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Summary: Queen Bee Perfume
Review: This novel is one long ode on the old theme, "To bee or not to beet". But I'm not talking about the "The Living Hive" diorama at the metropolitan museum, or a still life painting of vegetables so ugly they should be clubbed. No, it all boils and distillates down to bee pollen and beet pollen, and that is how Robbins playfully transcends the questions of evil and death. He SOMEHOW manages to even marry the two in one amazing paragraph, "If the waft that streams from a freshly opened hive is intimate to the point of embarrassment, so it is with beet pollen. There is something personal about it, and something primeval."Now, I am a devoted Richard Brautigan reader, and initially all I could think of when I was reading this book was, "Tom Robbins is Salieri to Richard Brautigans's Mozart." But, I have to hand it to Tom, tongue-in-fist, this book does have some Redemption Value, except in the Silliest State of Punning (alright... some of the puns are funny). And while you can tell fairly easily what parts of the book are package and what parts are payload, and the "crowd" scenes in particular tend to evoke the waft of a freshly opened ear of corn to the point of embarrassment, the book still delivers its hopeful homily, which is "if one has a sense of humor, one can minimalize death through irony and wit."
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Summary: fabulous
Review: Tom Robbins weaves a delightful tapestry of characters, settings, and adventures in this book, and it will hook you from chapter 1. He is a masterful storyteller, putting together seemingly random elements and creating a cohesive and though-provoking tale. He has a gift for astonishingly vivid imagery, and in "Jitterbug Perfume," he demonstrates an ability to evoke SCENTS for the reader. Unbelievable. Like most of his books, this one is quite a ride. And I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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Summary: Jitterbug Perfume, Tom Robbins, Love, Life & Everything else
Review: This was the first novel i read of T.R., since then i have read the rest of his collection and remain a faithful and dedicated fan. Combining eastern thought, love, metaphysics, and religion you have to hand it to the author of this wonder in modern literature.... Robbins has done it again unlike anyone else can, and left me in amazement with what one can create with language and creativity. I strongly recommend this to anyone who has been touched by the stick of creativity and imagination.
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Summary: The Beet Generation
Review: Imagine an entire novel whose narrative is built around the aroma of the beet. Don't need to imagine it, friend. Tom Robbins has written that novel. And boy is it fun. Structurally, the narrative is brilliant. Brief trips through the present (geographically Seattle, Paris and New Orleans set the scene) sandwich prolonged trips through the distant past. Alobar, King of Bohemia nearly a thousand years ago, is to be put to death when the first signs of old age's feebleness show themselves. He flees, not because he is scared of Death; he just doesn't agree with the way Death does His business. Alobar's adventures lead him on a sprawling globetrotting quest to find immortality, accompanied by a like-minded female companion, the exiled Indian aromatist Kudra. Their adventures are mystical, philosophical, beautiful, and poetic. Running along side these adventures -- in contemporary times -- are the everyday lives of three perfumers. Marcel "Bunny" LeFever is the man behind the nose behind one of Paris' most successful perfumeries. His eccentricities are legendary, such as wearing a whale mask when contemplating his next scent. Lily Devalier (and her apprentice, V'Lu Jackson) run a small but respected perfume shoppe in New Orleans. "Genius Waitress" Priscilla Partido works at a Mexican Restaurant where she is constantly fending off the lesbian advances of bartender Ricki. At night, she retires to her flat for experiments in perfume chemistry. These three stories, seemingly connected by a diaphanous thread, have more in common than you'd think. And just who is leaving beets on all of their doorsteps? Hmm... This is all a finely crafted excuse for some lengthy (but not too lengthy) philosophical discussion on the nature of immortality, and some seriously gifted wordplay. As in most of Tom's books, there are a plethora of inspired metaphors sprinkled throughout the action; some that make your jaw drop in jealous wonder. Please enjoy two of my favourites: "She realized with a shock that she was so wet that children could have sailed toy boats in her underpants" (a fine example of Tom's freedom when it comes to subjects of a sexual nature; there is some truly lascivious stuff here). "The Middle Ages hangs over history's belt like a beer belly. It is too late now for aerobic dancing or cottage cheese lunches to reduce the Middle Ages. History will have to wear size 48 shorts forever." Ahh! Aren't they beautiful? "Jitterbug Perfume" is one of my favourite Robbins masterpieces ("Another Roadside Attraction" being the other). It takes a ridiculously simple yet puzzling concept, and weaves magic from its loom. I am powerless to do anything but grin mightily whenever I am within its pages. However... I've said it many a time before, but I feel it bears repeating: Tom Robbins is most definitely an acquired taste. If you run into Tom, and are put off the first time, please try try again. Imagine the virgin Robbins reader, treading through the first couple pages here, baffled by all this talk about beets. And, on a more general level, confounded by the story's unwillingness to get itself rolling. Be patient. Eventually, Tom will make clear the reason for the beets. Crystal clear. And his way with story, which I admit is most often meandering, is also quite original. He gets where he wants to go (and where you, the reader want him to go) eventually. And when he does, it's more satisfying.
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Summary: Tom Robbins is my hero!
Review: Did you ever happen to read "the unbearable lightness of being" (written by Milan Kundera)? No? well, from a certain point of view it's a pity because Jitterbug Perfume works in a much similar way. The plot, the storyline if you want, is often a mere excuse that allows the author to make speculations on the nature of men, women, love, the universe and... well, bits of everything. Sometimes they're sarcastic ones, little more than quips, other times they're more profound... at times they'll make you smile knowingly, other times they'll push you to think about arguments that you've never pondered before. But while in Milan Kundera's novel the plot is boring and the focus is almost solely on the speculations, Jitterbug Perfume has a marvelous plot, funny and entertaining, like a fable with a wide array of characters (all of whom are interested in perfume or immortality... or both), set over the span of many centuries. That alone will get you hookes, trust me!
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Summary: On My Permanent Top Ten List
Review: Tom Robbins' written words can be compared to a pile of stain-glass shards that get thrown out in front of the reader and are then magically assembled into an astonishing work of art. As a writer I find myself often turning to Robbins for inspiration, and Jitterbug Perfume is my favorite of his books. At first it reads like a collection of excellent short stories with a common thread. But as the book progresses, each, seemingly-independent, component gradually dovetails into an amazingly complex, funny, and entertaining unit. Robbins is insightful, irreverent and wicked-smart. If you've never read one of his books, this is a great starting place. What is it about? Well, like all Robbins' books, it's about everything. Drink deep.
Rating: 
Summary: Poetic Gobblety Gook
Review: Reading is this is like sludging through a swimming pool full of good chocolate. It is all very good, but there is too much of it, and it has no plot. IT is just a bunch of poetic meanderings that would be good as short stories but not all squashed together as a huge book. It also jumps around from paris to Seattle, to New Orleans and anciend what i think is rome or greece or england or ireland. IT jumps so much that it leaves you the reader in the dust. But obviously some people liked it or else it would not get an average customer rating of five stars. So i suggest you read it and decide for yourself.
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Summary: The best of one of the best
Review: This is positively,absolutely, Tom Robbins's best book. I love re-reading it. I don't want to denigrate any of his other books. Every one is an adventure.... and a joy to read. But this book is his best.
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Summary: Almost As Good As Bill (William S.)
Review: Jitterbug Perfume is almost as good as reading Shakespeare. If you liked Hamlet (or even if you didn't, but saw the movie) you'll be able to appreciate Jitterbug. At the core of the novel is the main character's will to live and will not to live. The story involves choices in living that all of us must make, but few of us have the courage to engross ourselves completely, having made a choice. The protagonist, Alobar, is as bold as Hamlet in his choice of individualism over conventionality. His relationships are as tumultuous as Hamlet's and Ophelia's. His destiny is as intense, but much happier in outcome. The author, Tom Robbins is not as good as Shakespeare. Nobody's even close yet. However, Robbins is as close as anyone this century. They are comparable in their ability to create emotional content, suspense and drama. The difference (of course) is Robbin's failing on the poetic side of his prose. His sentences and soliliquays don't roll off your lips quite like the emanations of Bill. (AS AN ASIDE: ROBBINS LATEST NOVEL: FIERCE INVALIDS, IS LIKELY ONE OF ROBBIN'S LAST, HE PROBABLY ONLY HAS ONE OR TWO LEFT IN HIM AND HE ISN'T GOING TO EQUAL BILL) All comparisons aside, Jitterbug is one of the greatest novels written in the 20th Century and will take it's place among the best fiction written in the English language ever.
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Summary: Amazing fiction
Review: There isn't much to write about this book because you really have to read him in order to understand what Tom Robbins is really about. This book is an unusual adventure in an unusual time/ space dimension. Robbins is a wizard of words. The story he creates is amazingly rich and colourful. I think his imagination and story-telling talent will amaze even the most conservative reader on issues like religion and society.
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