Dave Barry's Big Trouble is a big surprise.

I ordered Big Trouble from Amazon.com because I had recently become addicted to Dave Barry--plus, the upcoming movie piqued my interest. Today, at around 1:00 PM, I got it from UPS. An hour ago, at around 10:45 PM, I had gone through all 317 pages of the story plus the four pages--not including the back cover--of critical praise. I think that gives you a vague idea of why this I gave this book five stars.

Something about the mass market paperback, it gives you no blurbs about the plot. That's because trying to explain the plot is like trying to teach a chimpanzee to recite the works of Shakespeare in several plucky British voices. Sure, the plot's coherent. But it's just so WEIRD. All that I can really tell you, without giving too much away, is that it involves the lives of fifteen people--a depressed and broke ad-man; his typical teenage son; his romantic interest, a housewife; her abusive husband, an executive from Penultimate, Inc.; their typical teenage daughter; their maid, in the country illegally; the maid's love interest, a guy that lives in a tree in the backyard of the broken home; two hitmen who want to waste the abusive husband; a smart, level-headed female Miami cop; her macho male partner, who wants to see her naked; two thick-headed conmen, Snake and Eddie; and the two owners of a cesspool of a bar, which is just a front for their illegal arms sales--and how their lives are brought together by the evil contents of a suitcase.

Not only does Dave Barry's humorous commentary on life SHINE through this, it also makes for an exciting read through a level of action and suspense that I only thought was attainable in action films. Some may find it predictable--not I. Boosted by the book's satirical nature (everything bad that happens during the climax is a result of terrible airport service), Big Trouble takes you through a day long rush brimming with laughs and thrills. Nothing is made easy, and Barry shows that while he's a humorist at heart, he can do much more.

My only qualm--a very small one at that--is that a few characters were underused. Puggy, the guy who lives in the tree, is one of my favorite characters from this book, and I wish he got more face time.

Despite this, I am still amazed by this book, and I think that any casual reader will enjoy it. I also think Barry's fans will be quite amazed at what he can do in the realm of fiction. Sure, he does use a lot of language, but still, it doesn't detract much from the story.

Overall, check out Big Trouble. No matter who you are, if you're above fifteen, you'll enjoy it. Just don't expect EVERYTHING to be funny.