Rating: 
Summary: Flawless writing
Review: I started reading this book a few years ago because I had nothing better to do, and a friend of mine had it handy.
I was already awe-struck before I hit "Phase One." Tom Robbins' style is unlike that of any other. He is, without a doubt, the best author that I know of.
This time, Tom Robbins tells the story of Leigh-Cheri Furstenburg-Barcalona, princess-in-exile of some small European country, as well as outlaw Bernard Mickey Wrangle. The cast alone is enough to make the book; but the story is as interesting. And Robbins' narration is perfect.
This book was instantly my favorite, and was until I read Tom Robbins' first novel, "Another Roadside Attraction."
Read it; love it.
Rating: 
Summary: cliches, dim wit, and forced weirdness
Review: The advertised love story is kind of interesting, earning a star. At first the characters all seem to be either irritatingly dim-witted or simply irritating, but after a while it becomes amusing. The story, however, doesn't receive as much attention as the other two components of the book.
Mostly, Robbins offers readers an astoundingly painful slog through page after page of philosophical cliches, usually presented in metaphors that try a bit too hard to be weird.
Interspersed are stories from the author's past -- heavily laden with rationalizations of alternately selfish, foolish, and chauvanistic behavior.
Rating: 
Summary: A Study of Redheads
Review: This is a light and entertaining book from a word-play genius. What is amazing is the way he weaves so many stories into a tidy, compact little package - almost the size of a pack of cigarettes, as a matter of fact.This is a story about a tarnished princess, an outlaw bomber with bad teeth, a scene stealing if somewhat undomesticated loyal servant, toads - both real and plastic, an exiled King and his "Oh-Oh, spaghetti-o" Queen, a CIA not-so-secret agent, an outraged Middle Eastern playboy, blackberries, Camels, Ralph Nader, pyramids and aliens from Argon. What more could you possibly want in a book? Tom Robbins has a genuine talent for words and puns, and those with active funny bones will be tickled throughout. His casual use of words like "slishy" and phrases like "I have a black belt in haiku" abound, to be discovered with unbridled delight. This is a book to be enjoyed within one lunar cycle without fear of repercussions.
Rating:
Summary: Sexy and Hilarious
Review: Still Life With Woodpecker is a love story about an exiled princess and a crazy bomber in Hawaii. Definitely one of my top ten favorite novels of all time; it is kooky, weird, sexy, unpredictable, and downright hilarious. Cannot recommend it enough, as long as you don't take it or yourself too seriously
Rating:
Summary: An Experimental Absurdist Masterwork Of A Novel!
Review: Tom Robbins is perhaps one of the most winsome and unforgettable novelist of the late 20th century. In a series of absurdist novels, he has memorably stretched the boundaries of what can be said and how with some of the most creative, artful, and poetic turns of words this side of Shakespeare. His celebration of the central absurdities of modern life provide the matte on which he paints indelible portraits of contemporary human lives in motion, from characters as memorably unique as Sissy Hankshaw in "Even Cowgirls get The Blues" to our intrepid "Woodpecker" in this novel. Robbins is anything but predictable, and to the reader's considerable advantage, he always takes a slapstick look at things we might otherwise disregard or take to be a fact of life, so that when he renders a fact of contemporary culture much more recognizable in all its absurd colors and hues, we come to appreciate the method in his madness. In that sense, Still Life With Woodpecker" is a work of art indeed. Indeed, amid the carnage of everyday life, full of its endless claptrap and rife with people trying to get by with slogan management, our heroine struggles to find her way clear to some sort of better and more meaningful life, in spite of her well-intentioned parents' attempts to sway her almost irresistibly onto the eventual path of the numbing conformity they think life has for its reward. Like Sissy Hankshaw before her, mere convention cramps her style and her spirit, and in her own way struggles to be free. Enter the Woodpecker, of the outlaw species, cynic extraordinaire, fast talker, hard lover, and a wild-eyed redhead to boot (hence the Woodpecker moniker), and suddenly everything changes. A few clues here: Robbins is asking the most central and profound of contemporary questions in this work; how do you make love stay? And the arguments and insights he contrives to throw in our direction will amuse, entertain, and edify. This is another of the sweet confections Robbins continues to give us, covered over with a wonderful weave of wry words and wisdom, disguised as an entertaining and eminently readable absurdist novel. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: The Best In A While...
Review: When a writer can spiderweb philosophy, comedy, romance, genius, and suspense, and make it look like an accident... he places up towards amazing in my book. After reading hum-drum dramas and dispassionate and redundant school "classics," Tom Robbins' brilliance is nothing short of flooring. Full of hilarious one-liners and countless colorful connections, "Still Life With Woodpecker" was without a doubt a book I will pick up again. There is so much jam-packed into this quick read that I'm sure I missed half of his jokes and yet never stopped laughing or crying. I can't wait to go back and read it again. I would recommend it without hesitation to anyone and everyone.
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