Strip Tease book review

Strip Tease was a bestselling book from 1993, and I was one of those readers who bought into the hype. Later in 1996, a film adaptation was released, and it featured some really big stars—some of my favorites. Despite that, I didn’t see the movie. But what about the book? Was it any good? Here’s our Strip Tease book review and book banter!

Basically, Strip Tease is the tense story about a young mother coming out of a bad marriage. Like other young women, this former FBI secretary decided to become a dancer to earn more money than her 9-to-5 job paid. In other words, she decided to become a provocative dancer at a strip club.

As you might suspect, she worked and met some good people, but she also ran into a lot of people who were like her ex-husband. In other words, this dancer ran into some drug users, local politicians, along with other riff-raff, low-lifes, and undesirables.

All the innocent dancer wanted was to get custody of her daughter. She was hoping that both of them could enjoy a happy, meaningful life together, without all the sleaze, corruption, and dishonesty that surrounded her every day!

Yes, the Strip Tease novel claims to be an action-packed caper story, but one that also has a madcap sense of humor. In fact, many of the reviewers from the 1990’s echoed the claim that this novel contained “…side-splitting humor” (San-Diego Union-Tribune).

Another reviewer claimed: “…If he [the author, Carl Hiaasen] were much funnier, you couldn’t see to read.” (Chicago Sun-Times).

As for me, I only chuckled occasionally while I marveled about the messes that each sleazy character immersed themselves into. However, the humor wasn’t side-splitting, and I rarely chuckled out loud.

Sure, the humor was cynical and relevant, especially with all the creative caricatures of politicians, strip club owners, dancers, drug addicts, and other felonious riff-raff. The caricatures impressed me, because many were relevant, and they were creative.

I especially thought the political characters, along with their exaggerated caricatures, captured their underlying sleaziness, dishonesty, greed, and lust-for-power. In fact, as I read this story, the politicians reminded me of our current ruling party right here in the United States of America.

So, while the caricatures of each character were creatively humorous, they were also a tragic reminder of the many failures in our society today. I didn’t find that tragic portrayal humorous—not at all. It was a disheartening reminder of our politicians’ lack of good character.

Overall, I found the humor of Strip Tease to be juvenile. Much of what I read I had already heard on the playground from my elementary-school days. And, while that humor had made me laugh back then, it rarely does today.

In fact, I found that the author’s sense of humor was lazy. Each character had the same sense of humor, which wasn’t realistic.

For instance, I felt like the dancer’s sense of humor was similar to the detective’s sense of humor, but they both had dramatically different lives and backgrounds. So, the humor was not genuine, and that’s probably why I didn’t find it so funny. Plus, it was a juvenile, patronizing sense of humor, which disappointed me.

One thing that I did enjoy was the ensemble cast of characters. In a way, their personalities were exaggerated, which made them seem more like caricatures of themselves.

I remember when Striptease, the film adaptation of the book, Strip Tease, was released. For some reason, the movie never appealed to me, even though I really enjoy Demi Moore and Burt Reynolds—they are and were both great actors. Surprisingly, Burt Reynolds was self-deprecating but very humorous when he appeared on various talk shows. I really enjoyed his sense of humor!

But, the exaggerations made each character stand out, so I guess that did help the storyline become more engaging. I won’t go into too much detail about each character, because I’m afraid that might reveal too much of this intriguing, nail-biting plot.

The main character, Erin Grant, might be like every young woman in the world. She was a decent person, who unfortunately had married an indecent, untrustworthy, irresponsible guy.

Unsurprisingly, they had a child, who Erin loved. She realized that she had to get custody of her daughter, so that she could have a chance at a normal, happy life as she grew into an adult.

Along the way, Erin racked up some large attorney fees to obtain custody of her daughter. To pay those fees, she became a dancer—not an ordinary dancer, but an erotic dancer.

So, this is Erin’s story. She meets and works with all kinds of characters, who each had their strong and their weak points.

Will Erin succeed in getting custody of her daughter? And, will she live long enough to enjoy a happy, healthy life with her daughter? You’ll have to read Strip Tease to answer those questions yourself!

As you might imagine, Erin ran into lots or riff-raff and other undesirables as she worked hard to save money.

One lamentable fan also happened to be a well-connected politician. Like many elected officials, this one sold his votes to the highest bidder.

Fortunately for the dancers, he was willing to share his good fortune. But, he always wanted something in return.

Recently, he became smitten with Erin, and used his ill-gotten gains to show how much he liked her. Could Erin benefit from his infatuation? Or, would the politician literally take them both down into the swamp?

A big, beefy bodyguard with a heart of gold. But, this guy wasn’t an innocent angel. He was working on his own deceitful, felonious schemes to defraud businesses of their hard-earned profits.

Fortunately, this guy did loyally protect the dancers from harm. And, he was especially loyal to Erin. But, did he have a crush on her? May he did, and maybe he didn’t!

As you might imagine, whenever there are capers happening, there will be a detective investigating all the suspects. And Strip Tease had its own Columbo-styled detective.

He, too, might have had a little crush on Erin. After all, what person could not resist Erin’s beauty, and her heartwarming desire to provide a good home for her daughter.

In addition to those good guys and bad guys, there are other characters, too. Many were familiar-sounding, because their exaggerated caricatures were universally cartoon-like in their descriptions and actions.

Despite its flaws, which I’ve already described, I found it difficult to stop reading Strip Tease. Most of the characters, despite their exaggerations, really clicked with me and enticed me to get to know them better.

So overall, I would highly recommend Strip Tease as a light, entertaining book to enjoy!

FINAL VERDICT:

There were many flaws in Strip Tease. The humor didn’t click with me. I found it stereotypically juvenile. In addition, I thought the jokes expressed by different characters didn’t reflect their different personalities. The jokes all sounded the same.

Despite those shortcomings, I found it difficult to put Strip Tease down. The characters were engaging, and the storyline was very creative.

Above all, I wanted to find out what happened to Erin and her daughter. Most importantly, I wanted to find out if they’d live through their harrowing, life-threatening adventures.

So overall, I’d recommend you read Strip Tease if you’re looking for a light, easy-to-read, entertaining romp!

Thanks for reading our Strip Tease book review. If you’ve read the book, or if you’ve watched Striptease, the film adaptation, please share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Photos and content by Doug Martin and Our Book Banter