Lunatics: A Novel Audio CD – Unabridged, January 10, 2012

I was sick at home this week, so decided to try this title since I really like Dave Barry's stuff. Before long, I was laying there giggling like an idiot even though I was feeling like 💩. Yes, the language is crude, and yes the situations are not possible, but what fun it was to suspend reality and just laugh at these two Lunatics as they save the world without even knowing they did it. I'm sure I'll read it again, in case I missed anything while laughing my head off.

FINALLY! Dave Barry is back with his third adult novel, this time in collaboration with writer / producer / way-funny-guy Alan Zweibel. A couple of, uh, gentlemen feuding over a kids' soccer game are drawn into a series of increasingly unlikely international incidents that ultimately change history and make them worldwide heroes. In very, _very_ dirty underwear.You would think that a collaboration by these two authors would result in a book that would threaten to rupture the fabric of the universe through sheer awesomeness. Sadly, you would be mistaken. Don't get me wrong here, it's a good read - a bad Barry novel is still better than most humorists' masterworks - but this one doesn't even approach the magnificent lunacy of Barry's solo novels.Much of the problem here is that the protagonists are basically unsympathetic jerks. Case in point: Near the end of Barry's previous novel _Tricky Business_, one of the heroes dives off a cruise ship in the midst of a hurricane to rescue his love interest, a badly-injured Coast Guard agent. They spend several hours clinging to a life preserver in heavy seas in darkness. Meanwhile, a mob boss has commandeered a speedboat and is braving those same seas to reach the ship. The resulting chapter is sheer brilliance: simultaneously one of the most moving and one of the funniest things you will ever see in print. You _care_ about these people; even the bad guys come off as sympathetic, in a way. By contrast, after the climax of _Lunatics_ it's hard to care whether either of the protagonists comes out of it alive. The weak ending offers little help.I'm pretty sure I've read every word Dave Barry has published, and I'll continue doing so until the day one of us dies. With all due respect to Alan Zweibel, however, I'm hoping for a solo effort next time. Four stars because this one doesn't quite match up to Barry's earlier works, but is still a decent read.

I had always been aware of "Dave Barry" through the band "Rock Bottom Remainders", which included some of my favorite writers: Stephen King, Matt Groening & Amy Tan.I had never ventured into his world of writing until I watched the film "Big trouble", which peaked my interest.I can honestly tell anyone that is looking for a wild ride of calamity, misfortune and disaster all rolled up into some of the funniest written pages I have ever read, THIS is the book for you.The tone of the book caught me immediately, and i was laughing out loud in the middle of the night (waking my wife & 4 month old in the process).I couldn't put it down till it was done.I have a new favorite writer to add to my list.

Well, the whole thing was absurd but I can’t remember ever laughing out loud as often, prolonged and loudly at any written material in my life. The ending didn’t strike a responsive chord with me so no 5 stars but I needed a good laugh and this book gave it to me in spades.

I had read this book years ago, and decided to re-read it. It had me laughing from beginning to end at these totally crazy characters. If you object to foul language, there is some in the book but the humor makes up for it to me.

I love Dave Barry’s writing. I own all his nonfiction books, and all the fiction books written for adults. His nonfiction books are so funny I once made a fool of myself in an airport because I couldn’t stop laughing. I generally enjoy his fiction, though not as much as the nonfiction.Not this book. It’s hard to describe all the ways this book is bad. It starts off implausible and slowly devolves into an LSD-fueled fever dream. I’m not offended by potty humor, but also don’t find it funny, and this book relies much too heavily on potty humor. If you’ve ever heard comedians try to gross each other out with the joke “The Aristocrats,” consider this that joke in book form.The fact that the book is rated so highly kind of scares me for the future of humanity, like the movie Idiocracy.

WARNING: Do not read "Lunatics" on crowded public transportation, in doctors' waiting rooms, or - heaven forbid - church. You WiLL chortle, snort, and laugh. Out loud. You will be the subject of glares, frowns, and disapproving harrumphs.On the other hand, the book is worth the embarrassment.This is a flat-out funny book featuring two very different men: one a prim and virtuous pet store owner about whom the phrase "politically correct" may have been coined, and the other a crude, narcissistic, and socially-inappropriate "forensic plumber," i.e., a plumber who testifies in court cases.From their first meeting, these two detest one another, but circumstances repeatedly throw them together under the most unusual and hilarious circumstances. Together, this inept duo ends up front and center on the world stage, repeatedly and unintentionally affecting everything from zoo animals to national and international security interests.I've always liked Dave Barry but the addition here of co-author Zweibel, a renowned comic writer, has added a deeper and more sustained note of hilarity to the book.For good or ill, this one has "future movie" written all over it. But there is no way a movie could be as good as this book.If you are a somber soul, don't bother with this book, but if you revel in riotous ridiculousness, this is the book for you.

Had me actually laughing out loud. Everyday problems that turn into an escapade.

I am a great fan of Dave Barry and his humor, and his earlier books often made me convulse with laughter. But this one just didn't do it for me. I persisted to the end, hoping I'll finally start finding the old gems, maybe on the very next page, but sadly - no! On turning the last page, I just wished I spent my limited time better. But then, maybe it's just me, and my sense of humor has left me sometime soon after the beginning of Trump Administration.

Zany, but entertaining. Made me laugh out loud. Great read if you want something light-hearted and are not hung up on being politically correct with humour.

Fun to read - a laugh a minute. Dave never disappoints.

Die klassischen Witzmuster in einer doch wieder originellen Story. Ist ist ist ist ist ist ist ist ist ist lesenswert