Escape from Hawaii

by Jack Handey

Genres: Humor, Comedy

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2023

About the author

Jack Handey is an American humorist. He is best known for his Deep Thoughts, a large body of surrealistic one-liner jokes, as well as his "Fuzzy Memories" and "My Big Thick Novel" shorts. Many people have the false impression that Jack Handey is not an actual person, but a character created by Saturday Night Live or a pen name used by National Lampoon.

Reviews

[Josh Small · Rating 4 out of 5]

EXACT RATING: 3.50 stars

I consider myself to be a loyal disciple of Jack Handey and have consistently enjoyed reading anything of his that I could get my hands on since the late '90s. My absolute favorite collections are DEEPER THOUGHTS, FUZZY MEMORIES and WHAT I'D SAY TO THE MARTIANS. I'd probably give each of those 4.5-5 stars.

When THE STENCH OF HONOLULU was released ten years ago I picked it up immediately and was disappointed. In my opinion, Handey's humor just doesn't work quite as well in novel form compared to the 1-3 sentences of his DEEP THOUGHTS, and the 1-3 pages of MARTIANS.

With that said, even HONOLULU had its high points and I've re-read it a couple times in the years since. The narrator, "Wrong-Way Slurps" is the amalgamated persona from all of Handey's previous writing. It's also the best nickname for any protagonist in any work of fiction, ever.

So ESCAPE FROM HAWAII finds our good buddy Wrong-Way still in prison after stealing the Golden Monkey for his Uncle Lou, and the follows him as he attempts to escape. His best friend Don (who for most of the book is a shrunken head) at his side. The book starts off at a high point and I loved his time in prison. Very very good. Other highlights included his time with the turtle-people and his repeated encounters with the warden's secretary.

I'd say that HAWAII is at least a modest step up from HONOLULU, although there are still several sections where the humor becomes inconsistent.

But the high points are still as high as ever, and as long as Handey continues writing, I'll continue reading.

[Neven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfectly stupid, in the good way.

[Tricky Nicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cannibalism is something I rarely engage in...

Why didn't I kill that sommelier when I first saw him, instead of asking about dessert wines?

The animals were unafraid, and would come right up to you like a street hooker.

[Chris]

Prospective readers have the right to know that Jack does not mention his 'funny cowboy dance' in this one. More skeletons than even usual, though.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly entertaining read with a joke in just about every other sentence. A hapless, idiot goes on a series of fleeing adventures and thinks of every possible stupid way to escape unbelievable situations.

MS: The idiot tries to escape prison by donning on a security guards outfit, but gets quickly distracted when he is sympatico with the prison guards grievances, and takes it up with the manager.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars Jack Handey is one of the funniest, absurdist humorist to ever write! He's just outrageous and hilarious. We've read and reread his writing as a family and laugh every time.

My only reason for 4.5 instead of 5 stars- there is very occasional sexual humor, which we skip when we read it with the kids. This book had a page that leaned into the sexual joke while feigning innocence, funny but inappropriate.

[Alex Carlson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not nearly as funny as The Stench of Honolulu and much less organized as a story, but it definitely has some amusing lines from one of my favorite protagonists ever.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absurdly hilarious.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

There should be 150 books in this series. A brilliantly, goofy-fun format from the Handeyman himself!

[Jason Cady · Rating 5 out of 5]

If "The Stench of Honolulu" was Handey's Iliad, this is his Odyssey.

[Sam Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chuckled slightly less reading this one but still got a kick out of it.

[Kelly Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully absurd

[G L · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I just hope that God can tell which of my prayers are real and which are sarcastic.” Good fun. Jack Handey is the best.