ok, i just finished “fierce invalids home from hot climates”. not the best tom robbins i’ve ever read. believe it or not, i think he writes female protagonists much better than male. and since this book had a male protagonist, i felt like the book suffered a little.
has anyone else read robbins, this book, and if so, what did you think?
my favorite works by him, in order:
jitterbug perfume-- the best, IMHO
another roadside attraction
still life with woodpecker
even cowgirls…
skinny legs and all
half asleep in frog pajamas-- his worst, IMHO
Was real happy to find a copy of Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates in the SF minutes before boarding my flight back to China. Again, not the best, but it was a good read and sure made that flight go much better.
Jitterbug Perfume & Still Life with Woodpecker are my favorites of Robbins. I read Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas but was unimpressed. I read half of Even Cowgirls but I had to stop due to the growing revulsion. Haven’t read anything of his since. Why did I ever read that last one?
But J.P. and S.L.w.W. were excellent and I may even re-read them someday (quite the complement from me considering that my pile of books to be read is nearly bursting through the roof of my house). These were some of the few books that I’ve had a hard time putting down.
I read Jitterbug Perfume 10 or so years ago and loved it, absolutely. Then tried Even Cowgirls Get the Blues and, like Phobos, stopped. I don’t recall why at the moment, but I must have been grossed out too. I can’t even recall the plot.
So, what’s the next-best Robbins if I want to get a near-Jitterbug experience?
I was forced to read the “Cowgirls…” book in order to keep seeing a woman who insisted I do so. When I finished the book I decided not to call her again. She’d wasted my time on a stupid text, and if she was trying to make me aware of something in the process, it turned out to be how much her own most irritating traits appeared in the book.
I haven’t read Fierce… yet, but I’m glad to hear some good reviews. I used to love Robbins, but I stopped reading him after Half Asleep in Frog Pajams. Is it just me, or did anyone else wish the primary character was a real person? I wanted to track her down and slap the living snot out of her for being a walking waste of skin.
My two favourites are Jitterbug Perfume and Skinny Legs and All, although I’ve enjoyed all of his stuff. Half Asleep in Frog Pyjamas was his weakest to date, IMO. I’ve just started Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates; so far I’m not overly impressed. I think he peaked some years ago and is now on a downward slide. Might be time to retire.
Have you read Fuck, Yes!? Robbins wrote it some years ago under the pen name Wing F. Fing (I think.) It’s one of those books I started reading, then put down, and have now lost. I’d be curious as to what other Robbins’ fans thought of it.
I’ve read all of Robbins’ books (except that Fuck Yes! one…didn’t know about that), and i’d have to agree that Jitterbug Perfume and Skinny Legs and All were the best ones. I finished Fierce Invalids… over the summer, and it really wasn’t that good. I constantly got the impression he was describing himself in the book. I don’t know much about Tom Robbins the man, but the way he described the title character, it made him look like the little pictures of Tom Robbins at the back of the book.
But i think it’s still worth a read, since he throws in so many ideas about the world and how we relate to it, you know, little amusing insights. That’s what he’s all about anyways.
Oops, sorry. According to this site Wing F. Fing is not one of Robbins’ pen names. My apologies for misleading you - the guy at the bookstore claimed that Robbins had written it under the name Fing to avoid some contractual/legal problems.
I have read Another Roadside Attraction. Just love the book, but I haven’t picked up anything else. There are some good reviews here so I have something to look forward to.
