding) that I have little interest in, in a state (Florida) whose citizens can't even vote properly and a type humor (uncomfortable) that makes the reader cringe as the hero sinks deeper and deeper into embarrassing muck.
  
  But once Insane City picked up steam, it became classic Barry, the pace frenetic and wild, sweeping you through one ridiculous scenario after another. Barry exults in presenting fun, engaging characters ... not all of them human ... and then twisting things around.
  
  This is Barry's first solo fiction in ten years, and while worth the wait ... don't wait ten more years to write another!
  
  
• 
  Chuck

  I gave up on this book after about fifty pages. I didn't find it funny at all. Barry is trying to write the sort of book that Carl Hiassen would pen, but he's not up to it. He has none of the sense of the absurd that is necessary to write a good black comedy, and his characterization is lacking. For example, the four men in the "groom posse" are pretty much interchangeable personalities. He overuses dialog, and displays no understanding for how it should be used.
• 
  Ericka

  This was a hilarious book! I am so glad I picked up the advanced reader and read it. I couldn't stop laughing.
  
  It is definitely everyone's worst nightmare having their wedding go completely wrong. But I don't think we every imagine deal with a orangutan, ex cops chasing you, assaulting a officer, or having immigrants living in your hotel room. This was just a hilarious book.
• 
  Lauri

  This book is seriously insane! There is more than 1 wedding, high speed chases, funny brownies, political ideals, refugees, a snake, a guy wearing a shirt for pants, a gentlemen's club, really rich folk AND an orangutan named Trevor. Who could ask for anything more? Dave Barry is a crazy dude. Read it. 'Nuff said.
• 
  Heather

  Wow! I am not sure what I just read. Dave Barry is one of my favorite comedic authors and this book didn't disappoint. It was out there...no it was really out there, but so fun to read! I particularly enjoyed reading about all of the craziness surrounding a wedding and he captured it perfectly. There are no words to really describe this book. Just read it and enjoy.
• 
  Mike French

  What happens when two of my favorite authors, Paul Levine and Carl Hiaasen, are given a mind meld? Dave Barry would emerge! Insane City is the funniest book I have read since "Dead Solid Perfect"!
• 
  Jen

  Entertaining (laugh out loud a few times), although you have to set reality aside. Plot was similar to "The Hangover" movie plot.