Today’s recommendation is an oldie but a goodie.  It’s called Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins.  If you haven’t read anything from Tom Robbins all I have to say is what rock have you been reading under.  He’s probably one of the most creative writers out there.  Count on a rip roaring story full of satire, social commentary, and the unexpected.  It sort of looks like a car crash in the beginning but, don’t worry in the end it’s all going to work out.

Tom Robbins is an author from the the twentieth century that challenges readers to look at what a story can be and how language adds to the originality of what can be conveyed.   If it’s your first attempt at reading a Robbins novel I urge you to try it and hang on to it even though things are just plain weird.  It’s worth it and you’ll love the originality of his writing. He’s just that special.  As he says in the video below, “A good story is not the same thing as a well told story.”

It’s been a while since I read Jitterbug Perfume but since I’m writing about it I’m anxious now to maybe do a reread of it next year. I recommend this book to readers who want to read something different, something satirical, something backlist vintage! Check out the video of Tom Robbins below. It will give you a sense of who he is, why, and how he writes.  Let me know below if you’ve read Tom Robbins’ novels and what you think of them. Which one(s) are your favorites?  My two factories are Jitterbug Perfume and Skinny Legs and All. 

Overview:

“Jitterbug Perfume
is an epic.

Which is to say, it begins in the forests of ancient Bohemia and doesn’t conclude until nine o’clock tonight (Paris time).

It is a saga, as well. A saga must have a hero, and the hero of this one is a janitor with a missing bottle.

The bottle is blue, very, very old, and embossed with the image of a goat-horned god.

If the liquid in the bottle actually is the secret essence of the universe, as some folks seem to think, it had better be discovered soon because it is leaking and there is only a drop or two left.” (Jitterbug Perfume, cover)

Jitterbug Perfume – Tom Robbins

Publisher:  Bantam

Pages:  352

My rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

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