Rating: 
Summary: Could have been so much better
Review: I have read a few of Tom's books, loving Jitterbug Perfume the most, and this one the least. Had a few moments, but not as great a work by a long shot. Only for die-hards, unless you've got a lot of time on your hands. Read his other books first, and this one only if youmust.
Rating:
Summary: Waiting until April
Review: In May of 2000, while running through LAX to catch my flight, I saw, out the corner of my eye, "Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates" displayed at the aiport bookstore. Though I nearly risked being late for my flight, I dashed into the bookstore, bought it, and read happily, nonstop, abandoning everything I was SUPPOSED to be reading. I hadn't even known a new title was being released, so I couldn't believe my good fortune. A Tom Robbins novel for a four hour flight! Ever since "Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas," I had been eagerly awaiting, praying almost, for a new novel. During those six long years, I reread all his other books. "Jitterbug Perfume" is my favorite, followed by a tie between "Skinny Legs and All" and "Still Life with Woodpecker." So I am a big fan, which is important to contextualize my disappointment in this book! Yes, I was delighted by much of it: the synchronistic plot twists and character connections, the bizarre situations and exotic locales, his signature brillance with word play, his inevitable references to mythology, politics, and philosophy, and his ever engaging characters, that is, except for Switters. Switters is the quintessence of the eternal boy imbued with narcissism and an unnecessary dose of misogynisism. Don't begin your foray into Tom Robbins with this book. I am undaunted. Although I had not reread this book, I still plan to pre-order "Villa Incognito," due out in April, which I hope deliveres what Robbins is capapable of providing.
Rating: 
Summary: EXCELLENT
Review: Another Tom Robbins great. An enchanting, stimulating, and exciting read. If you have never read Tom Robbins before, I suggest you read "Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas" first. If you've read his stuff before and didn't like it, (i really didnt care for "Another Roadside Attraction" or "Skinny Legs and All", personally, but to each his own) don't be scared to pick up this book. Numerous times you will have to step back and think, "how'd he come up with this?!?" Excellent read.
Rating: 
Summary: A chore to finish it.
Review: Robbins spends to much time rambling on in this one. The story is nice, if a bit overtly contrived to get his point(s) across, but he should have put it in a package about half the size.
Rating:
Summary: Fun, intellectual, and philosophical - This book blows the m
Review: I loved this book. I read this book only ten pages at a time. After each sitting I would swim in what I had read, wanting the book, this pocketful of uncomfortably honest ideas, not to end. I loved the attitude of the protagonist and the author, which lifted the spirits on every page. You can tell the author loves words, he loves people, and all the baggage that comes with them. This is a very important book. There is real meaning in every page and the wonder of fresh perspective leaps out. I imagine almost any seeker who reads this could feel connected to this book. As would the lover of English language.TECHNIQUES: I love the way he concisely captures human interchange. Describing a manner of flirting: Not infrequently, he'd spot one of them in the market again and exchange with her one of those futily desirous smiles that are like domestic postage on a letter to a foreign destination. (186) What a way to describe the perfunctory nature of the countless harmless street flirts ! The book is about the quest for truth - the truth of the soldier, the truth of the wise man, the truth of the romantic, the truth of the outcast. The protagonist, Switters, aims to be a sort of amalgam of these. He is an agnostic, perhaps even an atheist, but he is a decent man who believes in and practices integrity. And he has aspects of a holy, God-aware man. And which person who seeks to find truth is not seeking to be closer to God? There are 4 parts to this book, each centered aronud a different mini-quest in Switter's immediate life. Part 1 treats the topic of Switter's trip to South America, which involves a mystical communion with a completely different value system, that of the Kandankandero Native American. Part 2 is about Switters attemtps at relationship with his love, innocent and sexual, for Suzy, who is taboo of sorts. Part 3 is about Switters in the Middle East, finding a wholly different (yet similar) kind of love with the radical nun Domino. And Part 4 is the anti-climax of sorts, the apotheosis of an absolute, happy ending. **********************
THEMES AND PERSPECTIVE: There is no topic off-topic in this book. The boundaries between ideas shed themselves as the author's mind explores new possibilities, interfaces, and dicoveries. Robbins alternatingly (but connectedly) ponders language, sacredness, paradox, innocence, romance, culture, and subversion. They retain the readable nature of an internal dialogue. Politics, religion, sex, spirituality, culture, language, these are the themes treated in this book. Even when I didn't agree with the author, I had to admit he has an enormous charm and sensitivity. He stretches language to its limits, but you bask in his creativity, which is rarely presumptuous and usually a source of joy. copyright 2002 o.a. azam
Rating:
Summary: this is my bible
Review: i have loved tom robbins books since the day i absentmindedly stumbled across still life with woodpecker, and it remains one of my top favorite books of all time. but if there is one failing i would fault this otherwise godlike author with, it is his propensity for preachiness. i almost always agree with what he's selling, but i've found that inevitably some are turned of by the idea and/or hassle of buying. fierce invalids, however, has no such gratuitous or fanatical rants. it's just robbins at his best, giving those of us who appreciate it a world so absurd, it reminds us of the freakish oddities that are our own thought processes. i found this book more laidback and whimsical, its arguments more musings than tirades. reading a tom robbins book is like having tea under the bed with your monsters, you're never quite sure what to think, your awareness is particularly heightened, and you know you'll never forget the experience.
Rating: 
Summary: Not his best, for some different reasons...
Review: I agree with a lot of other reviews that Tom Robbins has written better books, but my dislikes seem to be diametrically opposed to many of them. The running Lolita-complex made sense to me, and wasn't offensive to me (although if I'd read this one at 15 when I first read a Robbins novel, I probably wouldn't have gotten as much out of it). And I would have liked more, not less, on the Finnegan's Wake club, fleshing out *why* that book was chosen as a running theme. (No, I haven't read Finnegan's Wake. I'd like to, but only if I could take a class on it.) What I didn't like was that none of the non-Switters characters seemed like a person. They were all just sketches, and I couldn't understand why Switters cared about any of them. And Switters seemed overdone -- he was either a too-perfect mouthpiece for Robbins' philosophy, or he was just clueless. And the storyline seemed too contrived. Note: contrived isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially in a Robbins' novel, but it didn't work for me in this one. I'd recommend picking up _Skinny Legs and All_ or _Jitterbug Perfume_ (the latter is a little gentler of an introduction to Robbins) as a first look at Robbins. If you've loved his other work, you'll likely like, but not adore, _Fierce Invalids_.
Rating:
Summary: What a joyride!
Review: I've never read Robbins before this one, but will certainly read more. He brings tremendous perspective from angles entirely new to me. The action is somehow absurd and plausible at the same time. Switters is marvelous, as are all the supporting characters, especially the loveable and smart Domino. There's also a delightful exchange (written pre-9/11) between Switters and some misguided radical Muslims.
Rating:
Summary: It's Great to Have Him Back
Review: About thirty years ago I read Another Roadside Attraction and it was a life-changing book for me. It changed me from a "no" person, afraid of change and chance to a "yes" person, willing to take life on. I read each of the books Tom Robbins wrote after that but I was disappointed that they did not reach me in the same way. Fierce Invalids did. Robbins can put more into one paragraph than many authors do in a whole chapter. He gave me the courage to write my own book, Down and Out, and I thank him for that.
Rating:
Summary: A Treasure, If You're Willing To Try
Review: I have heard many say that "Invalids" is Robbins' worst book. For a while, I agreed. Then I sat down and re-read it, paying closer attention to the philosophical tangents, and I emerged on the other side with a newfound respect for language, culture and the need for personal freedom. The underlying "Lolita" theme (Switters is quite obviously a very Humbert character), the Maestra matriarch who, despite the protagonist's attempts otherwise, rules his conscience, and the idea that life just might be too precious to waste on a gamble, no matter how silly, make "Invalids" an invaluable addition to Robbins' collection. It will take some time, however, as the book is quite dense and frustrating at moments; keep a dictionary close at hand and the pot of coffee warm - this one is worth it.
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