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angus_mckeogh's review against another edition
4.0
Some of the early stories and anecdotes when Robbins is young were maybe not all that interesting. But his later life and the stories from when he became a full-time novelist were great.
willjohnson98's review against another edition
5.0
While obviously sporting the usual Robbins linguistic flair, this installment in Tom's oeuvre proves to be even more impactful, meaningful, and wonderful than many of his other works, if only because Mr. Robbins flawlessly guides us on a tour of not only his life, but his inspirationally idiosyncratic perspective of it. His non-memoir introduces readers to the bliss behind living life with one foot in rational reality, the other in the colorful rabbit hole that is imagination.
roboxa's review against another edition
4.0
Originally posted on Roberta's Literary Ramblings
I don't believe I have mentioned it on this blog yet, but I love Tom Robbins almost as much as I love Jane Austen. Actually, they are about equal on the list. This is why I immediately bought this book when I saw it on the shelves at Powell's. Very rarely will I buy brand new hardback editions of books. I will either borrow fro\m the library or wait until it hits paperback, but I wanted this book, nay, needed this book. That is how much I love this author.
As to the book itself, I really enjoyed it. It was the good old Tom Robbins that I know and love, and there were times when it was nearly impossible for me to put this book down. Robbins is known for his strange plots and interesting (albeit strange) characters, and reading about his life put his quirky writing into some perspective.
Reading this book actually made me love him more. I admired his outlook on life and how he has walked through it with his eyes wide open and an up-to-try-anything attitude. This philosophy has taken him to many exotic places and has been the source of some hilarious tales of mischief and learning. As we watch Robbins grow into the man he is today, we get to grow with him, often being introduced to new ways of viewing our lives and also living them.
The only aspect of the book that confused me at first was the fact that he tends to get a little sidetracked. He would be discussing one thing and then suddenly we are somewhere else. However, after a while I began to enjoy this since I didn't actually notice that it veered off the original topic until we were back on it, and there was always some connection as to why the digression happened in the first place. It actually began to feel like I was having a conversation with Robbins. Like I was listening to him tell his story rather than reading it, which I found enthralling and rather addicting. So, even this little bump in the road became a positive experience.
In the end, I would recommend this to any and all Tom Robbins fans. It was insightful, hilarious, and thought-provoking all at the same time--just like his novels--and was a true joy to read.
I don't believe I have mentioned it on this blog yet, but I love Tom Robbins almost as much as I love Jane Austen. Actually, they are about equal on the list. This is why I immediately bought this book when I saw it on the shelves at Powell's. Very rarely will I buy brand new hardback editions of books. I will either borrow fro\m the library or wait until it hits paperback, but I wanted this book, nay, needed this book. That is how much I love this author.
As to the book itself, I really enjoyed it. It was the good old Tom Robbins that I know and love, and there were times when it was nearly impossible for me to put this book down. Robbins is known for his strange plots and interesting (albeit strange) characters, and reading about his life put his quirky writing into some perspective.
Reading this book actually made me love him more. I admired his outlook on life and how he has walked through it with his eyes wide open and an up-to-try-anything attitude. This philosophy has taken him to many exotic places and has been the source of some hilarious tales of mischief and learning. As we watch Robbins grow into the man he is today, we get to grow with him, often being introduced to new ways of viewing our lives and also living them.
The only aspect of the book that confused me at first was the fact that he tends to get a little sidetracked. He would be discussing one thing and then suddenly we are somewhere else. However, after a while I began to enjoy this since I didn't actually notice that it veered off the original topic until we were back on it, and there was always some connection as to why the digression happened in the first place. It actually began to feel like I was having a conversation with Robbins. Like I was listening to him tell his story rather than reading it, which I found enthralling and rather addicting. So, even this little bump in the road became a positive experience.
In the end, I would recommend this to any and all Tom Robbins fans. It was insightful, hilarious, and thought-provoking all at the same time--just like his novels--and was a true joy to read.
libwinnie's review against another edition
4.0
As always, great writing, but full of non-sequiturs. Wanted more about him personally--he is a very interesting character--and less about how he came up with the plots for his books.
chrysanthi_kiku's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
3.75
pr727's review against another edition
Did not finish. Folksy anecdotes in an occasionally chronological presentation. I found his style annoying in audiobook form.
olicooper's review against another edition
2.0
So, originally picked this up without reading a synopsis or summary. I didn’t realize this is his memoir. I knew I read one of his novels, and just saw a sale tag with a book with Robbins name on the cover. This, is absolutely my fault. However, being me, once I start a book, it’s really hard to not finish it. This wasn’t so bad, but it just didn’t hold my interest throughout.
I would recommend this book only to die-hard Tom Robbins fans that are absolutely interested is a heap of stories that occur throughout his life. There isn’t much tying this all together, and reads rather like a disorganized, scattered, string of stories the drunk at the bar is relaying to make sure you know he is someone special. Don’t get me wrong, he is… it just gets a little tiring and I absolutely don’t care to hear one more Tommy Rotten story (SO many stories involving him with his childhood nickname, goofing off in school, wining a raffle out of sheer want and will, blah blah blah).
Robbins has been involved with a wide array of colorful characters, and tastes a bit of every walk of life. He included stories from growing up in the Depression, being involved with the beatniks, dropping acid before that became a scene; certainly he has had an interesting life. Some tales were memorable, funny, and/or charming: that time him and some buddies invented a cocktail mostly consisting of mayonnaise, the time he takes his first acid trip, the time Alan Ginsberg kissed him, the time he corrected gang members’ misspelling of their graffiti of their own name, etc.
I did love when he was talking about putting on some “happenings,” which essentially amount to performance art pieces. When one thinks of performance art, one may come to the conclusion that the folks putting on the piece take themselves too seriously. Well, Robbins doesn’t. And that makes those stories great. After a performer doesn’t show up, he has to improvise: lighting some money on fire, adding honey to the mixture, and eating it, all to the tune of some old fashioned Americana folk music. And the people love it. It’s controversial! It’s provocative! It’s hilarious… is what it is. He spins this tale, as he just wings all this shit. Never taking it or himself seriously, and the audience is never in on the joke.
Overall, Robbins is a great writer—descriptive writing, fierce wit—and I’d love to take a crack at another of his novels; though, this random collection of various events in his life just doesn’t compel me to devour the pages like I might with his fiction. I mentioned earlier how this reads like the drunk at the bar telling his life story, but I don’t think I’d be opposed to listening to that guy tell one or two of these tales over a beer or two. There is some good stuff in here, I just think you REALLY have to love the guy to want to read (or enjoy) the lot of it.
I would recommend this book only to die-hard Tom Robbins fans that are absolutely interested is a heap of stories that occur throughout his life. There isn’t much tying this all together, and reads rather like a disorganized, scattered, string of stories the drunk at the bar is relaying to make sure you know he is someone special. Don’t get me wrong, he is… it just gets a little tiring and I absolutely don’t care to hear one more Tommy Rotten story (SO many stories involving him with his childhood nickname, goofing off in school, wining a raffle out of sheer want and will, blah blah blah).
Robbins has been involved with a wide array of colorful characters, and tastes a bit of every walk of life. He included stories from growing up in the Depression, being involved with the beatniks, dropping acid before that became a scene; certainly he has had an interesting life. Some tales were memorable, funny, and/or charming: that time him and some buddies invented a cocktail mostly consisting of mayonnaise, the time he takes his first acid trip, the time Alan Ginsberg kissed him, the time he corrected gang members’ misspelling of their graffiti of their own name, etc.
I did love when he was talking about putting on some “happenings,” which essentially amount to performance art pieces. When one thinks of performance art, one may come to the conclusion that the folks putting on the piece take themselves too seriously. Well, Robbins doesn’t. And that makes those stories great. After a performer doesn’t show up, he has to improvise: lighting some money on fire, adding honey to the mixture, and eating it, all to the tune of some old fashioned Americana folk music. And the people love it. It’s controversial! It’s provocative! It’s hilarious… is what it is. He spins this tale, as he just wings all this shit. Never taking it or himself seriously, and the audience is never in on the joke.
Overall, Robbins is a great writer—descriptive writing, fierce wit—and I’d love to take a crack at another of his novels; though, this random collection of various events in his life just doesn’t compel me to devour the pages like I might with his fiction. I mentioned earlier how this reads like the drunk at the bar telling his life story, but I don’t think I’d be opposed to listening to that guy tell one or two of these tales over a beer or two. There is some good stuff in here, I just think you REALLY have to love the guy to want to read (or enjoy) the lot of it.
whtbout2ndbrkfst's review against another edition
3.0
Tom Robbins has an amazing way with words but there’s was just something lacking about this collection of stories. Some were great but a number of them I found to be mediocre, and the sprinkled in misogyny didn’t help. I did enjoy hearing about his writing/publishing process and how different novels came to be.
melledotca's review against another edition
4.0
Mostly minus a star due to the frustration of knowing there are SO MANY MORE stories...