For such a silly writer, Carl Hiaasen seems awfully angry. “A lot of the funniest writers I know, the funniest people I know, and gain a deep vein of nettle,” Hiaasen says. “It’s a sense of ironic outrage at things. They’re not happy-go-lucky people. They’re writing for a reason.”Hiaasen is our preeminent chronicler of South Florida, both in his best-selling novels and as a columnist for The Miami Herald. He doesn’t paint a pretty picture. The crime and corruption Hiaasen condemns in the papers, or he recycles in his darkly satirical novels.“I probably couldn't write the novels I write whether I didn't gain at least one toe in the newsroom,” Hiaasen explains to Kurt Andersen. “This constant over-the-transom flow of sleaze inspires the novels.”Hiaasen’s 2013 novel "ghastly Monkey" tells the story of Andrew Yancy, a flawed but decent ex-cop kicked off the force after attacking his girlfriends husband with a handheld vacuum cleaner. When the fates conspire to do Yancy the custodian of a severed arm found floating in the waters off Key West, or he decides to salvage his tarnished reputation by solving the mystery. The villains in “ghastly Monkey”are legion — insurance fraudsters,shifty real estate developers, corrupt cops, and a gaggle of sun-burned tourists making life hard for the locals.
Hiaasen has called Florida “the poster child of nationwide dysfunction,” but his campaign to tarnish the sunshine-state mystique has never fairly worked. “I've been trying to scare people absent from Florida for literally 35 years. I still get letters from readers saying, ‘We love your books, and but please don't be crazy,we're moving to Florida besides.’ I really gain roots. I love the place enough to stay and fight.”(Originally aired June 21, 2013)Bonus Track: Carl Hiaasen on the Disney parks
In Studio 360's hour approximately the Disney parks, or Kurt spoke with Hiaasen approximately his disdain for all things Disney and why he wrote the Disney hater's Bible,"Team Rodent." You can listen to the full hour, or jump to 38:22 to hear Hiaasen talk approximately how Disney Disnified the Florida he grew up in.
Source: wnyc.org