I am a massive fan of Robbins and his metaphors quips and the like. I was first upset then intruiged then happily surprised by these works of non fiction. Definitely worth the read and the thinking it causes. Thanks again Tom

whiplash in a book; the most absurd sentence you’ve ever read immediately followed by prose so profound that you have to take a moment

standouts:
canyon of the vaginas
genius waitress
clair de lune
in defiance of gravity
leo kenney and the geometry of dreaming
what is the meaning of life?

A compendium of various non-fiction and poetry from across Robbins' career. There are good bits here and there, flashes of the prose he's known for, but this is strictly for die-hard fans only.

truly the most liberated writer I’ve ever read and by this I mean that his writing would give the average modern reader a stroke

I love Tom Robbins. He is a strange telescope, aimed thoroughly at the grass and dirt of our terrestrial existence, but somehow able to see through so much earth to take in the cosmos on the other side. I wish he was my friend, and somehow, through the generosity of his writing, I feel he is.

Thanks.

It's Tom Robbins, after all, so a whole lot of fun just with his use of language. Much of this is a collection of his short pieces from magazines, some travel-based, some portraits of people and ideas. His essay on kissing is absolutely wonderful. His poetry, well, not so much, to me at least.

I liked many of the short works, and especially tok Robbin’s take on life. He experiences it with all senses and relates it in a literary body that outwits, excites, and challenges the reader

Tom Robbins at his finest. Short stories, essays, musings and critiques, all dotted with his signature metaphors of fancy. Enlightening spiritually and en-lightening of spirit.

I've been a big fan of some of Robbins's older fiction, so it was interesting to see his nonfiction pieces. As with any collection, some are great and some are so-so, but he always has a fresh perspective and says what he really thinks. I like that!

"Personally, I define politics as the ambition to preside over property and make other people's decisions for them. Politics, in other words, is an organized, publicly sanctioned amplification of the infantile itch to always have one's own way." (from page 201)

well the essay on rajneesh didn’t age well huh

Having read all of Tom Robbins other books (except for "B is for Beer"!), mostly quite a few years ago, I was hoping to get a reminder of why I liked his writing. And this provides that -- the literary gymnastics he applies to his writing make it as fresh and awe-inspiring as always. I found, though, that this book of short pieces really was more like a scratch-and-sniff version of his writing - you get the essence but you don't get anywhere near a complete story. This made me realize that although I enjoy the writing style, I enjoyed it best with a complete story. Given that, the writings in this book I found most interesting were the longer travel stories as well as the script treatment. The book has short bits from many magazines, such as Playboy and Esquire, which I expected. What I didn't expect were the writings from art catalogs. These were quite interesting as well, and put his ability to turn a phrase to good use.

Tom Robbins use of the English language is fabulous. It's not the flowery twaddle of the freshman philosopher, it's insightful and thought-provoking but also charming and crude all at once.

The only problems I have are the occasional disinterest in some of the topics of the articles and his tendency towards style over substance. However, it could also be argued that his style-heavy prose is the precise reason why this book is so good.