{"id":1935213,"date":"2023-05-21T13:48:54","date_gmt":"2023-05-21T17:48:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/florida-man-in-full\/"},"modified":"2023-05-21T13:53:03","modified_gmt":"2023-05-21T17:53:03","slug":"florida-man-in-full","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/florida-man-in-full\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida Man in Action"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">8<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fflorida-man-in-full%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1935213&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Swamp Story: A Hilarious Novel by Dave Barry<\/h2>\n<h3>Florida&#8217;s Moment<\/h3>\n<p>With former president Donald Trump and (likely) Gov. Ron DeSantis (R., Fla.) vying for the presidency, the Sunshine State is having a moment. Thankfully, Dave Barry\u2019s new novel, Swamp Story, isn\u2019t about draining the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-blasts-ny-ag-lawsuit-in-wide-ranging-interview\/\" title=\"Trump Blasts NY AG Lawsuit in Wide-Ranging Interview\">political swamp<\/a>. Based in the Florida Everglades (which is technically not a swamp), the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-yellowstone-empire-how-taylor-sheridan-reinvented-the-western\/\" title=\"The \u201cYellowstone\u201d Empire: How Taylor Sheridan Reinvented the Western\">setting offers<\/a> a warm respite for those in search of some much-needed levity.<\/p>\n<h3>Multiple Overlapping Plotlines<\/h3>\n<p>Barry masterfully weaves multiple overlapping plotlines into his text, the first of which involves a young mom named Jesse Braddock. Jesse lives in a cabin in the Everglades with her handsome, if vain and unfaithful, baby daddy Slater and his lecherous, pot-smoking sidekick (and cameraman) Kark.<\/p>\n<h3>Colorful Characters<\/h3>\n<p>Nearby is a colorful local entrepreneur (and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/florida-man-in-full\/\" title=\"Florida Man in Action\">part-time drug dealer<\/a>) named Ken Bortle. Ken runs a small store called Bortle Brothers Bait &#038; Beer, and he hatches a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/terry-paulson-can-the-party-of-no-beat-the-party-of-free\/\" title=\"Terry Paulson: Can the Party of \"No\" Beat the Party of \"Free?\"\">crazy plan<\/a> to increase tourist business. Ken wants to produce a fake video showing him spotting a yeti-like creature he calls the Everglades Melon Monster.<\/p>\n<h3>Desperados and Buried Treasure<\/h3>\n<p>To stay one <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/these-six-comics-could-be-canceled-next\/\" title=\"These Six Comics Could Be Canceled Next\">step ahead<\/a> of these outlaws, Jesse is aided by Ken\u2019s brother, Brad Bortle. Brad is a good old boy who wastes most of his time playing Candy Crush and underestimating his brother\u2019s viral video savvy, until he becomes embroiled (ultimately romantically) with the fetching Jesse.<\/p>\n<h3>Funny and Poignant<\/h3>\n<p>Another subplot involves a washed-up newspaperman (who is paid to actually don the Everglades Melon Monster suit) struggling with alcoholism and trying to reconnect with his daughter after his divorce from her mother. Barry manages to make his story both funny and poignant. The chapters are short and alternate between the various storylines, which keeps the pacing brisk.<\/p>\n<h3>A Novel Full of Weird Characters and Events<\/h3>\n<p>Swamp Story doesn\u2019t read like some swan song or a perfunctory payday piece written by an aging author. It is relevant, funny, and fresh. Indeed, Barry\u2019s longevity as a writer seems to have only honed his skill.<\/p>\n<p>For decades now, Barry has been entertaining us, and his latest offering is hilarious. This novel is full of weird characters and events that could only exist in the state that spawned the &#8220;Florida Man&#8221; internet meme.<\/p>\n<p>We should expect nothing less. After all, Barry isn\u2019t just a Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times bestselling author. Unlike some of the poseur characters in Swamp Story, Dave Barry is an &#8220;actual Florida Man.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Book Details<\/h3>\n<p>Swamp Story: A Novel by Dave Barry, published by Simon &#038; Schuster, 320 pp., $27.99.<\/p>\n<h3>About the Author<\/h3>\n<p>Matt Lewis is a senior columnist for the Daily Beast and the author of the forthcoming book Filthy Rich Politicians.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Amidst the potential presidential bids of Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, Florida is in the spotlight. However, Dave Barry&#8217;s latest book, Swamp Story, is not political. Set in the Florida Everglades, it provides a cozy escape for readers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1527,"featured_media":1935214,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[4625,5113],"class_list":["post-1935213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon","tag-action","tag-florida"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1935213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1527"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1935213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1935213\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1935214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1935213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1935213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1935213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}