Customer Reviews

Another Roadside Attraction

5 star:		(63)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

This is my favorite book of all time. I think that the four main characters are absolutely perfect, the way they are written. You can't get more interesting and original. In fact, I consider Amanda to be the greatest fictional character I have ever read about in a novel. Just brilliantly written.

The dialogue is fantastic, and story line and description of the whole book is just perfect. The first time I read this book, I was sitting out front of one of my classrooms with about 15 minutes to kill, so I figured I'd start reading this book that a friend of mine loaned me. When I looked up at the clock after taking a break from the pages, I realized that it was 3 hours later. This book totally captivated me, and I think I have lent that same copy to at least 20 different people over the years, and every one of them agreed with a full heart.

It the single, greatest recommendation I have ever recieved. You have to read it!!!!! Thank you, Mr. Robbins for writing it. I'm totally serious.

Fans of Tom Robbins' more recent work will enjoy going back and taking a look at his first novel, Another Roadside Attraction.

From page one, the reader will note that the author's writing style is fully formed, fat, juicy, and full of snap. There are several little stories going on, but the one I like best goes something like this.

A former college football player, banished from organized football after a carnal episode with his coach's wife, is hiking through the wet wilderness of Olympic National Park. He comes upon a murdered Catholic monk with a letter of introduction. Stealing the monk's clothes and assuming his identity, he continues on the path until he arrives at what was to be the monk's destination: a completely unknown monastary that serves as a training ground for the Vatican hit squad. Passing himself off as the murdered monk, he soon finds himself transferred to duty at the Vatican where, after some time, he is able to use the confusion created by a rather severe earthquake to sneak his way into the lowest, off-limits section of the Vatican catacombs. Who's body he finds, and what happens after that? Read the book.

Five big stars for this one!

This is my favourite book ever, and definitely my favourite Tom Robbin's book. Hilarious and entertaining on a surface level, and an insightful and unique perspective into philosophy and sociology (yes, I know it's just fiction).

Tom Robbins has a wonderful writing style and a creative mind. If you like unique books (how about ninja assassin Catholic monks or missplaced messiahs?), this is for you.

I had this book stolen (hope the thief liked it), but liked it so much I purchased it a second time.

Wherever you are, Tom Robins, it's been way too long.

At the time I read "Roadside" I was a frequent book reviewer for a large newspaper and I was so acutely bored with almost every word I had been reading that I really was on the verge of giving up on fiction.

Although I would never admit it then, I think I fashioned my review to make it clear to anyone who might read it that they would live an unfulfilled life it they did not read this book at least twice... once in the bathtub with a scotch and water to keep them warm.

I am convinced, now, that the aged online term ROFL (Rolling On The Floor Laughing) was created to describe this wonderful book of yours. Some crazed Tom Robins lover coined the phrase, I am sure, and it was ultimately picked up on CIS and FIDO and RIME, and probably even the internet of the day. Even if it wasn't, in my life -- once I had outgrown Huey, Dewey and Louie -- there really wasn't much reason for the term to exist before this book.

You whittle language, bang it around, smother it, soothe it, lavish love on it, twist it, make it alive, revere it, and make me weep with laughter. I have to have more.

Not long after I read this book, on a long trip from Detroit to Washington D.C., I read every word of Still Life with Woodpecker aloud to the most wonderful woman as she took her turn driving. There were times she almost had to pull off the road, she was laughing so hard at your crazed bomber. And that can be trouble on the beltway, as I am sure you know.

So, the point of this is that I have reached the point in my life where I need more wacky... my soul needs more wacky. There just hasn't been enough, lately, and without some, soon, my sense of the beauty of crazed writing might is sure to wither away.

Although there are crazed American writers I love, none of them has ever made me quite as nuts for the deranged...for a demonic (but pure of heart) bomber, or a would-be cowgirl with a thumb made for hitching a ride and a heart made for sin.

Wherever you are, Tom Robins, it's been way too long.

To those of you who've tried to digest Robbins and failed, I offer gentle encouragement: keep trying. Most of the people I know who are now avid Robbins readers began that life baffled and confused by his prose. I include myself in that group. But after trying and giving up and trying and giving up several times, all of the sudden something clicks and you realize that he is a literary samurai.

I enjoy Robbins because he is able to fulfill my two main criteria for an awesome book: skilled witty prose, and propulsive storytelling. His epic powers of similie and metaphor neatly take care of the first, and his stories -- which cannot and should not be summarized -- are mind bogglingly freaked-out and yet perfect in their own inherent logic. Another Roadside Attraction is his first, so he may be a bit more verbose than usual, but damn if I'd take Tom being too wordy and juvenile over any other author at his/her peak.

Tom Robbins' first novel, Another Roadside Attraction, reads like a first novel by Tom Robbins would. It's full of mind-bending metaphors and squishy similes, like you'd expect. It's a bit sloppy - immature, a more thoughtful reviewer might say. I wonder what he had been doing before writing this. Composing goofy-witty short stories? Collecting insane metaphors in stacks of spiral notebooks? Building up his mind with recreational drugs?

Though this book is nearly as fulfilling as anything you'll pick up, the ending was not as dramatically significant as expected. It built up nicely, but the final act didn't satisfy like I had hoped. Still, it's a book that will have you chuckling under your breath on the bus, and reading portions to your loved ones.

I'm ready to declare Another Roadside Attraction the final book of the bible. While I'm willing to admit that this is not exactly fine literature, it's the most fun I've had in a while reading and also really made me think about things a bit. The first 50-60 pages are confusing, but the characters keep you going; I love Amanda's quotes ("There's no word for what I'm going to be when I grow up,"). Robbins' brilliant similes will keep a smile on your face the whole way. I've read almost all of Robbins' books, and this is by far the best I've read. If you want a fun little book that you'll be sure to keep on your shelf for a while, try out Another Roadside Attraction.

Another Roadside Attraction has E V E R Y T H I N G!

A Cosmic weenie,

Puerto Rican clock,

artistic fleas,

divine prophetess with scarabs in her belly button,

The Indo-Tibetan Circus and Black Panda Gypsy Blues Band

AND

Jesus!

What more do you require in a book of wonder? Manically scrumptious sentences so inexplicably delicious that you end up wearing a bib and holding a fork just to help sop up the drool while you simultaneously gorge yourself on a repast of gorgeous language?

I TOLD YOU THIS BOOK HAS EVERYTHING!!! It sticks to your ribs and it sticks to your soul. Buon Appetito

"You risked your life, but what else have you ever risked? Have you risked disapproval? Have you ever risked economic security? Have you ever risked a belief? I see nothing particularly courageous about risking one's life. So you lose it, you go to your hero's heaven and everything is milk and honey 'til the end of time. Right? You get your reward and suffer no earthly consequences. That's not courage. Real courage is risking something that might force you to rethink your thoughts and suffer change and stretch consciousness. Real courage is risking one's clichés."

If you can picture the scene of sitting in a high chair (I'm not saying you have to remember this, mind you) and you can go so far as to imagine an adult is scooping orange mush from a small jar, only to stuff it in your face despite your bitter resentment, then you may empathize with me when I say I've read altogether too many books without substance. My point about this novel is that it is intellectually satisfying, not necessarily that the substance allows one to derive life lessons. This book was written in some sense for more liberal thinkers who enjoy literary allusions, social and cultural allusions, political history, among references to a host of information you never thought you'd pick up (a far-reaching reference to the religion of Bokonon...perhaps a shout-out to Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut).

You know, it's hard for me to describe Tom's writing style at all. Many people find it inaccessible. In fact, long ago as an undergraduate I wandered into an independent bookstore in Spokane, Washington looking for something that was, "Like 100 Years of Solitude, something magical and unreal, but significant..." The bookseller smiled and handed me Skinny Legs and All, along with the information that the story included a tin can, a painted stick, and a conch shell for a start. I was utterly defeated by the first 40 pages because I didn't know what I was in for. Vague references can be overlooked and discarded because Robbins makes so many that you're probably not going to 'understand' everything. But those you do understand are incredible.

The writing is wonderful because it combines a decent story and amazing knowledge of the world. I guess this is one of those books that, overall, really isn't 'too hard' to read but, that being said, one should remember that perseverance through seemingly unrelated information will be necessary. But don't despair! Robbins will not let you down, tying everything up nicely by the time you finish.

Tom Robbins has an inimitable writing style that could be described as "suculent". Just when you thought you have heard every turn of phrase, Tom finds yet another.

As if this wasn't enough reason to read such an original author, Tom raises the ante by discussing the Big Issues in his books: art, religion, meaning of life. But instead of the reverent tone found in most spiritual writing, Tom uses humor.

Some of the deeper issues in this book include: Would you believe in Jesus if you discovered he didn't resurrect? Would his failure to resurrect lessen his message? While you may disagree with Tom's conclusions, you'll certainly have fun while dealing with these issues. Enjoy.