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Summary: my first robbins novel
Review: this was the first tom robbins book that i've read. i was in the bookstore and i was trying to find something to read that's a little out-of-the-ordinary. i picked it up because i recognized the name, hearing both good and bad about mr. robbins. this, of course, is a good sign. i like to be challenged. one thing to keep in mind, when reading robbins, is that if you come across a statement that you have to re-read or simply don't understand, don't worry about it. it'll make sense by book's end. of course, i can't really explain the plot without explaining the entire book. but it's definently one that you'll want to take a second look at.
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Summary: Dan Weinger's review of Skinny Legs and All
Review: In the book Skinny Legs and All, by Tom Robbins, there are many characters which one would never expect to appear in a book. Robbins, who is a master of the unexpected, is able to bring to life five unanimated objects, namely a spoon, a stick, a can of beans, a shell, and a sock. Also, he uses the ethnic battle between Arabs and Jews to create a scene for utmost hysteria. He throws some some-what normal people into the mix somewhere, though they are difficult to sort out, between the preacher pushing for Armageddon, and the turn around street performer. Using this extensive list of characters, Robbins spins a story of a woman looking for herself, and her conflict of trying to decide if she wants to paint again (she used to be an artist). There exists too much confusion involved with the events that occur for me to explain them all, and I would not want to spoil any of the twists that take place. So I will say that, to sum it up, the basic plot is, besides the artist woman, about a young belly dancer delaying the events of the Rapture. Enough said. There was never a five-minute period while reading this book when I was not laughing. The ideas and prose that Robbins can generate is both witty and hysterical. I would recommend this book to any one who feels the need to make light of the situation that is going on in the Middle East, and in your soul. But, maybe an orthodox rabbi or priest would believe this book to be semi sacrilegious.
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Summary: Flat out Amazing
Review: One of my good friends gave me this book, so I had no idea what to expect, but knowing her, it would be a crazy albeit interesting book. I have to admit, I couldn't put it down! What other book can you find where plot pivots around the actions of a Spoon, Painted Stick, and a Conch Shell? Tom Robbins' wit and sarcastic humor are definitely what propels this book and he manages to weave all of the sub-plots together seemlessly, without ever confusing the reader. Defintely a good book, and one that I plan to read again soon!
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Summary: Wonderful writing
Review: Tom Robbins is a master of words. His choice of words can bring even the dullest aspect of scenery or character set-up alive with excitement and often gives you the gift of looking at life in a completely new light. Fans of his tend to vary quite a bit on which books they enjoy most, however. As for this particular book, it is my favorite along with "Still Life with Woodpecker" and "Jitterbug Perfume". I couldn't get even halfway through "Half Asleep..." and "Even Cowgirls get the Blues" has fallen off my 'favorite' list. If you've read those titles and agree with me, then you should definitely read this one -- if not, you should at least borrow it from somebody.
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Summary: Best book I ever read
Review: This is by far the best book I have ever read. It gives me hope for humanity and for the craft of writing. Read this book. You will never be the same!
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Summary: Can-O-Beans is my favorite character
Review: Only author Tom Robbins can do justice with character development on a group of inanimate objects like Can-O-Beans, Painted Stick, and Dirty Sock. And to have these objects play a major role in another one of his offbeat diatribes is impressive. But, in my opinion, Robbins has used this book just a wee too much as a forum for his anti-organized-religion rants. There are repeated references to Robbins dislike of religion. For example:"Spike and Abu wouldn't hesitate to directly attribute the success of their relationship to their lack of formal religion. Were either of them actively religious, it would have been impossible for them to be partners or pals. Dogma and tradition would have overruled any natural instinct for brotherhood." "..what organized religion did to people. It limited them to thinking secondhand thoughts. It caused them to live secondhand lives. Wasn't that what religion had in common with totalitarian politics? Nazi Germany, the Inquisition, Stalinism, the Crusades, these were what happened when reality was allowed to give way to cliché." "While the afterlife concept renders the masses manageable, it renders their masters destructive. A world leader who's convinced that life is merely a trial for the more valuable and authentic afterlife is less hesitant to risk starting a nuclear holocaust. A politician or corporate executive who's expecting the Rapture to arrive on the next flight from Jerusalem is not going to worry much about polluting the oceans or destroying forests. Why should he?" My final consensus is that while Skinny Legs and All is good, it just is not at the level of Robbins Still Life with Woodpecker, Jitterbug Perfume, and Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas. Consider these first if you have not yet been introduced to the Robbins genre.
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Summary: Life Changing
Review: This book changed the way I saw the world.
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Summary: Major Disappointment
Review: I'm only a lukewarm Tom Robbins fan, but this book was terrible. It's too heavy-handed to even be remotely funny; humor and religion/politics is a difficult business, and only a select few are able to pull it off. Hey, I'm all for poking fun at the powers that be (organized religion certainly needs to be put down a couple of notches), and I like to think of myself as open-minded, but this just falls flat, a cross between unintersting social commentary and that numbnut college roommate that won't shut up about "forners", in neither case being particularly whimsical or humorous. Don't bother.
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Summary: Robbins is a delight, and I think Skinny Legs is his best
Review: One of the most entertaining and interesting books I have ever read. Robbins plays with language like a cat batting around a mass of fuzzy yarn. Even though he is often criticized for wandering off on nonlinear and seemingly unrelated plot lines, the joy Robbins takes in choosing precisely energetic words makes every sentence an essential component of the novel. Rarely does a book raise such potentially weighty and thoughtful subjects while having such a great time doing it. Now if we can only convince Robbins to crank them out a little faster...
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Summary: Looks unedited, but holds up
Review: Tom Robbins is a spirited and fearless writer. He's unafraid of tackling even the most improbable of storylines: A large portion of this book is a kind of "Fantastic Voyage" of a can of beans, a dirty sock, a spoon, a conch shell and a painted stick. And yet, he tempers the anthropomorphism pretty successfully. How they get together in the first place I'll leave you to discover. Other parts tackle the worth and meaning of art and religion, but the story finally centers on Jerusalem -- the perennial cauldron of the world -- and its history. Robbins does all this without it ever becoming dry or textbooky. He finishes with what one can only presume is a treatise on certain things Robbins has come to believe about human life and perception (7 things, to be exact), the last of which is that each individual must figure life out for him/herself. This was a bit too much, for my taste. Also, while exuberant fun is the joy of reading Robbins, at times it loooks like he ignored a good editor's advice at his peril. It is possible to get off a bit too much on the literary free association thing. Still, Skinny Legs and All stands up as a hell of a lot of fun as well as genuinely thought-provoking material. Better than "Half-asleep in Frog Pajamas." Not as good as "Jitterbug Perfume," "Another Roadside Attraction," or the finest of his that I've read, "Still Life with Woodpecker."
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