Nature Girl by Carl Hiaasen - A Review

A humorous novel can be a great escape. I tend to “crawl” into good books. When the words have ended, it’s as if I experienced the story, not just read it. Finding humor in the direst of situations is a coping mechanism honed over the centuries, and one which has assisted in American Indian survival. Whatever peculiar situation we find ourselves in, we also find the humor in it. Laughter is a good way to deal with craziness, and whether based on real life or fiction, it truly is the very best Medicine.

Nature Girl by Carl Hiaasen had me rolling with it in the first pages. The vast Everglades and thousands of islands called Keys in Southern Florida are a separate world from the rest of the United States. Those who dare the dangers of hurricanes, disease bearing mosquitoes, alligators, and poisonous snakes are a uniquely “mixed” group. The author is born and bred South Florida, and his character development reveals how well he knows his neighbors. Hiaasen may or may not have some Native blood, but he weaves the nuances of life in and around the Big Cypress Reservation into one hilarious story.

Sammy Tigertail is a half blood with blue eyes. Although not raised on the reservation, he has close family there, and is descended from an adventurous Seminole warrior. His New Year starts with a new job as an airboat operator/tour guide in the Everglades on Big Cypress. His first customer is an over weight, highly intoxicated salesman from Milwaukee.

Wilson sells boat motors to lake fishermen. He’s very disappointed there are no real “Indians” at the Hard Rock Casino on New Year’s Eve. It IS owned by the Seminoles. After a night of boozing and cards, he jumps on a bet to find a “genuine” Indian and get a photo. In a rented Chrysler, he sets out for Big Cypress. After buying a disposable camera from a convenience store, Wilson climbs onto Sammy’s airboat for a chilly ride. It will be his last.

Honey Santana is attractive, “White,” and divorced due to her mental issues. She lives in a mobile home park with her teenage son, Fry. Honey works at a fish market in the Everglades and cannot abide rudeness. When called a “dried-up old skank” by a telemarketer from Texas, she hatches the most elaborate plot. It’s not for revenge, but to convince this man of the importance of civility.

In Southern Florida there is a part of the Keys known as Ten Thousand Islands. One of these tiny islands is Dismal Key. It’s abandoned and littered with the party trash of an untold number of college students. It’s also the scene of the collision. After the fateful airboat ride, Sammy ends up there, along with a group of co-eds. With her plan in progress, Honey, the rude telemarketer, and his mistress arrive in kayaks. Throw in a private detective, a ghost, and Mark Knofler’s guitar from the Hard Rock Casino, and you have one crazy, funny story!

I was in a major bookstore when the bright colors of the book cover caught my eye. I read the first page and it had to come home with me. Nature Girl by Carl Hiaasen ©2006 is published by Grand Central Publishing and a New York Times bestseller. It is available in paperback at Barnes and Noble and Amazon. It’s a great little escape to crawl into.