The Edible Exile: A Byliner Original

by Carl Hiaasen Narrated by Scott Brick

Overview

Cuervo is a pampered Nicaraguan moneyman, funding a guerrilla war from his cushy Miami penthouse. Sixto is his hulking, pistol-packing attendant, whose job satisfaction is on the wane. When an aging mobster enters their lives with a promise to help the rebel cause-with a planeload of chickens originally intended for voodoo sacrifice-a tense situation turns combustible. From the wickedly funny mind of Carl Hiaasen comes "The Edible Exile," a raucous story of sleazeball nihilists, lovable thugs, and jungle-weary freedom fighters who collide in a battle of wills, ego, and the almighty dollar.

This cheeky tale, written twenty-five years ago, set aside, and recently rediscovered, is a time-capsule glimpse of Miami during the over-the-top 1980s, when everyone was on the make and gross excess was the order of the day. In an intriguing twist, Hiaasen had lost his original ending to the story. "So I decided to write a new ending," he says. "As a friend said, 'How often does a writer get the opportunity to collaborate with a younger version of himself?'"

The Edible Exile is a wild romp through Hiaasen Country, sure to appeal to the outlaw in all of us.

Editorial Reviews

AUGUST 2014 - AudioFile

Narrator Scott Brick ramps up all the noir aspects of this short story from Carl Hiaasen. With a hint of a Hispanic accent, he growls and rasps the dialogue between Cuervo, a rich Nicaraguan who funds rebels in his home country, and Sixto, his bodyguard, who eventually takes exception to Cuervo’s hypocritical lifestyle. However, Brick does not effectively differentiate between characters, and in such a short production this weakness means the listener never really gets the hang of the characters before it’s over. The hilarious craziness of Florida that is Hiaasen’s trademark seems to be missing here—this just isn’t very funny. The most interesting portion is the introduction, which recounts the backstory of the 25-year-old piece having been rejected by ESQUIRE Magazine and recently rediscovered without its ending—requiring Hiaasen to collaborate with his younger self. A.B. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171995492
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	03/11/2014
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	1,001,385

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