April 2017: Tom Robbins
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1sweetiegherkin
Hi all, this month's author is Tom Robbins. Have you read his books before? What do you plan on reading this month?
2sweetiegherkin
I must confess I haven't read of his works before and I'm not sure that I'll be able to get to any this month with the backlog of books I have checked out from the library at the moment.
3sparemethecensor
Nope, he is new to me. Not sure what my library will have available.
4rainpebble
He doesn't sound to my taste at all so rather than purchasing one of his books, I have opted to read Tom Robbins: The Kindle Singles Interview by Mara Altman and see how I do with that.
I do look forward to reading all of your comments on Robbins' books, however.
I do look forward to reading all of your comments on Robbins' books, however.
5BookConcierge
I've read two Tom Robbins' books Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (2 stars) and Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates (3 stars). Don't think Robbins is the author for me.
6sweetiegherkin
Hm, doesn't seem to be much enthusiasm for this author; I wonder what happened to the folks who voted for him.
Anyway, I decided to try one of his books after all, as I find I will be without an audiobook in the car shortly. There's an audiobook version of Even Cowgirls Get the Blues available through my library, so I'll be starting on that soon-ish.
Incidentally, I noticed there's a movie version of the book (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106834/), but it doesn't appear to have good reviews (critical or audience).
Even more incidentally, "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" is the name of a song by one of my favorite bands. (The Gaslight Anthem, song here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYwdl1UDzMo) I'd have to assume they pulled the name from either the book or the movie, except that there is also a classic country song with the same name.
(edited to fix link issues)
Anyway, I decided to try one of his books after all, as I find I will be without an audiobook in the car shortly. There's an audiobook version of Even Cowgirls Get the Blues available through my library, so I'll be starting on that soon-ish.
Incidentally, I noticed there's a movie version of the book (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106834/), but it doesn't appear to have good reviews (critical or audience).
Even more incidentally, "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" is the name of a song by one of my favorite bands. (The Gaslight Anthem, song here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYwdl1UDzMo) I'd have to assume they pulled the name from either the book or the movie, except that there is also a classic country song with the same name.
(edited to fix link issues)
7BookConcierge
>6 sweetiegherkin:
I actually listened to the audio ... Here's my review
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues - Tom Robbins
Book on CD read by Michael Nouri
2**
From the book jacket: The whooping crane rustlers are girls. Young girls. Cowgirls, as a matter of fact, all “bursting with dimples and hormones”—and the FBI has never seen anything quite like them. Yet their rebellion at the Rubber Rose Ranch is almost overshadowed by the arrival of the legendary Sissy Hankshaw, a white-trash goddess literally born to hitchhike, and the freest female of them all.
My Reactions
The last time (which was also the first time) I read anything by Tom Robbins was in 2002. It was for my F2F book club, or I don’t think I would have picked it up on my own. I vaguely remembered it was a strange plot but I enjoyed the writing style. My reactions to his writing haven’t changed.
Robbins writes ridiculously absurd story lines, interspersed with long discourses on philosophy, religion, history, etc. His characters are bigger than life and virtually all of them have some unique quirk – physical or philosophical. The “stars” of this novel are Sissy (born with extraordinarily large thumbs, perfect for hitchhiking), the Countess (a man whose business empire is built on feminine hygiene products), Bonanza Jellybean (a teenage cowgirl on the Rubber Rose Ranch), and the Chink (a Japanese American who has befriended the Native American clock people and become a sort of guru to a variety of hippie pilgrims). Oh, and let’s not forget the whooping cranes who stop at Siwash Lake on the Rubber Rose Ranch on their way to and from their traditional winter and summer nesting grounds.
If you’re having trouble figuring out how such a diverse cast could come together in a coherent plot, well, stop trying. You’ll just give yourself a headache. Robbins is nothing if not inventive in his plotting. Where his writing shines, though is in his wild descriptions / similes. A few examples:
The breeze in the grasses made a sound like a silk-lined opera coat falling to the floor of a carriage.
The sky was as tattered as a Gypsy’s pajamas. Through knife holes in the flannel overcast, July sunlight spilled…
The Countess complained, his dentures working over his ivory cigarette holder like a chiropractor realigning the spine of a Chihuahua.
Entertained as I was by the occasional wild description and laugh-out-loud moment, however, in general I was bored by the book. All those interludes to wax poetic about this or that philosophy seemed nothing but an attempt to distract the reader from the lack of a story. Clearly, Robbins is not the writer for me.
Michael Nouri’s performance on the audio is wonderful. He has great pacing, and the way he interprets certain characters brings them to life.
I actually listened to the audio ... Here's my review
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues - Tom Robbins
Book on CD read by Michael Nouri
2**
From the book jacket: The whooping crane rustlers are girls. Young girls. Cowgirls, as a matter of fact, all “bursting with dimples and hormones”—and the FBI has never seen anything quite like them. Yet their rebellion at the Rubber Rose Ranch is almost overshadowed by the arrival of the legendary Sissy Hankshaw, a white-trash goddess literally born to hitchhike, and the freest female of them all.
My Reactions
The last time (which was also the first time) I read anything by Tom Robbins was in 2002. It was for my F2F book club, or I don’t think I would have picked it up on my own. I vaguely remembered it was a strange plot but I enjoyed the writing style. My reactions to his writing haven’t changed.
Robbins writes ridiculously absurd story lines, interspersed with long discourses on philosophy, religion, history, etc. His characters are bigger than life and virtually all of them have some unique quirk – physical or philosophical. The “stars” of this novel are Sissy (born with extraordinarily large thumbs, perfect for hitchhiking), the Countess (a man whose business empire is built on feminine hygiene products), Bonanza Jellybean (a teenage cowgirl on the Rubber Rose Ranch), and the Chink (a Japanese American who has befriended the Native American clock people and become a sort of guru to a variety of hippie pilgrims). Oh, and let’s not forget the whooping cranes who stop at Siwash Lake on the Rubber Rose Ranch on their way to and from their traditional winter and summer nesting grounds.
If you’re having trouble figuring out how such a diverse cast could come together in a coherent plot, well, stop trying. You’ll just give yourself a headache. Robbins is nothing if not inventive in his plotting. Where his writing shines, though is in his wild descriptions / similes. A few examples:
The breeze in the grasses made a sound like a silk-lined opera coat falling to the floor of a carriage.
The sky was as tattered as a Gypsy’s pajamas. Through knife holes in the flannel overcast, July sunlight spilled…
The Countess complained, his dentures working over his ivory cigarette holder like a chiropractor realigning the spine of a Chihuahua.
Entertained as I was by the occasional wild description and laugh-out-loud moment, however, in general I was bored by the book. All those interludes to wax poetic about this or that philosophy seemed nothing but an attempt to distract the reader from the lack of a story. Clearly, Robbins is not the writer for me.
Michael Nouri’s performance on the audio is wonderful. He has great pacing, and the way he interprets certain characters brings them to life.
8sweetiegherkin
>7 BookConcierge: Hm. It certainly sounds interesting, although as you put out, there's a lot going on. I just finished my other audiobook this morning on the way in to work, so I'll probably start this one tonight on the way home! Will report back when I'm done (probably a couple of weeks).
9overlycriticalelisa
it's been like 7 or 8 full years since i've read him so i might not agree with myself anymore but:
i won't be getting to any of his books this month (or anytime soon probably) but mostly love him. i think he is generally not an author that people are middle-of-the-road with. seems like people either love him or don't like him much at all, and he's definitely not for everyone. i think i used the word "bizarre" in each of the books of his that i've reviewed. as an example, my favorite of his (that i've read, anyway) is skinny legs and all, in which some of the main characters are a dirty sock, a spoon, a stick, etc. like i said, not for everyone. personally, i find him funny (this is unusual for me) and able to discuss really philosophical things in an interesting way. also, i find it so rare for a white guy to really talk about sexism and the patriarchy in the way he has, and for so long. he tackles big issues (i mean things like time, religion, science, politics, desire, art). and what he does is so unusual that i find him exciting.
i won't be getting to any of his books this month (or anytime soon probably) but mostly love him. i think he is generally not an author that people are middle-of-the-road with. seems like people either love him or don't like him much at all, and he's definitely not for everyone. i think i used the word "bizarre" in each of the books of his that i've reviewed. as an example, my favorite of his (that i've read, anyway) is skinny legs and all, in which some of the main characters are a dirty sock, a spoon, a stick, etc. like i said, not for everyone. personally, i find him funny (this is unusual for me) and able to discuss really philosophical things in an interesting way. also, i find it so rare for a white guy to really talk about sexism and the patriarchy in the way he has, and for so long. he tackles big issues (i mean things like time, religion, science, politics, desire, art). and what he does is so unusual that i find him exciting.
10sweetiegherkin
>9 overlycriticalelisa: So far I'm enjoying Even Cowgirls get the blues, but I'm only about a quarter of the way in, so I'm holding off final judgment. I find him funny, too.
11overlycriticalelisa
>10 sweetiegherkin:
that was the first of his that i read.
our son was born with gigantic hands and sissy, from that book, has huge thumbs, so we wanted to give him that nickname but that seems cruel for a little boy. so we call him jellybean instead. most people assume that it's because he's small and sweet or something, but nope, it's a tom robbins reference. ::grins::
(edited to fix touchstone)
that was the first of his that i read.
our son was born with gigantic hands and sissy, from that book, has huge thumbs, so we wanted to give him that nickname but that seems cruel for a little boy. so we call him jellybean instead. most people assume that it's because he's small and sweet or something, but nope, it's a tom robbins reference. ::grins::
(edited to fix touchstone)
12sweetiegherkin
>11 overlycriticalelisa: awww, that ends up being an adorable nickname!
13sweetiegherkin
All -- don't forget to nominate authors for May/June/July! Deadline extended to 4/23
http://www.librarything.com/topic/255064
http://www.librarything.com/topic/255064
14overlycriticalelisa
>12 sweetiegherkin:
there aren't a lot of kids around whose heads turn when someone yells "jelly!" =)
there aren't a lot of kids around whose heads turn when someone yells "jelly!" =)
15sweetiegherkin
>14 overlycriticalelisa: Good point! :)
16rainpebble
Umm, yeah. After reading Tom Robbins: The Kindle Singles Interview by Mara Altman I still think that Tommy Boy & I wouldn't be a good fit. The interview was quite interesting, however, and he is an interesting man. But I don't think I am interested in reading him.
17sweetiegherkin
>16 rainpebble: Any particular highlights from the book? I could easily suppose that the person who writes Even Cowgirls Get the Blues must have quite a quirky imagination.
