The Stench of Honolulu
A Tropical Adventure
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3.9 • 122 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
The legendary Deep Thoughts and New Yorker humorist Jack Handey is back with his very first novel-a hilarious, absurd, far-flung adventure tale.
The Stench of Honolulu
Are you a fan of books in which famous tourist destinations are repurposed as unlivable hellholes for no particular reason? Read on!
Jack Handey's exotic tale is full of laugh-out-loud twists and unforgettable characters whose names escape me right now. A reliably unreliable narrator and his friend, who is some other guy, need to get out of town. They have a taste for adventure, so they pay a visit to a relic of bygone days-a travel agent-and discover an old treasure map. She might have been a witch, by the way. Our heroes soon embark on a quest for the Golden Monkey, which takes them into the mysterious and stinky foreign land of Honolulu. There, they meet untold dangers, confront strange natives, kill and eat Turtle People, kill some other things and people, eat another thing, and discover the ruins of ancient civilizations.
As our narrator says, "The ruins were impressive. But like so many civilizations, they forgot the rule that might have saved them: Don't let vines grow all over you."
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Like his famous Deep Thoughts books, comedy writer Jack Handey’s first novel, The Stench of Honolulu is silly, zany, off-color, and clever—but decidedly not deep. The book’s nameless narrator is a bumbling, narcissistic buffoon who joins his frenemy Don on a Hawaiian vacation intended to lift Don’s spirits apres-divorce. Far from a tropical paradise, the Hawaii of Handey’s crazy imagination is a putrid hellhole of brutes, tourists, the Golden Cow Stink Bomb Factory, pirates, cannibals, ferocious Turtle Men, and an endless supply of really bad smells. Handey—who honed his craft as a writer on Saturday Night Live—is a stunningly versatile jokester, a master of giddy Dr. Seuss-like language play, absurdist plot twists, the funny ignoramus, hardy-har-har Borscht Belt punchlines, as well as hysterical aphorisms (aka Deep Thoughts) that are simultaneously ridiculous and poignant. (“The more you flip something, like a pancake, the more flippable it becomes.”) The Stench of Honolulu is the perfect vacation (or commute) book: quick, light, and guaranteed to make you laugh.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Humorist Handey's first novel is a caper that follows two men rampaging through Hawaii in a quest to find the Golden Monkey, a mysterious treasure the exact nature of unknown to the adventurers (they know only that it is "goldish and monkey-ish"). As the heroes a vaguely sociopathic narrator and his buddy Don traipse across Hawaii to complete their search, they come face-to-face with natives and encounter various obstacles. The book's tone is similar to the "Deep Thoughts" skits Handey performed on Saturday Night Live. Audiences who love the dry, mannered way Handey presented his one-liners on television are going to appreciate this audio edition. And, like David Sedaris, Handey's authorial voice is so distinct that you wouldn't want to hear anyone but the author reading his work. A Grand Central hardcover.
Customer Reviews
Just incredible
Funniest thing read in years. Impossible to stop after the first page. Pure stenchite.
Ridiculous and Wonderfully Absurd
This story has comedy gems that had me howling out loud. Mad Libs on Steroids is like saying Funny Made Super-funny so I don't see the issue there.
In the pseudoscientific equation of comedy, tragedy plus time, often forgotten is just the right brand of surprise. Give me more Handey Brand surprise. Quick read is perfect for iPhone. Thank you.
The Stench of Triumph
No words can describe how much I am being in love with this book's words.. Except the words within the book itself, I suppose.