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Summary: Robbins at his best!
Review: To those of you who've tried to digest Robbins and failed, I offer gentle encouragement: keep trying. Most of the people I know who are now avid Robbins readers began that life baffled and confused by his prose. I include myself in that group. But after trying and giving up and trying and giving up several times, all of the sudden something clicks and you realize that he is a literary samurai.I enjoy Robbins because he is able to fulfill my two main criteria for an awesome book: skilled witty prose, and propulsive storytelling. His epic powers of similie and metaphor neatly take care of the first, and his stories -- which cannot and should not be summarized -- are mind bogglingly freaked-out and yet perfect in their own inherent logic. Another Roadside Attraction is his first, so he may be a bit more verbose than usual, but damn if I'd take Tom being too wordy and juvenile over any other author at his/her peak.
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Summary: The first book in my love affair with Tom Robbins
Review: Another Roadside Attraction was the first Tom Robbins book I read, and I haven't been able to put him down yet. I love his style, his characters and his philosophy. Robbins weaves his thoughts on life, sex, religion and money together with an often hysterical and always entertaining plot. As much as I love the people I met in his book, Robbin's philosopy alone could support a fascinating book. He makes me want to leave my boring, ignorant consumer lifestyle behind to run away and join the circus.
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Summary: impetus for creative orgasms--salsa anyone?
Review: I was introduced to TOm Robbins in a speed reading course and have happily smorgasborged through his pages ever since. I think this book, with Amanda, John Paul, Plucky, and especially Marx Marvelous had me question the mechanism of character development in writing. In my Cerebral Chef work for my company Coronado Jack Guacamole Bottling Co. I have utilized this impetus for academic and artistic collabboration heavily relying on witty and offbeat metaphorical constructs. I believe the flavor of fiction should be imbued with proteins that alienate and maybe captivate some readers the first time, whil revolutionizing the way THE AUDIENCE sees the world. TOm Robbins has done this for me. I know he would have a different recipe, however, I feel a great novel is much like a well-chilled bottle of guacamole. I would only trade this book's mantle-space of grace for a novel that can indicate how I might jump inside characters' minds within their dialogue -- delineating with grace and a hint of cilantro. 5 freshly baked Nacho Chips for this book #####
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Summary: A carnival of the imagination
Review: Tom Robbins has one of the most vivid and entertaining imaginations around. This story captures the era of the 60's better than "The Electric Cool Aid Acid Test" ever did. Beautifully written, intensly intelligent, Robbins succeeds where Thomas Pynchon fails. This book is a real rollercoaster. It's written in a style that would shock James Joyce. A real master of fiction.
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Summary: Yum.
Review: My favorite Robbins. This book hits some dull parts, but they're soooooo few and far between that you'll forget 'em as soon as you hit the next hilarious and deeply thought-provoking section (note that this book has a 5 and not a 4, eh?). Amanda is my pine cone.
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Summary: The start of something great
Review: Tom Robbins' first book is still one of his best. I never tire of re-reading it whenever I need to "find my place" in the world. It is funny, clever and, as all Robbins' novels are, a beautiful love story. Waiting anxiously for the next one...
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Summary: Fuel for the Open Mind
Review: Although the subject matter may seem initially to be offhanded and offensive to some, this wonderful book not only builds faith by testing it but bombards the reader with well-placed and well-spoken humor throughout. Truly a must read.
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Summary: Fabulous Fiction from the king
Review: I cannot praise Tom Robbins enough. His talent is outstanding. I could not put this book down. I can never put down one of his books!
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Summary: Tom, please ... it's been way too long!
Review: Wherever you are, Tom Robins, it's been way too long. At the time I read "Roadside" I was a frequent book reviewer for a large newspaper and I was so acutely bored with almost every word I had been reading that I really was on the verge of giving up on fiction. Although I would never admit it then, I think I fashioned my review to make it clear to anyone who might read it that they would live an unfulfilled life it they did not read this book at least twice... once in the bathtub with a scotch and water to keep them warm. I am convinced, now, that the aged online term ROFL (Rolling On The Floor Laughing) was created to describe this wonderful book of yours. Some crazed Tom Robins lover coined the phrase, I am sure, and it was ultimately picked up on CIS and FIDO and RIME, and probably even the internet of the day. Even if it wasn't, in my life -- once I had outgrown Huey, Dewey and Louie -- there really wasn't much reason for the term to exist before this book. You whittle language, bang it around, smother it, soothe it, lavish love on it, twist it, make it alive, revere it, and make me weep with laughter. I have to have more. Not long after I read this book, on a long trip from Detroit to Washington D.C., I read every word of Still Life with Woodpecker aloud to the most wonderful woman as she took her turn driving. There were times she almost had to pull off the road, she was laughing so hard at your crazed bomber. And that can be trouble on the beltway, as I am sure you know. So, the point of this is that I have reached the point in my life where I need more wacky... my soul needs more wacky. There just hasn't been enough, lately, and without some, soon, my sense of the beauty of crazed writing might is sure to wither away. Although there are crazed American writers I love, none of them has ever made me quite as nuts for the deranged...for a demonic (but pure of heart) bomber, or a would-be cowgirl with a thumb made for hitching a ride and a heart made for sin. Wherever you are, Tom Robins, it's been way too long.
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Summary: CHANGED THE WAY I THINK ABOUT THINGS, FOR SURE
Review: This is my favorite book of all time. I think that the four main characters are absolutely perfect, the way they are written. You can't get more interesting and original. In fact, I consider Amanda to be the greatest fictional character I have ever read about in a novel. Just brilliantly written. The dialogue is fantastic, and story line and description of the whole book is just perfect. The first time I read this book, I was sitting out front of one of my classrooms with about 15 minutes to kill, so I figured I'd start reading this book that a friend of mine loaned me. When I looked up at the clock after taking a break from the pages, I realized that it was 3 hours later. This book totally captivated me, and I think I have lent that same copy to at least 20 different people over the years, and every one of them agreed with a full heart. It the single, greatest recommendation I have ever recieved. You have to read it!!!!! Thank you, Mr. Robbins for writing it. I'm totally serious.
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