Author: Tom Robbins
At this point, my author summaries move into the "I definitely want to read more" category. First up in that list is an author who is totally Elise's fault (formerly pussygalore66), as she is definitely the person who turned me on to Tom Robbins.
Tom Robbins
I've read four novels by Robbins. As I once said about Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, I don't know exactly what kind of drugs Tom Robbins was on when he write this book, but I kind of want to try them. His books are serious, they're funny (he calls them "seriocomedies"), they do odd things with syntax, in at least a few cases they refer to the sense of small far more than any other author I've read, and they're bizarre. Having said, they're also often more challenging reading because, which is one reason that I haven't jumped from one directly into the next.
Start Here
I read Jitterbug Perfume first, back in 2009. I liked it then and just writing this makes me want to go re-read it.
From there I went to Skinny Legs and All in 2010, which is nearly as good as Jitterbug Perfume.
If You Like Those
I read Still Life With Woodpecker in 2011. It's definitely a notch behind the other two and not as engraved on my memory, but still very good.
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues was a lot of fun, but despite it being the most famous of the books (in the sense that it had a movie made of it), I thought it was a few steps behind the others, but even lesser Robbins is greater. I read it in 2017, and actually reading it was part of the impetus for the original author post.
For Completists
So far, I've liked everything I've read. There's nothing that makes me say "hrm, maybe you want to avoid that one" or to otherwise qualify it.
What I Haven't Read Yet
One of those long ago FB threads recommended I move next to Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates, followed by Another Roadside Attraction and Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas. Seems as good an approach as any, although another friend said Half Asleep was her favorite.
He also has a collection of short pieces titled Wild Ducks Flying Backwards.
Probably Won't
Robbins only has published eight novels, he's 86 years old as of this writing, and the last of said novels came out 16 years ago. There's probably not much new material waiting unless he has some squirreled away. He also wrote a biography and an "unmemoir" of his own life, which are definitely lower priority for me. Right now I don't see any reason not to at least read the four extant novels and Wild Ducks, although that same post advised me to avoid Villa Incognito. Maybe I'll save it for last.
Tom Robbins
I've read four novels by Robbins. As I once said about Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, I don't know exactly what kind of drugs Tom Robbins was on when he write this book, but I kind of want to try them. His books are serious, they're funny (he calls them "seriocomedies"), they do odd things with syntax, in at least a few cases they refer to the sense of small far more than any other author I've read, and they're bizarre. Having said, they're also often more challenging reading because, which is one reason that I haven't jumped from one directly into the next.
Start Here
I read Jitterbug Perfume first, back in 2009. I liked it then and just writing this makes me want to go re-read it.
From there I went to Skinny Legs and All in 2010, which is nearly as good as Jitterbug Perfume.
If You Like Those
I read Still Life With Woodpecker in 2011. It's definitely a notch behind the other two and not as engraved on my memory, but still very good.
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues was a lot of fun, but despite it being the most famous of the books (in the sense that it had a movie made of it), I thought it was a few steps behind the others, but even lesser Robbins is greater. I read it in 2017, and actually reading it was part of the impetus for the original author post.
For Completists
So far, I've liked everything I've read. There's nothing that makes me say "hrm, maybe you want to avoid that one" or to otherwise qualify it.
What I Haven't Read Yet
One of those long ago FB threads recommended I move next to Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates, followed by Another Roadside Attraction and Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas. Seems as good an approach as any, although another friend said Half Asleep was her favorite.
He also has a collection of short pieces titled Wild Ducks Flying Backwards.
Probably Won't
Robbins only has published eight novels, he's 86 years old as of this writing, and the last of said novels came out 16 years ago. There's probably not much new material waiting unless he has some squirreled away. He also wrote a biography and an "unmemoir" of his own life, which are definitely lower priority for me. Right now I don't see any reason not to at least read the four extant novels and Wild Ducks, although that same post advised me to avoid Villa Incognito. Maybe I'll save it for last.