Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas

Rating:
Summary: Tom Robbins--the Master of Metaphor
Review: ... I do believe that Tom Robbins' work is like strawberry ice cream; either you like it or you don't. Robbins has once again managed to juxtapose the most eccentric of characters, the strangest of personalities and somehow make them fit together. That's one thing I love about this author. His sense of sarcasm is unparalleled. But it isn't only sarcasm and dry humor for the sake of poking fun at life that makes this book worth reading. Tom Robbins uses these characters and their outrageous situations to teach, editorialize and explore life on all levels in a way that will make you laugh and cry about your own state of existence. The question I ask is "Do I take myself more seriously, or should I take myself less seriously?" This is a question Tom challenges me to look at. Take it with as many grains of salt as you wish, but be prepared to look at the world through the colored lenses of Mr. Robbins mind.

I've had this book in my library since it was first published, and finally decided to read it. When I first purchased it, I read the first two chapters and put it down. It was harder to get into than the others. Although the first one-third has some trouble gaining momentum, stick with it. It gets better.

The only trouble I had with it is that there seems to be too much happening for just a weekend in real time. But then again, if Mr. Robbins can convince me that a bulk of human knowledge was a gift from amphibians from space, I will let that one go.

I've read most of his novels quite some time ago, my favorites being Jitterbug Perfume and Still Life with Woodpecker. I read them at a time in my life when I could have been one of the characters. Now that I've gotten older, I found that his work still intrigues me, and I am going to read some of these books again.

Rating:
Summary: Good... not great
Review: I usually only write reviews for books that I loved or entirely hated. I didn't love or hate this book, and I'm still trying to determine why everyone else loved it so much more than I did. I've only read Tom Robbins once before (Jitterbug Perfume) and found his writing absolutely amazing and his imagination extraordinary. Both of these impressions were confirmed with Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas, but I didn't really find the characters too appealing and the plot was creative but ultimately disappointing.

Rating:
Summary: Robbins' worst
Review: I'm sorry, but I'm a big Tom Robbins fan and this book was just terrible. After all the hilarious religious commentary in his other books, it just seemed silly.