Review: WHAT A HOOT!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 16, 2013
This is a most delightful story.  Using the voices of several family members instead of just one narrator is what made the story work.  The family members struggle with truth versus perception all the way through.  For example, Buddy sees himself as being a big contributor to the family's well being, when, in fact, he is more of a crude leech. Roger, who is probably the smartest in the family, provides the most money for the Buffons, but he doesn't give himself much credit for it.  The mom, Mamie, isn't the family leader at all because she doesn't want to deal with any negative circumstance.  There really isn't any leader in the family, because no one seems suited to be one, so chaos broils up constantly.Using humor in writing can be extremely challenging to do effectively.  Often a funny quip or a funny situation sticks out from the flow of the story and makes it seem that the author created the situation for the sake of its humorous content, rather than having the humor as an offshoot of the situation.  The Raymos did a superb job with the humor in this tale.  I seldom laugh out loud while reading, but Iggy made me laugh more than once.My only complaint is that I think Buddy was dispatched too quickly.  Maybe he should have had a chance to do something more upsetting than making eyes at the nurse.  Maybe his injuries should have been ones that didn't require stationary restraints so he could have done something like pinch the nurse's fanny, or some other inappropriate touching, thereby giving Button a more legitimate reason to end the relationship at that point.I definitely recommend this story, but if strong language bothers a person, this book would be rather upsetting.  In my opinion, the language is natural to the characters, because they are the types who don't have extensive vocabularies, so they use shock words, just like many inarticulate real life characters do.What a fun read!