Sunday, July 6, 2014

Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates




Some unforgettable characters and a nonsensical  (Maybe that’s the point)…  that’s where I traveled as I read Tom Robbins’ Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates.  I did enjoy the names of these characters, who lead interesting paths, but unsure where that path was taking me.  In the end funny characters, funny situations, and contradictions at every turn, need to be sending more than a message (yup missed some of that), though did get a chuckle as the main character was bringing his grandmother’s parrot back to the Amazon to be let free.  Switters, the main character, is a CIA agent (though he is a self-proclaimed Pacifist) who carries a gun!  He is ruled by his grandmother, Maestra, and loves both a 45 year-old nun and also his seventeen year old step sister (in the most sexual of ways)!  The thing that really impresses me with Robbins, is the language he uses and the way he tells a story, though there wasn’t a lot there, at least on the surface!  Underneath it, I am sure I missed it.  Maybe the lesson learned is you shouldn’t look for a message in a book, especially when sitting on a boat sunning yourself in 85 degree weather…. Or maybe that’s exactly what Robbins wants the reader to leave with… a respite from the novel as one knows it and a fun fast-paced escape from the rigors of CIA agent life into the abyss which many of us live, confused values, confused decision-making, and a confusion of living life for the moment and letting the rest just happen.  That poor parrot.  If grandma only knew who ended up eating it in the end!  My second Robbins book and I would say it is an acquired taste, not for the linear-minded readers.  When looking at symbolism, depth of reading, and great use of language, this could be right up your alley.  For me, I’d say I should pull it out in the depth of winter to see if that foil would make for a better read of it.
storyline, humorous at times, but where is it going?

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