Explosive 18 by Janet Evanovich

Note: The film stills in this blog are from the movie "One for the Money," the first Stephanie Plum book.


Evanovich's phenomenological approach to the symbology of post-feminist existentialism undermines the classical structure of the modern comedic text. Responses to her lexicon are decidedly combinational; analyzing only for classical structure of the comedic text alienates the reader-responder from a deterministic experience of the ambifocal narrator. Does the book succeed? Only a determinist could process the imagery of comedy. Only a post-feminist analyst could process the extential classical structure. Only a post-hedonist could properly interpretize the sexual ephemera.

There! Just wanted to see if I could still write a paragraph like that! Let's start over.

Explosive 18, by Janet Evanovich, is, you guessed it, the eighteenth novel in Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. It is highly readable and, as always, surprising. But Explosive 18 has more of a Laurel and Hardy feel to it than the previous book (you guessed it, Smokin' 17) by this author that I reviewed. Smokin' 17 had a unity to it, a set of repeating images, and no extraneous stuff. Explosive 18 is full of extraneous stuff. I questioned why the sidekick Lula was even present, aside from comic raunch-relief. She didn't make the plot happen. There was an icky sequence of Lula falling in love with an idiot that I never did really relate to the rest of the plot. It was funny, sort of. And I'm tired of Stephanie Plum's ongoing and ongoing and ongoing relationship crisis. Get off the fence, sister!

Don't get me wrong. I loved this book and enjoyed reading it, but it didn't have much impact. I guess it is really one of those "summer books." The funniest bit involved a shoulder mounted rocket launcher--and I wish the author would have integrated it into the entire plot. It was hilarious to picture the short/large Lula with the launcher resting on her bosoms.

Plum's plums: Joe Morelli (Jason O'Mara), left;
and Ranger (Daniel Sunjata), right.

First paragraph aside, I do think Stephanie Plum is the poster girl for post-feminism. She has a traditionally male job (bail-jumper hunter) but isn't all that great at it. She carries a revolver and a stun gun but frequently forgets to load/recharge them. She sleeps with whomever she chooses but tortures herself about it. And, her man Ranger runs in like a deux ex machina to rescue her whenever events get too hot to handle. She's tough and practical, pragmatic even. There is not much room for beauty in her life or these books.

This book (and all the Plum novels) have three saving graces. The first saving grace is Stephanie's family, which serves as a consistent background to this entire series. Her sluggard dad, tippling mom, and go-go grandma are just plain funny. In this book, they provided most of the laughter. The family is sort of a Greek chorus to Stephanie's life...they stand in for us, the readers, the wacky readers.

The second saving grace is the amazingly funny action scenes and the wry humor that infuses them. Stephanie is such a klutz that luck is a better ally than a gun. She has several run-ins with a thug named Razzle Dazzle and always comes out ahead, somehow, and I ended up laughing at every single injury inflicted upon him.
 

Stephanie, center, with Lula, left, and
a former colleague of Lula's.

The third saving grace is the wonderful character description of the people Stephanie comes across in her work and in her world. This a book set in a very specific place in New Jersey and the details are rich and alive. Right down to the gossip at the bakery counter, the crazy man who camps out in the cemetery, Lulu and the whole gang at the bail bond agency. It's wonderful to have them in my world, too.

Notice how I haven't hardly mentioned the plot? In this book, the plot was sort of an excuse for the interaction of a set of characters in a place and at a time. Plot just wasn't that important. Smokin' 17 was a roller coaster that brought you back around to the beginning. Explosive 18 is a roller coaster that just keeps on rolling--you can jump off, but who would want to?

Please note: If you want to protect the purity of children's minds, keep them away from this author until they're ready for some non-love-related sexual content. Yep, the unmarried Stephanie likes sex and tries to have it whenever she can fit it in. And she has two different but equal male partners. And her sidekick Lula is a former hooker (reformed).

SIDEBAR: Stun guns

Stephanie Plum's weapon of choice is the stun gun, and in the hands of author Evanovich, this weapon is hilarious. And it's as funny when it doesn't work as when it does. Its pervasiveness in this series of books makes me think that private use of stun guns is much more frequent than I could imagine. I like it.

Stephanie uses her stun gun offensively--she goes after someone and stuns them. I wonder how a stun gun would be as a defensive weapon. I can't imagine letting a criminal get close enough to me to stun him or her, but I like the idea of not having to aim (aiming is not one of my--or Stephanie's--best skills). I would truly prefer something like a Star Trek phaser, more of a point-and-stun weapon. I don't seek to kill or injure. I just want breathing space to call 911. Actually, I probably just need a remote 911-dialer, maybe a button that hangs on a chain around my neck. Like Life Alert for the elderly.

I have just talked myself into a weapon that is assoicated with the feeble. This is how it happens, folks...go get a stun gun. Really.