Tom Robbins, best known for writing flamboyantly imaginative novels (Even Cowgirls Get the Blues) with half-hilarious, half-metaphysical leanings, dishes out a juicy-parts version of his full and unusual life in this collection of autobiographical essays. In the preface, Robbins remarks, "My editor claims some of this stuff is so nuts even I couldn't have made it up," and readers will agree as they join Robbins for a stroll down a version of Memory Lane populated by circus performers, bohemians, the occasional celebrity and a variety of interesting women.
Robbins begins with his upbringing in Appalachian North Carolina during the Great Depression. His childhood nickname, Tommy Rotten, seemed to guide his formative years, and some of his earliest recollections are also his most colorful, including the time he briefly ran away to join the circus--with parental consent. As an adult, Robbins has maintained his habit of telling convention to go do rude things to itself. Readers who hop on board solely to hear about the evolution of a writing career might be surprised at Robbins's unconventional path to selling his first novel.
Robbins defies tradition yet again by throwing the usual linear autobiography format out the window, jumping instead from story to story in a manner that often seems disjointed but repeatedly becomes part of a greater train of thought. His trademark style is earthy and conversational yet simultaneously intellectual; fans and newcomers alike will guffaw and marvel at this most extraordinary life. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger at Infinite Reads