''Native Tongue'' is a novel by

Carl Hiaasen Carl Hiaasen (; born March 12, 1953) is an American journalist and novelist. He began his career as a newspaper reporter and by the late 1970s had begun writing novels in his spare time, both for adults and for young-adult readers. Two of his no ...

, published in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

. Like all his novels, it is set in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. The themes of the novel include corruption, environmentalism, exploitation of endangered species, and animal rights.

Synopsis

Joe Winder, a former

investigative reporter Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years res ...

, now works in the

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...

department for the Amazing Kingdom of Thrills, a theme park located on North Key Largo,

. Joe's dulled investigative instincts are roused by the theft of two endangered "Blue Tongued Mango Voles" from the park's rare animal pavilion. His boss, Charles Chelsea, discourages him from looking into the theft, but Joe secretly questions Dr. Will Koocher, the young biologist hired to supervise the

captive breeding Captive breeding, also known as captive propagation, is the process of plants or animals in controlled environments, such as wildlife reserves, zoos, botanic gardens, and other conservation facilities. It is sometimes employed to help species that ...

of the voles. The Amazing Kingdom's founder and owner is Francis X. Kingsbury, a.k.a. Frankie King, a convicted

racketeer Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. Originally and of ...

who relocated to Florida under the

Witness Protection Program Witness protection is security provided to a threatened person providing testimonial evidence to the justice system, including defendants and other clients, before, during, and after a trial, usually by police. While a witness may only require p ...

after testifying against several mid-level members of

John Gotti John Joseph Gotti Jr.Capeci, Mustain (1996), pp. 25–26 (, ; October 27, 1940 – June 10, 2002) was an American gangster and boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. He ordered and helped to orchestrate the murder of Gambino boss ...

's crime family. Having discovered a previously unknown talent for selling real estate, Frankie has become very wealthy after building the Kingdom. His next project is to build Falcon Trace, an enormous vacation resort near the park, blatantly ignoring the proximity of a federal wildlife preserve. The theft of the voles was commissioned by Molly McNamara, the elderly founder of a small environmentalist group called the Mothers of Wilderness. Unfortunately the two burglars she hired, Bud Schwartz and Danny Pogue, carelessly kill both voles during the getaway. Furious, Molly gives both of the burglars non-fatal gunshot wounds and forcibly recruits them into the group. Meanwhile Joe, who opposes Falcon Trace, keeps investigating the theft. The Kingdom's trained

orca The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only Extant taxon, extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black ...

suddenly dies, and Will's dead body is found lodged in its throat during the autopsy. Joe refuses to let go of his suspicions of foul play, and the Kingdom's security chief, Pedro Luz, catches him searching Will's office for clues. Charlie decides to fire Joe, but not before Joe reveals he's uncovered the motive for Will's murder: a bottle of blue food coloring hidden in the vole lab, meaning Will had discovered that the "endangered" voles were fake and was silenced before he could expose the hoax. Meanwhile, Molly sends Bud and Danny to burglarize Frankie's office at the Kingdom, looking for proof of illegal activities connected with Falcon Trace. Among Frankie's private files, Bud finds news clippings and correspondence showing his true identity as a former mobster. Unknown to Molly, Bud and Danny approach Frankie and

blackmail Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...

him for the return of the files. Frightened of the mob's retaliation, Frankie promises a large sum. Bud and Danny are elated, but return to Molly's condominium to find her savagely beatenFrankie sent Pedro to give her "a warning" after her group picketed the opening ceremony of Falcon Trace. Joe's girlfriend Nina leaves him after he loses his job, but he finds allies in Carrie Lanier, an actress who plays one of the Kingdom's animal characters, and "

Skink Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae, a family in the infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one of the most diverse families of lizards. Ski ...

", a hermit who lives wild in the

Key Largo Key Largo ( es, Cayo Largo) is an island in the upper Florida Keys archipelago and is the largest section of the keys, at long. It is one of the northernmost of the Florida Keys in Monroe County, and the northernmost of the keys connected b ...

woods. Both men agree that the law can do little to punish Frankie for Will's murder. Joe sabotages equipment at the Falcon Trace construction site and, with Carrie's encouragement, issues phony press releases about the park. Charlie counters each of these releases, while Pedro unsuccessfully tries to kill Joe. Under Skink's guidance, Joe and Carrie meet and compare notes with Molly, Bud and Danny, leading Joe to learn of Frankie's true identity. When Bud and Danny appear to exchange Frankie's files for the blackmail money, Pedro and one of his security guards try to kill them instead. The burglars escape, and an enraged Bud tracks down a mid-ranking Gotti associate to inform him of Frankie's whereabouts. A

hit man Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may be ...

is sent, but his shot accidentally wounds a golf pro standing next to Frankie. Disguised in Carrie's animal costume, Joe enters the park and, with Bud and Danny's help, confronts Frankie in his office. Joe offers him a graceful way out, giving him a press release announcing that he will cancel Falcon Trace for environmentally conscious reasons. Joe reminds Frankie that since he obtained the permits for Falcon Trace under a false name and hired convicted felons as security guards, he will be in violation of his

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

. As Frankie considers taking Joe's offer, Pedro bursts in, disarms Joe and marches him out of the office. Frankie orders him killed. Skink rescues Joe and pitches Pedro into the whale tank, where he drowns while being raped by a

bottlenose dolphin Bottlenose dolphins are aquatic mammals in the genus ''Tursiops.'' They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Molecular studies show the genus definitively contains two species: the common ...

. Skink rejects Joe's subtle approach in favor of burning the Kingdom down. After the two men watch Carrie's first and last performance as the star of the Kingdom's Jubilee parade, Skink trips the park's fire alarm and causes the tourists and employees to flee. As Frankie to find his security detail, he is shot dead by the hit man. Joe and Carrie escape the burning park on foot while Molly, Danny and Bud watch the proceedings on television. In the

epilogue An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the w ...

, Falcon Trace is acquired by outside investors with plans to continue the development, but the project is halted when the Mothers of Wilderness report a sighting of two more of the presumed-extinct voles in the nearby woods. The land, and the remains of the Amazing Kingdom, are replanted and eventually incorporated into the nearby nature preserve.

Characters

*Joe Winder: The protagonist of the book. He works in public relations for The Amazing Kingdom, and was formerly an investigative reporter. *Carrie Lanier: Winder's love interest. An aspiring actress who currently plays one of the animal characters at the Amazing Kingdom. *Charles Chelsea: Vice President of public relations for The Amazing Kingdom, and Winder's immediate boss. A true

spin doctor In public relations and politics, spin is a form of propaganda, achieved through knowingly providing a biased interpretation of an event or campaigning to influence public opinion about some organization or public figure. While traditional publi ...

, he is so terrified of Kingsbury's displeasure that he will cover up anything remotely unpleasant that happens at the Kingdom. *Pedro Luz: The fitness-obsessed head of security at The Amazing Kingdom, a corrupt ex-policeman who combines

steroids A steroid is a biologically active organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter membrane fluidity; and a ...

with an IV drip. *Molly McNamara: The seemingly 'sweet' old lady who hires two former robbers to steal the voles. She is a member of the Mothers of Wilderness, a fictional environmentalist group whose highly funded work usually comes to nothing. *Bud Schwartz and Danny Pogue: The two burglars hired by Molly. *Skink, otherwise known as

Clinton Tyree Clinton Tyree, a.k.a. Skink, is a fictional character who has appeared in several novels by Carl Hiaasen, beginning with '' Double Whammy'' in 1987. He is a former governor of Florida who suddenly abandoned his office to live in the wilderness, mos ...

: Former Governor of Florida. After giving up faith in the political system he decides to live in the Everglades. He always wears a shower cap and an electronic tracking device he found on a wild

Florida panther The Florida panther is a North American cougar (''P. c. couguar'') population in South Florida. It lives in pinelands, tropical hardwood hammocks, and mixed freshwater swamp forests. It is known under a number of common names including Costa R ...

(leading to the appearance of the trackers at the climax). Skink saves Joe's life on more than one occasion and is instrumental at the ending of the book. *Francis X. Kingsbury: The owner of the "Amazing Kingdom of Thrills" and a convicted felon, is a member of the

after grassing on some mobsters in order to preserve himself.

References to actual history, science, or current events

*Kingsbury conceived the "Mango Vole" scam as a way of competing with

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, th ...

's much-lauded (though ultimately unsuccessful) attempt to repopulate the now-extinct dusky seaside sparrow. *The "Mango Voles" were actually cosmetically altered

pine vole The woodland vole (''Microtus pinetorum'') is a small vole found in eastern North America. It is also known as the pine vole. Characteristics The woodland vole has a head and body length ranging between with a short tail. Its weight ranges bet ...

s (''Microtus pitymys''); far from being endangered, as Kingsbury's accomplice tells him, they are classified as a species of

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

because of their abundance. *Skink admits to secret dreams of breaking into

Riker's Island Rikers Island is a island in the East River between Queens and the Bronx that contains New York City's main jail complex. Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was originally under in size, but has ...

prison in

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

and killing

Mark David Chapman Mark David Chapman (born May 10, 1955) is an American man who murdered former Beatles member John Lennon in New York City on December 8, 1980. As Lennon walked into the archway of his apartment building at The Dakota, Chapman shot Lennon from a ...

, the man who murdered

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

, the lead singer for

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

. Skink and Winder both discuss

The Dakota The Dakota, also known as the Dakota Apartments, is a Housing cooperative, cooperative apartment building at 1 West 72nd Street (Manhattan), 72nd Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The Dakota was construc ...

hotel, the scene of Lennon's murder. *Winder is saddened that Carrie, unlike him, cannot clearly remember the circumstances of Lennon's murder, and she defends that she was only fourteen years old when it happened, and, moreover, "it's easy to lose track of these idiots," naming other emotionally disturbed gunmen who have become famous, such as

Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963. Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at the age of 12 fo ...

Sirhan Sirhan Sirhan Bishara Sirhan (; ar, سرحان بشارة سرحان ''Sirḥān Bišāra Sirḥān'', born March 19, 1944) is a Palestinian Jordanian man who was convicted for the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. Kennedy, a United States Sena ...

and

John Hinckley John Warnock Hinckley Jr. (born May 29, 1955) is an American man who attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan in Washington, D.C. on March 30, 1981, two months after Reagan's first inauguration. Using a .22 caliber revolver, Hinck ...

; *The Amazing Kingdom's nightly parade is based loosely on the history of Florida, making lighthearted, bloodless references to historical figures such as

Juan Ponce de León Juan Ponce de León (, , , ; 1474 – July 1521) was a Spanish explorer and '' conquistador'' known for leading the first official European expedition to Florida and for serving as the first governor of Puerto Rico. He was born in Santervá ...

, the pirate Black Caesar, and the

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, an ...

chief

Osceola Osceola (1804 – January 30, 1838, Asi-yahola in Muscogee language, Creek), named Billy Powell at birth in Alabama, became an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. His mother was Muscogee, and his great-grandfather was a S ...

, and events such as the

Great Miami Hurricane The Great Miami Hurricane of 1926 was a large and intense tropical cyclone that devastated the Greater Miami area and caused catastrophic damage in the Bahamas and the U.S. Gulf Coast in September of the year 1926, accruing a US$100 mill ...

of 1926. It also deliberately excludes mention of such episodes as the slaughter of

French Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Bez ...

s at

Fort Caroline Fort Caroline was an attempted French colonial settlement in Florida, located on the banks of the St. Johns River in present-day Duval County. It was established under the leadership of René Goulaine de Laudonnière on 22 June, 1564, followin ...

in 1565 ("It would have been difficult to find a musical score suitable to accompany a mass

disembowel Disembowelment or evisceration is the removal of some or all of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract (the bowels, or viscera), usually through a horizontal incision made across the abdominal area. Disembowelment may result from an accident ...

ing...") *Several real-life pro golfers are named as contemporaries of Kingsbury's pro, Jake Harp, including

Ben Hogan William Ben Hogan (August 13, 1912 – July 25, 1997) was an American professional golfer who is generally considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory and ...

, Jack "The Bear" Nicklaus,

Raymond Floyd Raymond Loran Floyd (born September 4, 1942) is an American retired golfer who has won numerous tournaments on both the PGA Tour and Senior PGA Tour, including four majors and four senior majors. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame ...

, Arnold "Arnie" Palmer, Lee "The Mex" Trevino, Greg "The Shark" Norman, and

Billy Casper William Earl Casper Jr. (June 24, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American professional golfer. He was one of the most prolific tournament winners on the PGA Tour from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s. In his youth, Casper started as a caddie a ...

. *Kingsbury wears a variety of hairpieces to conceal his baldness, imitating the hairstyles of persons such as

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...

and

Jack Kemp Jack French Kemp (July 13, 1935 – May 2, 2009) was an American politician and a professional football player. A member of the Republican Party from New York, he served as Housing Secretary in the administration of President George H. W. Bu ...

Connections with Hiaasen's other works

*Skink and his best friend Jim Tile reappear after their introduction in '' Double Whammy''. *Hiaasen's book '' Team Rodent: How Disney Devours the World'' collects a series of essays castigating

, and the Disney Company in general, for their reality-distorting brand of entertainment and their corporate greed. The fictional "Amazing Kingdom" acts as a thinly veiled parody of Disney World, a theme park run by a fugitive ex-mobster whose sole motivation for providing family entertainment is that it is amazingly lucrative, and who will go to any lengths, including murder, to protect it. *In Hiaasen's debut novel, ''

Tourist Season ''Tourist Season'' is a 1986 novel by Carl Hiaasen. It was his first solo novel, after co-writing several mystery/thriller novels with William Montalbano. Plot ''Las Noches de Diciembre'' (Spanish, "The Nights of December") is a small terrori ...

'', one of the civic leaders discussing

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

's response to a new

eco-terrorist Eco-terrorism is an act of violence which is committed in support of environmental causes, against people or property. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines eco-terrorism as "...the use or threatened use of violence o ...

group operating in South Florida laments, "why doesn't this kind of shit ever happen to Disney World?" Hiaasen expands on this theme in ''Native Tongue'', declaring that South Florida business and civic leaders blame Disney World for diverting the family tourist trade to

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

, and greeted Kingsbury's proposal for a competitive theme park with instant, roaring approval. *One of the most disgraceful floats in the Amazing Kingdom's nightly parade is entitled "Migrants on a Mission," portraying cheerful Caribbean farm workers dancing in Florida's

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...

fields; Hiaasen's subsequent novel, ''

Strip Tease A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper" or an "exo ...

'', focuses on the sugar cane industry's exploitation of migrant labor, and the workers' squalid living conditions. *

Warren Zevon Warren William Zevon (; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician. Zevon's most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", "Lawyers, Guns and Money", and " Roland the Headless Tho ...

is named as one of Joe Winder's favorite rock musicians; Zevon was a long-time friend of Hiaasen, and the two collaborated on the lyrics for the song "Basket Case," which appeared in Hiaasen's subsequent novel of the same name and Zevon's 2002 album ''

My Ride's Here ''My Ride's Here'' is the eleventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Warren Zevon. The album was released on May 7, 2002, by Artemis Records. Zevon described it as "a meditation on death"; it was released several months before Zevon was d ...

''.

References

{{Carl Hiaasen 1991 American novels Novels by Carl Hiaasen Alfred A. Knopf books Novels set in Florida Environmental fiction books Dilys Award-winning works