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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
I love Tom Robbins. So, so much. The first one I ever read is still my favorite - Jitterbug Perfume - but really, I've never read one that I didn't like at all. My least favorite is Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas, but even that one is pretty good until the very end. Anyway, so about this book. I liked it a lot. Robbins enjoys pushing boundaries, and this book is no different. Our hero is a CIA agent named Switters (who hates guns but won't give up his Berretta, who is a high-level computer hacker but hates the internet, who is generally a study in contradictions - aren't we all). Through a misadventure (or constructive events?) in South America, Switters loses some degree of freedom of mobility and is launched on ridiculous series of events that somehow get him back to exactly where he needs to be. Some of Robbins favorite themes surface, including religion, sex and taboo. I had a good time reading it - but it's not for the squeamish, because some of the taboos the hero and his best bud discuss breaking involve sex that is considered highly inappropriate by today's standards, and some of the thoughts broached on religion could be interpreted as offensive. But that's nothing new to Robbins fans :)
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Lovely voyage around the world, a bit wandering at times but ends in a
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I almost put this down so many times, and I’m not sure why I didn’t but I’m not sure completing it was worth it?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One of my fav books.
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm sure Mr. Robbins believes this novel is brilliant. In quieter moments, while staring into the bathroom mirror, I'm sure he must consider his allusions to Nabokov and Joyce as evidence of his great company of writers. Here's the thing though, while reading this novel, admittedly my first by this author, I couldn't shake the sinking feeling that I was reading a lot of self-congratulatory crap from a man who thinks he is smarter than he actually is and who has such a dedicated base of readers that he doesn't even have to try... or edit. I can forgive a novel for being loquacious, wandering, unfortunately conceived, and self-absorbed. I loved My Struggle, after all. I can't forgive a book that is all of these things and yet has no ideas to offer.
This book is like adult contemporary music, clearly popular but not for me.
This book is like adult contemporary music, clearly popular but not for me.
A triumphant return to form!!...recently read again (11/2010), for the third time , and enjoyed it all over again. Felt I needed it as some sort of therapy, and I was right. Robbins is in top form here, engaged and fully in control of his powers. I would group this novel, along with Skinny Legs and All and Jitterbug Perfume, amongst the Holy Trinity of Robbins' work.
Ιδιαίτερο, όπως κάθε βιβλίο του Ρόμπινς. Αστείο, ενδιαφέρον, λίγη φιλοσοφία από δω, λίγη περιπέτεια από κει... το σίγουρο είναι ότι μ' έχει πείσει να διαβάσω όλα του τα βιβλία!