simply horrendous.

Αγαπάμε και λατρεύουμε τον Θεό Τομ, αλλά εδώ βρισκόμαστε σε μια μάλλον αδύναμη στιγμή του, με πράγματα που εχουν ειπωθει ξανά στο παρελθόν κι ίσως με ενα τρόπο, μάλλον καλύτερο. Παρ ολα αυτά υπάρχει μια διάχυτη εντύπωση πως ο Ρομπινς είναι ελαφρύς κι οτι δεν ότι δεν κάνει λογοτεχνία και τα ρέστα. Δεν είναι αλήθεια αυτό, η αλήθεια είναι οτι είμαστε επιπόλαιοι και βιαστικοί, κι ακόμα και σ αυτό, το αδύναμο του βιβλίο, μπορείς να βρεις πολύ μεγάλες χαρές, και δεν θα απογοητευτείς(πολύ).

I don’t know how to rate this book. Sometimes amusing, but most of the time my jaw would drop from shock and horror from the supposed humor in this book. The main character is god awful and gives off “woman written by a man”

Probably my least favorite Tom Robbins novel, for the following reasons:
- The central theme is that hard-working uptight women just need a good bone, which I feel is a bit passé (even in the 90s)
- I just never really liked any of the characters. Larry was so obnoxious that he grew on me a litlte, but Gwen remained just plain boring (despite her learning to orgasm).
- Things just don't really come together well in the end, and lots of elements are just ignored, even though the entire novel feels like a build-up to some great reveal.
- The author went a little too far over the top with the literary postulations and whimsical pontifications this time
Then again, it was by no means awful. It was still strange and entertaining and I always enjoy the stupid factoids sprinkled in there. Tom Robbins novels are one of my guilty pleasures and I hope that nobody figure out who I really am and judges me for it.

Sometimes weird doesn't mean great. I don't really know what I just read there. It wasn't bad. Wasn't amazing. Kind of a literary purgatory.

Oh man, where to begin.

This is my least favorite Robbins book by far. It's written in the second person, which was the most interesting feature of this otherwise uninteresting novel. The second person perspective forces you to relate to the main character, who is a selfish stock broker who falls in love with an odious, creepy old man (and of course she's in a committed relationship with a decent person who loves her). Their relationship is so revolting, I don't even want to talk about it. This novel could be categorized as a mystery, with several of its plot points going totally unanswered. What happened to Q-Jo? What about the rapist? Also, the cherry on top of this bullshit sundae is that this novel contains misogyny/sexism and a whole lot of fatphobia.

What the fuck, Tom Robbins?

Четете Библията. Въобще, четете всичко на Том Робинс.

An entertaining, engaging, humorous, zany, absurd, original novel. The author’s imaginatively descriptive prose made me smile so many times. If you are a Robbins fan you should find this book a very satisfying reading experience. However some readers will be put off by the unlikeable characters, crazy plot and over the top sex scenes.

Gwen Mati is a young stock broker who loves money and on Friday night finds herself in financially dire straits due to a stock market crash. Her boyfriend Belford, a successful real estate agent is thinking about giving his money away and becoming a social worker. Belford rescued a monkey, Andre, who had been trained to be a thief. Gwen bumps into sleazy old Larry Diamond, a former stock broker. Gwen doesn’t like Larry but things change over the course of the weekend. Larry meets Gwen lots over the weekend, imparting his stock broking wisdom and how he will beat the cancer he has. Andre, the monkey, escapes from Belford and a fair amount of time over the weekend is spent looking for Andre.

Here are some quotes from the book:
‘Are you aware that rushing toward a goal is a sublimated death wish? It’s no coincidence we call them deadlines.’
‘There’s no such thing as security in this life sweetheart, and the sooner you accept that fact, the better off you’ll be. The person who strives for security will never be free. The person who believes she’s found security will never reach paradise. What she mistakes for security is purgatory. You know what purgatory is, Gwendolyn? It’s the waiting room, it’s the lobby. Not only does she have the wrong libretto, she’s stuck in the lobby where she can’t see the show.’
‘In the beginning was the thing. And one thing led to another.’

This book was first published in 1994.

Love Tom Robbins' style. He uses every literary device in the book (excuse pun, Tom) with great humour and philosophical reflection. I always learn something new and true about history!

In the late 80s and early 90s, I read most of what Tom Robbins had published because I enjoyed it. What a difference 20 years makes. It reaffirms my suspicion not to re-read all the Kurt Vonnegut books I loved.

I normally LOVE Tom Robbins, but was so disappointed by this book. None of the characters are likable or interesting, and the storyline is pretty boring as well. I tried to get into it just because of the author, but ended up stopping halfway through. Maybe it gets better at the end and I missed out, but I just couldn't get there.

"Future? Oh, I get it. You mean you don't foresee a pot of gold at the end of our juicy rainbow. You mean that our intimacy isn't likely to yield a dividend. You disappoint me, Gwendolyn. I hoped you might have a watt or two more light in your bulb than those poor toads who took on romance as an investment, like waterfront property or municipal bonds. Would you complain because a beautiful sunset doesn't have a future or a shooting star a pay off? And why should romance 'lead anywhere'? Passion isn't a path through the woods. Passion is the woods. It's the deepest, wildest part of the forest, the grove where the fairies still dance and obscene old vipers snooze in the boughs. Everybody but the most dried up and dysfunctional is drawn to the grove and enchanted by its mysteries, but then they just can't wait to call in the chain saws and bulldozers and replace it with a family-style restaurant or a new S and L. That's the pay off I guess. Safety. Security. Certainty. Yes, indeed. Well remember this, pussy latte: we're not involved in a 'relationship', you and I, we're involved in a collision. Collisions don't much lend themselves to secure futures, but the act of colliding is hard to beat for interest. Correct me if I'm wrong."l