This book was a wild freaking ride. If you enjoy Will Ferrell movies, Zoolander or just a book full of shenanigans this it. Crooked Politicians, lost and found treasure, alligators, all in the everglades. Honestly just read it.

I had no idea what to expect going into reading Swamp Story and I was correct. This story is insanely chaotic and unbelievable but also believable at the same time cause, it’s Florida. All the crazy news story come out of Florida and I feel like this could really happen. I think this book would make a good slap stick comedy because of its chaotic nature and ridiculousness.

I had hoped for a better resolution for one of the characters and it wasn’t quite what I thought it would be but it was definitely better than the situation they were originally in. I found myself chuckling from time to time about the ridiculousness of the various characters and their actions throughout the story. If you are looking for an unbelievable but believable wild ride add Swamp Story to your tbr and hang on.


Thank you @simonbooks and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Thank you to Simon&Schuster for the ARC.

First off I love the cover of this book- the bright colors and croc are a perfect representation of Florida. I enojoyed the general florida-ness of the story. No amount of chaos is off-limits when it comes to florida man. It was a little slow to start, but I laughed a lot while reading this and it definitely made me smile. I think the ending was the best part. I like how neatly every character's story wrapped up and the 'good' ones got a happy ending and the bad one got what they deserved :)

3.5 stars
Finding a bunch of gold would change anyone’s life. And so can bring a viral sensation Every character in this book was affected by these two situations.

This one was a wild ride. The setting could only take place in Florida. It’s Florida man on steroids (or some random pills from Stu’s pocket) with all of the crazy scenes. I appreciated the humor and the “Grease” references. I really wanted a different ending. I feel like this author is a funny person to be around. Sense of humor exudes through the book. Pretty good book overall.

This book was fun to read. It didn't blow me away by any means but it was quick and enjoyable! Would read this author again!

This is hands down the funnies book I have read all year. If you find yourself with some time to spend poolside this summer, definitely give this a go. Barry captures the essence of the Florida Man perfectly in this laugh out loud novel. The plot moves along at a nice, moderate pace. You can almost smell the weed and hear Phil singing in his MellonHead as the shenanigans unfold across the Everglades. Is it outlandish and totally unrealistic? Absolutely. Is it deliciously funny-you bet!

With any Dave Barry (the original Florida man) book, you know what you're going to get -- a Florida setting and crazy characters and situations. This book is exactly that!

Jesse has made a terrible mistake - she trusted the wrong man and now she's stuck in the Everglades with an infant daughter and a boyfriend who has spent every dime she had. Then she stumbles on a pile of gold, unfortunately some others have spotted it too.

Jesse is the only sane person in this story -- her boyfriend is absolutely sure he's about to become an internet sensation, his best friend has a scheme involving a swamp monster that will bring riches to the local bait shop, the government officials are incompetent (of course), and naturally there's an alligator.

Everyone in this book does stupid things, makes bad decisions, and (naturally) nothing goes as planned, but it is a fun ride. I enjoyed every minute, even though it certainly stretches the boundaries of realism...but then again, it IS Florida.

I love Dave Barry and especially his funny and quirky fiction! I love each outrageous character the best.

Ｂｏｏｋ ｒｅｖｉｅｗ

𝗦𝘄𝗮𝗺𝗽 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 by Dave Barry
Published: May 2, 2023 by @simonandschuster
Reviewed by: Mel
Format: Physical ARC and eBook via @NetGalley

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Somewhere in the 2.5-3 range

Thank you to @NetGalley and @simonandschuster for gifting both a physical ARC as well as an eBook version of this book in exchange for my honest review. I’ve never read Dave Barry before, and being a Florida girl now, I had to see what it was all about! #gifted #netgalley #swampstory #simonbooks #simonandschuster

𝗠𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀
I’m not gonna lie, I went into this expecting a laugh-out-loud book but I ended up cringing at the story and the characters while reading this, more than laughing. All of the characters are vile, and it made it incredibly hard to enjoy the book since there wasn’t one single character that I felt attached to — they were all incredibly selfish, lazy, and well…almost all of them complete idiots.

While the premise of the story is absolutely ridiculous and should be funny, I felt more upset by all of it — and frankly, I think it’s because I live in Florida and feel like I’m surrounded by these types of people on a daily basis.

My biggest gripe with the book — was that I absolutely, positively, expected Chastain to be chomped on by the alligator. I was incredibly disappointed that the book didn’t go that far. It was already absolutely ridiculous in so many other ways, Barry should have just been completely over-the-top and provided the gator some dinner.

I’m sure this book is enjoyable for someone looking for mindless entertainment, and those that enjoy reading about cringe-worthy characters - but instead of laughing, I just felt really uncomfortable and wanted it all to be over.

What a hilarious book! I had never read Dave Berry, but this one made me see why people love reading his work. A large cast of characters are squatting on land in the Everglades in various capacities, all trying to catch a break. Some choose TikTok viral videos as their claim to fame, and some find actual pirate gold! The setting of the Everglades is the perfect backdrop for these desperate folks. Pythons, gators, and wild boar, oh my - a swamp story indeed!

This was a wild, zany, over-the-top ride through all of the "Florida Man" tropes you can imagine. I had to repeatedly remind myself that this wasn't, in fact, a Carl Hiaasen novel, but was instead written by the inestimable Dave Barry. Funnily enough, Hiaasen is one of the first people Barry thanks in the acknowledgments. I won't get into every plotline or detail as those are fully covered by other reviews, but suffice it to say that there are several laugh-out-loud moments that on their own make this a worthwhile read.

I really enjoyed this overall, despite a few of the characters not being fleshed out enough or being too trope-y. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for giving me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Swamp Story is not a book I would have picked up normally, but the idea of reading about a bunch of wild Floridians getting up to shenanigans found me at the right time. My first Dave Barry novel, I found that I quite enjoyed this. It felt like one of those stories you hear that is "too crazy to be true," and I enjoyed the ride that it was. Some of the humor landed for me, though I didn't find it the funniest book I've ever read (humorous books rarely land for me though, mostly because it is hard to read the jokes in the same manner that you might hear them - tone and body language often enhance the humor). I found myself rooting for only one person, Jesse, and really didn't like the rest of the cast (which was quite large). The ending was a bit too tightly wrapped up and, without spoiling anything, I was hoping for a slightly different, albeit happy, ending for Jesse.

I'm usually a fan of Dave Barry, but this work lacked a lot of his trademark good nature humor. It was grittier and harsher, more like Carl Hiaasen's work, but lacking the heart of that author's works as well. I think I was particularly unnerved by the extended stalking and planned rape of Jesse which just felt far too taboo to be the subject of such extended commentary in an ultimately humorous book. I'm certainly not giving up on Barry, but this was one particular story I couldn't bring myself to complete

For Dave Barry fans, they will enjoy this Hiassen like Florida romp. I found it too copycat for five stars but it was a good summer read with all Barry's wit and humor.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was excited about the humor that this particular read promised, but after reading, I fear I'm not the target audience. This book feels like it was written for people who have frat boy humor, including things like casual use of slurs and joking about s*xual mistreatment of women. Honestly, there were times where I felt uncomfortable reading it. I will say the plot is as bizarre as the description suggests (albeit predictable at times), but while I appreciate the opportunity to read this story, I unfortunately would have to say it's not for me.

This book…there was so much going on I really don’t even know where to begin. The people of Florida are wild man. Idk what’s in the water over there, but WHEW!

I was thoroughly entertained reading this story even though if you ask me what it was about all I can really say is: “greed?” Not because I didn’t comprehend it, but because there was literally so much happening.

We have a man dressed as Dora the explorer that gets a golf club to the balls at a birthday party.
A man who is determined to get his own reality show.
Another man that wants to capitalize off of the Everglades Melon Monster.
A bunch of gold bars.
Alligators, snakes, emotional support pigs that pee on pants legs….

Literally this book is a wild ride from start to finish, but I had such a good time reading it.

DNF at 50%.

I was in the mood for a humorous romp. I thought Swamp Story would be a great match, but this book and I were not meant to be together.

The tropes are tired, stereotypical, silly.

The plot, such as it is, feels like a collection of caricature characters behaving badly, stupidly, ridiculously.

Not one character had a speck of intelligence or self-respect.

But, the writing style is quick and engaging. While the humor isn't my thing, it might work for you.

SWAMP STORY (May 2, 2023)

By Dave Barry

Simon & Schuster, 320 pages.

★★★★

Dave Barry is a funny man, a talent he wields by writing id-driven broad humor. Like old-time comics such as Henny Youngman and Rodney Dangerfield, he throws one thing after another at us until we chuckle despite ourselves. Swamp Story is another tale set in one of Barry’s favorite lampoon targets: Florida.

As the title suggests, Swamp City is set in the Everglades. If you’re thinking alligators, snakes, and sinkholes, you’re on the right track. Add gold hunters, eccentrics, con artists, lovable losers, and lawlessness and you’re well on your way. There’s something about isolated spits of land abutting sinking mud, marshland, and deep water that make them refuges for the socially marginal. That’s where we find Phil and Stu trying everything to eke out a living, including hiring themselves out for children’s birthday parties. Only a besotted divorced guy in need of money like Phil would dare to show up for a Frozen-themed party armed only with an over-sized Dora the Explorer head. Let’s just say that it didn’t go well except on TikTok.

Meet Jesse Braddock, who plays the role of the beautiful golden girl who made bad decisions. She grew up in Connecticut comfort, rebelled against her parents, and ran off with a guy they warned her was a jerk. Now she has a baby, Willa, is living in the Everglades, and boyfriend Slater really is a jerk. He proves that by being more interested in shooting video of a giant python wiggling toward Jesse and Willa than in chasing away the snake. No wonder she likes to walk paths through the Everglades to get away from him and his crazy friend Kark. In one trip, she happens upon something that might be linked to a legend of buried Confederate gold. If only she had known she was being stalked by Billy and Duck Campbell, two rednecks, who plot to force her to show them where she found it, beat her up (or worse), and make off with the gold.



Now meet brothers Ken and Brad, the owners of Bortle Brothers Bait & Beer, a business begun by their father and uncle. To say that it’s out of the way and was an idea whose time never came understates matters. It’s one of those eclectic general stores that dot the American landscape where you stop in hope of lunch, glance at the décor and decades out-of-date dusty merchandise, and decide all you really need is gas and a soda. Phil’s Internet notoriety gives Ken an idea. After reading about Michigan Melon Heads–diminutive humanoids with gigantic heads who are rumored to be fierce–Ken convinces Phil to spray paint the Dora head, creates a film crew, and launches a hoax. He uploads deliberately blurry videos to suggest that Melon Head Monsters have migrated to Florida. Before you can say “‘Glades Man,” the handle for the shirtless and brainless Slater, 8.3 million people have seen the clips and curiosity seekers pour into the area and stop at Bortle Brothers.



The plot thickens and so does the cast. Patsy Hartmann was once a star TV reporter for Miami’s Channel 8 until a younger anchor forced Patsy out of the limelight. Guess who is tapped to go to the Everglades to cover the Melon Head story and stay for the annual python roundup? There is also Andrew Pletzger, an egoistic real estate developer; Eric Turpake, an attorney as crooked as a Bortle Brothers fishhook; an obese former University of Florida football player and purveyor of drugs nicknamed Pinky; U.S. Secretary of the Interior Whitt Chastain, who hates the outdoors; and python wrangler DeWayne “Skeeter” Toobs, who arrives for his interview on a runaway airboat and with his “emotional support boar” Buddy. Danger abounds in the Everglades, perhaps none as ominous as a crime gang led by Kristov Berliuz.



What could go wrong? Throw this many offbeat people into one small part of swamp and the sky’s the limit. In the hands of Dave Barry, though, even danger is a subject for absurdism and cheap laughs. His Florida makes Texas seem like a bastion of choir boys by comparison. Aside from occasional off-color language and comeuppance to those upon whom we’d wish it, though, Barry prefers belly laughs to distress. We laugh along with him because we know that he knows that everything is meant as a big goof, not high art.



Rob Weir

Dave Barry never disappoints. I laughed out loud on a plane trip while reading this book and had other passengers asking for the title. I would love to see this book made into a movie.

When I first started this I thought to myself, what the heck am I reading? I was dropped in the midst of the Everglades with two slightly unhinged guys living with a woman and a baby. But very quickly an entertaining story developed that was nothing but a fun and crazy ride! The outrageous plot, the Abbott & Costello-ish dialogue (I highly recommend the audio version, narrated by Dave Barry for these parts) and the antics of some very memorable characters...I'm looking at you Buddy make for some laugh out loud moments.
Jesse Braddock is no longer infatuated by her baby's father, Slater who in the midst of the pandemic has whisked her away to the jungle of the Everglades to live off the land. He now has the bright idea for a semi-reality show and ultimately teams up with the owners of a local but floundering bait shop to shoot a pilot. Meanwhile, Jesse stumbles upon a hidden treasure and sees it as her way out! Unfortunately, there are two nefarious brothers who know she has it and will stop at nothing to take it from her!
This was just silly fun and so entertaining! The perfect summer book!
Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for my gifted ebook.