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characters, setting, plot, language, WRITING...it's all here Jan 28, 2003 (95 of 102 found this helpful)
This is my first Robbins' reading, recommended by a good friend with great taste in books. This book has just about everything I could ever ask for in a read: amazing, memorable characters that are so strange and unique that they feel all too real; dialouge lovingly rendered for each character; a wild ride across the globe, through history, customs, food, clothing, mating rituals, social class, and mythology; an amazingly intricate and creative plot that eventually ties up in the end; and finally, a grand theme that serves as the foundation to this whole wonderful, wild, imaginative, freeing ride.
One gets the feeling that Robbins had a grand time writing this book. I was laughing out loud on one page, underlining passages of exquisite wisdom the next. Everything flows so naturally; the feel of this book is LIGHT, airy, featherweight. Yet like a drone or mantra, its rhythm and texture winds its way into you until you have been relaxed by Robbins' prose into another mindscape: HIS, or perhaps, yours, expanded.
Robbins is a master of metaphors. And comedy. And when he combines the two, you WILL be re-reading passages wondering "how did he do that?" Robbins is truly a master and has a strong, unique, comedic, wise, wild, creative voice. Highly recommended. I guess I will soon be reading "Jitterbug Perfume" for a second, third, fourth, etc. time.
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Tom Robbins is a genius! Jul 1, 1999 (41 of 43 found this helpful)
If you have not discovered Tom Robbins yet, RUN don't walk to the bookstore or library. I have read every novel this man has put out and I can't wait for the next one. Jitterbug Perfume is by far the best, though. It's about a king who fears growing old, not because of the usual reasons, but because in his kingdom, the rules require the king to be put to death as soon as he starts to show signs of aging. When King Alobar wakes up with a gray hair in his beard, it's time to move on. He fakes his death with the help of his favorite wife and goes off into the pre-Christian world to find the secret of youth. From ancient Rome to modern New Orleans, he meets a cast of incredible characters and finds the love of his life who follows him through the ages. This is a book I've had to buy a few times, since I've loaned it out to people who loved it as much as I did. That's ok. I don't mind contributing to the best author I've seen in a long time.
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A gem... Nov 3, 2002 (18 of 18 found this helpful)
Damn, if Tom Robbins' "Jitterbug Perfume" isn't one of the most original, beautifully written books I've ever discovered! It is a novel that manages to be classical, comical, and comtemporary at the same time. To say that the plot involves a century-hoping effort to bottle and market the spirit of youth is like saying "Being John Malcovich" is the story of an actor's life.
Part of what makes this book irresistable is its clever and lyrical language. Robbins describes a character getting out of a spring this way: "when he surfaced, spewing and sputtering, dead leaves and the addresses of a dozen hibernating frogs strewn throughout his beard...". He describes one character's internal experience this way: "... inside her swelling head... a music was rising, a happiness was rising; her dumpy old heart was rising, made buoyant and girlish again, a lost beach ball blown miles across a levee, illuminated by heat lightening."
The book is amazing, really. I'm not sure I've ever seen a more unusual plot handled so deftly, or read a book with as full a canvas of unusual characters and locations. Most of all, the language will keep you hooked from sentence to sentence. There could be no plot at all and you would still keep reading.
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A Great Work From a Great Author Nov 25, 2005 (20 of 21 found this helpful)
There can be no doubt that Tom Robbins is one of the top writers of our generation. Along with Kurt Vonnegut, Salman Rushdie, and a select few books from a select few authors, the reading generation of the last 30 years would be much worse off had these 3 authors not gone the way of the pen. Jitterbug Perfume is one of the books that gives Tom Robbins that distinction.
While probably not his absolute best work, it certainly stands as a testament to Robbins' writing prowess. In this, he combines everything he excels at and produces one of the better products of his fine writing career. From cover to cover, this is rife with word elegance and plot intrigue. From discussions on immortality to ordinary topics as the beet, Robbins wows you with his words and draws you with his story. No page goes by without something making sure you admire the book at hand.
This is my 2nd (or possibly 3rd) time reading this book. Over the past few years, years which bears witness to Robbins entering the later stages of his career, I have begun to wonder if these later works have tailed off, or if I might be losing my taste for his kind of writing. Two of his last 3 books are what I would call sub-standard compared to his previous works. At some point, It struck me that I just might not enjoy his writing anymore. While not thinking it probable, I picked up one of his better books to see what transpired. Sure enough, the classics are still classics. I'm not sure what that says about his later works, but his early works still stand the test of time.
From a whale mask to 'lighten up' to Pan to beets to the Perfect Taco to jasmine oil and Bingo Pajama, the narrative takes twists and turns you would never expect. Not remotely ground in anyone's observable reality, Jitterbug Perfume attempts to crack the facade in your mind to represent the world you think you live in - but only to a point. Converse to this, this is an unreal world, an unreal entity, an unreal set of circumstances. Not to be confused with a metaphysical book which explores the inner you and ignores the reality of observable phenomenon around you, this book is still very much placed in the world you live, at least philosophically. This is a book that will make you laugh, wonder, and most of all think.
Tom Robbins - and Jitterbug Perfume - is not for everyone. It's hard to say who will like Robbins and who will not. Either way, it's safe to say that if your favorite author is John Grisham or Tom Clancy, you probably don't want to bother. That is, unless you want your literary world (and more) to expand rapidly. Robbins lives in another snow globe than most of us. The flakes falling on his LaConner home are a different color and substance than most. Sometimes it's nice to get a glimpse of what that feels and looks like.
It's strange to give a good review then not recommend a book to everyone. But this book is certainly not for everyone. A first time reader might love it, or might despise it. I'm sure there are plenty of people who dislike Robbins more than I like him. I would recommend reading some of the sample chapters before you go out and buy something of this ilk. As it so happens, I'm one of the people who really like his work, especially the early stuff. This is a perfect example of that.
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Of beets, perfume, and the quest for eternal life ... Nov 24, 2005 (22 of 24 found this helpful)
This was my first Tom Robbins book - and I must admit, I see why he has such a passionate and devoted following. The plot is a little complicated to go into detail here - suffice it to say that it involves a Bohemian prince, Alobar, his lover and partner, Kudra, the god Pan, and a mysterious, alluring perfume that several characters in the present are near finding the secret recepie to.
While the plot was entertaining, I was also smitten by Robbins' writing style. As another reviewer remarked, it is "cute" in some places, and perhaps some may even think it a bit vulgar. I found it clever and wholly enjoyable. His metaphors (and imagery) were unlike anything I have previously read. Whether it was "forced" or not is a matter of opinion; I liked the word play, which added to the playful, frolicing tone of the book. This is clearly not intended to be serious literature, and should not be read as such. Yes, Robbins makes some wry observations about perfume, the month of February and politicians - but the book is fun - and joyful and entertaining. And based on these merits, I strongly recommend it.