Skinny Legs and All

Jul 30, 2007 Reba rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After having been recommended this book, I was really surprised at how most everything contained within it boiled down to either a simile or a stereotype. I was disturbed by the racism, not so much in the characters (he uses the racism in his archtype of most of the Southerners) but in the narration. Each of the individuals were invariably described not in terms of their personality (or even their importance within the storyline), but were mentioned only as black, palestinian, jewboy, etc. Contr...more

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Jul 18, 2008 Austen rated it 3 of 5 stars

I should start by saying that I'm not a fan of Tom Robbins' novels. I don't dislike his work, but you will not find me among the legions of his fanatical fans. I just need to get that out of the way before I begin...

However, I have enjoyed reading two of his books. I almost put down Still Life With Woodpecker, but because of my admiration for the person who recommended it to me, I made it through. I feel much the same way about this novel. In fact, I did put Skinny Legs down for about six months...more I should start by saying that I'm not a fan of Tom Robbins' novels. I don't dislike his work, but you will not find me among the legions of his fanatical fans. I just need to get that out of the way before I begin...

However, I have enjoyed reading two of his books. I almost put down Still Life With Woodpecker, but because of my admiration for the person who recommended it to me, I made it through. I feel much the same way about this novel. In fact, I did put Skinny Legs down for about six months, but returned to it for two reasons: because unfinished books are like splinters in my mind, and because it took me quite some time to appreciate Robbins' view of the world (as expressed through his writing).
I take life far too seriously, all the time, and to my detriment. This is initially why Robbins' didn't resonate with me. Yet, I've realized recently that life can be far too difficult to take very seriously. Levity and ease of mind are invaluable, and for this reason I finished Skinny Legs and all with renewed gusto after a six month hiatus (and after suffering through a book by William T. Vollman). I now appreciate Robbins' humor, his rebelliousness, and his sarcastic irreverence much more. They seem to make life easier and more enjoyable somehow. And what Skinny Legs (and it's philosophy) lacks in sophistication, it makes up for with humor.
Ultimately, I cannot shake or deny my way of looking at, and living in, the world--my tendency toward deep introspection, critical analysis, and intense focus of mind are my default settings. What Tom Robbins' constant comic assault allows me is a little respite, and ultimately a valuable lesson. Though it sounds a bit dramatic, it's true. Though I am not sure that I entirely agree with Robbins' way of understanding the human experience and the nature of the universe, he's pretty damn close. And that's what interesting--the ongoing meditation on the more serious philosophical questions throughout the two novels I have read. Though at times a bit juvenile and intellectually simplified (or simplistic?), he gets at something deeper through his constant rhetorical barrage that seems to seek the undoing of that which is held sacred in our culture. By making fun of the serious things in life, by exposing and making the taboo funny, and well, everything funny, we have a new, perhaps more liberated way of looking at ourselves and everything in our world, especially the ideological hang-ups that restrict and paralyze us. These things are thrown into the open, and I could be wrong, but I think we're all better for having to confront what he sets before us.
For example, (and despite the fact that I wonder about his tranparent lust for young women and girls--or maybe it's mine?) I think the way in which he humorously humanizes girls and women is important. Though, it is 2008, admittedly I read few novels that really allow women freedom of thought, freedom of sexuality, and the freedom to be human. More often women seem to exist in novels (particularly in the works of males authors) as silent, two-dimensional characters. Robbins' female characters possess all of the beauty and foibles that make humans human, and it's these taboo parts of the human experience that make us real and complex, and something more than a success or failure as measured against abstract concepts about what makes a good citizen, or person. I think that is really enjoyable in his works.
Finally, that's what this novel seems to be about: the peeling away of Dogma, and law, and forced consensus. This novel is about the way in which these concepts work as veils to obscure our vision from a truer way of knowing the world, and our place in it. And I appreciate this, because like so many others my eyes are veiled from perhaps a truer truth. But who's to say what's true, really? Perhaps being too serious is a veil that clouds my vision. And if it is, hopefully it started to fall away while I was reading this novel. (less)

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Sep 06, 2012 Rob rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: pilgrims and frustrated artists; also: foot-fetishists

Shelves: own

A passage:

"You are an artist. You know that big picture at the museum midtown, that picture by that fellow Rousseau, it is called The Sleeping Gypsy?"

"Yeah. Sure. That's a very famous painting."

"It ought to be called The Sleeping Arab, that picture. An Arab lies in the desert, sleeping under the crazy-faced moon. A lion sniffs at the Arab, the Arab is unafraid..."

See the painting...

I find this to be one of Robbins' better works. By "better" here I mean "more mature" and "fully realized". Which i...more

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Mar 15, 2012 Greg rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I can't think of any other book I've read very recently that left my mind as thoroughly blown as Skinny Legs and All. I'd only read one other Tom Robbins book -- Still Life With Woodpecker -- so I was prepared for his playfulness, humor, intricate (but goofy) language, and overall trippy feel that all come with just about everything he rights.

But I was not prepared for Skinny Legs. This book is so dense with literary magnificence that you could chew it like you had a whole mouth full of sticky b...more I can't think of any other book I've read very recently that left my mind as thoroughly blown as Skinny Legs and All. I'd only read one other Tom Robbins book -- Still Life With Woodpecker -- so I was prepared for his playfulness, humor, intricate (but goofy) language, and overall trippy feel that all come with just about everything he rights.

But I was not prepared for Skinny Legs. This book is so dense with literary magnificence that you could chew it like you had a whole mouth full of sticky bubble gum. I dog-eared more pages and marked more passages in this book than any other I've ever read by a long shot.

Skinny Legs deals with so many topics, many of which are classical in nature: love, sex, family, art, compassion, work, religion. But it all revolves around a more specific point of the conflicts in the Middle East, primarily between Jews and Arabs. There's lots of history, spirituality, and ridiculousness all spun together -- about the Middle East especially but also about everything else surrounding it (both geographically and more abstractly). Were I a teacher of Middle East studies or any subject that dealt with the Judaism/Islam conflict specifically, this book would be required reading if for no other reason than to lighten the tension -- but hopefully also to open some minds and spark a more creative and intelligent dialogue built not on dogma but on critical thinking and compassion.

The book says great things about all the topics it touches on, but to the topic of the Middle East specifically it is blazingly relevant and even prophetic in its own right. Even now, with the book being 18 years old, it hasn't lost a lick of power or shown its age. Nothing in the writing itself ever gave me the impression that the book was written any earlier than yesterday.

Anyway, I'm mostly just spitting out tidbits -- let me try to formulate something more concrete. It was very, very good. Long and complex, but good. Robbins is a master of language and imagery. He gives the impression of writing with very reckless abandon. It's like he scribbled down every single thing that came to his mind while writing the story, omitting nothing and not even considering apologizing for such craziness. And yet, it works. The madness all comes together without ever seeming structured hardly at all. As if there's not a method to the madness, but that the method IS the madness.

In fact I wish my review of the book could be half as perfectly cohesive as the novel itself managed to be in the end. I could rant and ramble about this fantastic book for hours on end (and probably will to my poor unfortunate friends and acquaintances), but I'll just start wrapping up and say that this one is indeed highly recommended. It's not the quickest read in the world because you have to use your brain, sense of humor, and imagination rather extensively and mostly constantly -- but it's very, very worth it.

I'm not normally quite this scatterbrained in my reviewing of a book, but it really was that good!(less)

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Jul 27, 2007 Mike rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I started this book at least three times. Tom Robbins is one of my favorie authors, and this was his only novel I hadn't read. However, each of the times I started it I found myself becoming very disappointed. At the beginning it was too weird, or trying to be too cute, even for Tom Robbins. Ellen Cherry and Boomer driving across country in a turkey. A talking and walking spoon, dirty sock and can of beans. It was too much. I couldn't take it seriously. He was trying to be too 'Tom Robbins like'...more

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Jul 16, 2007 Kate rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, own, 1945-2000, usa_canada

this book's jacket description : this book :: funny movie trailer : movie that shot its wad in the trailer

The premise sounds wild and funny and makes you wonder, briefly, how he could pull it off. And then he doesn't.

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Oct 26, 2009 Leah rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Sean Ferguson

Recommended to Leah by: Viluna Jennings

Shelves: favorites

I've heard about how good Tom Robbins is for quite a long time, and finally picked up one of his novels at the insistence of a friend. I'm so glad I did. Skinny Legs and All is now officially making it onto my "best reads of '09" list (yes, I do actually keep lists).

I'm not sure where to begin with this one... the book is funny, controversial, and relevant. It can be confusing, but it's the sort of thing the reader has to let slide. I speak from experience when I say that if you accept the oddne...more I've heard about how good Tom Robbins is for quite a long time, and finally picked up one of his novels at the insistence of a friend. I'm so glad I did. Skinny Legs and All is now officially making it onto my "best reads of '09" list (yes, I do actually keep lists).

I'm not sure where to begin with this one... the book is funny, controversial, and relevant. It can be confusing, but it's the sort of thing the reader has to let slide. I speak from experience when I say that if you accept the oddness instead of try to fight it the reading goes a lot smoother. And at some point it may even start to make some sort of weird sense.

In my case, I tried to start the book once or twice before I actually made it past the first few pages. I mean really, what am I supposed to think when the book starts off by saying, "It was a bright, defrosted, pussy-willow day at the onset of spring, and the newlyweds were driving cross-country in a large roast turkey."? Beyond that the reading got easier and I found a book that I consider to be magical realism at its best (some of the main characters include an old can of pork 'n' beans, a little dessert spoon, and a dirty sock). Through its quirkiness the book delivers some powerful messages about art, sex, religion, politics, and war in the Middle East. With such hefty subjects as that, I am inclined to think that if it weren't for its insane quirkiness, the book would have been too depressing, dull, and possibly even more confusing than talking spoons and mobile roast turkeys.

Throughout the book Tom Robbins uses the metaphor of veils covering people's eyes, or rather, their consciousness. Then, at the end of the book, a belly dancer performs an ancient dance in which literal veils covering her body are dropped one by one until she is nude. For everyone watching, universal/spiritual truths are revealed as each veil drops. I would let the book speak for itself and include a passage but I don't want to ruin it for anyone who intends to read it. Suffice to say that I found these truths to be real and powerful.

I think that mostly, Robbins is trying to shake the perception that high-standing figures of authority in the government and in many churches have answers and solutions to our questions and problems. He makes the argument that in many cases they are actually deceiving us or leading us down a dangerous path; that everyone has got to figure out life for themselves; that intelligent and spiritual people can give us clues, but in the end, we already hold the key, not the other way around.(less)

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Aug 12, 2008 Michele rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is the best book I've ever read! Robbins keeps me on my toes with his vocabulary and uses unique characters to provide interesting perspectives on cultural clashes and life in general. I love this guy!

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Feb 17, 2008 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Laura by: Jill Z.

I believe this novel was so enjoyable because of its lighthearted mix of the absurd, the everyday, the magical, and the sexual. I consider those the four food groups of fun literature, and they each find a home in this ridiculous tale of self-awakening and revelations of truth. Robbins asserts that patriarchal society has blinded us to a heritage that recognizes and rejoices its feminine deities that embrace expressions of sexuality and the magic of nature. Blinded by “seven veils” of untruth in...more

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Mar 17, 2012 Jess rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Although I have determined that it is impossible for me to pick a favorite Tom Robbins novel, this one is strong in the running.

Ellen Cherry Charles isn't my favorite Robbins woman, but in many ways, she is his most sympathetic female protagonist. Caught between her art, her stupid husband, and her hypocritical uncle, she made me want to jump into the pages and help her straighten everything out. (That's saying a lot coming from me, a generally unsympathetic person and least of all to other wome...more

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Sep 03, 2007 Jen rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: smart, progressive types with a sense of humor

Tom Robbins is a genius. His use of the English language is so playful and dangerously intelligent that I can't belive he isn't a bigger literary celebrity.

Skinny Legs and All delves into all of life's big issues: religion, politics, love, war, money and so on, though it has a light touch; main characters include a Can 'o Beans and a Dirty Sock, for example. Seven fundamental truths are revealed as a modern day belly dancer named Salome dances The Dance of the Seven Veils - a veil drops, and a t...more

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Feb 27, 2008 Heather rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: eccentrics

I am a Tom Robbins fan, but I was a little disappointed in this book. Fierce Invalids is still my all-time favorite, closely followed by Jitterbug Perfume. Both are MUST-reads.

My whole theory on how Tom Robbins writes a book:
--step 1: find some random unlikely stuff to be associated-- people, places, things, or topics.
--step 2: weave them together using witty humour, a renegade main character, some sort of historical or theological revelation tied into all random people places or things.

I'm used...more

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Mar 30, 2007 Charles rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: patient people

Shelves: tom-robbins

this is the only fiction book i've read three times. all of the characters are thinly-veiled representations of specific ideas--a redneck, a stick, a conch shell, etc.. i am not a huge reader, so this book is kind of long for me with a lot of characters to keep straight. it also helps if you have some background about historic monuments and turmoil in jerusalem. overall, though, it's a very satisfying read. if you're looking more for witty banter and action, i recommend another tom robbins book,...more

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Mar 31, 2009 Laura Harcourt rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Perhaps, in this particularly cynical day and age, it is hardly surprising that the most philosophically bent of Tom Robbins' characters in Skinny Legs and All is a can of beans. A redneck welder-turned-artist is a close second, expressing his own brand of somewhat confused philosophies regarding art, love, and the state of the world.

Robbins uses his pontificating Can O'Beans and the can's animated inanimate friends to take the plot of Skinny Legs and All to a higher level of academic thought th...more Perhaps, in this particularly cynical day and age, it is hardly surprising that the most philosophically bent of Tom Robbins' characters in Skinny Legs and All is a can of beans. A redneck welder-turned-artist is a close second, expressing his own brand of somewhat confused philosophies regarding art, love, and the state of the world.

Robbins uses his pontificating Can O'Beans and the can's animated inanimate friends to take the plot of Skinny Legs and All to a higher level of academic thought than it might otherwise achieve; our main link to the tangled history of the Middle East and the legendary city of Jerusalem is a Painted Stick, a Conch Shell, and Can o'Beans him/herself.

We start the story sitting with Boomer and Ellen Cherry in their honeymoon getaway vehicle: a gigantic welded roast turkey on wheels. This is the physical expression of Boomer's love for his brand-new wife. The story only gets stranger from there.

The book follows the structure of the legendary Dance of Seven Veils, a dance so enchanting that John the Baptist was murdered because of it--so the story says. It creates a spiritual and philosophical journey for the reader as well as each character, and flawlessly mixes modern motivations with ancient traditions. In New York City, a Jew and an Arab start a restaurant together, the welder becomes an artist and travels to Jerusalem, an Evangelical preacher believes he can create the Apocalypse, Ellen Cherry just wants to get laid, and Can O'Beans fulfills his/her greatest dreams despite enormous odds.

One of the first comments Robbins makes in the novel is that art is the rearrangement of reality. He's talking about mockingbirds, but the same can be applied the the entirety of Skinny Legs and All. Robbins recklessly pushes his characters into a strange version of our world, one where a bellydancer named Salome out-performs the SuperBowl, one where the ancient god of Palestine is rediscovered by a guy named 'Boomer.' And the characters themselves: they not only go along for the ride, they're aware that they're on a sort of pilgramage, particularly Boomer, who, grasped by the unforgiving Muse, delves deeply into art. His erstwhile bride, however, digs her heels into New York and stays put, stubbornly trying to stop the inexorable enlightening movement...in her defense, however, it's through Ellen Cherry's eyes that we watch the veils drop, and she is by far the most entertaining of the various narrators. Unlike Can o'Beans, who, seeming to regard him/herself as self-nominated historian, translates at length Painted Stick and Conch Shell's history of Jerusalem, Ellen Cherry does her best to keep out of the whole mess. Her stubborn belief that she is neither interested nor involved in the Middle East is jarring next to the other characters' obsession with the place: Abu and Spike wax lyrical about Jerusalem, Can o'Beans and the other inanimates do their best to make it to that famed city, and even Boomer finds himself totally fascinated by the combination of violence and religion that is that citadel, Jerusalem.

One of my favorite aspects of Robbins' writing is his love of women, and that comes to the forefront in Skinny Legs and All with his portrayal of Ellen Cherry Charles. With her obsession with Jezebel, her love of girlish shoes, and the way she clings to a feminine ideal, Ellen Cherry is voluptuously feminine. Even her temperment--quick to anger, quick to compassion, quick to leaps of logic--is practically a stereotypically female one. Robbins needs Ellen Cherry's strength of character to discuss the book's main motive: the feminine pagan religion of Astarte vs. the patriarchal organized religion of Yahweh. Let me put it this way: if you are a fan of Robbins' soliloques on feminist religions vs. masculine ones; if you enjoy his unabashed Whitman-esque worship of bodies, nature, love and sex; if you prefer unexpected metaphors to straightforward prose, you will enjoy this book.

it is impossible to describe Robbins as a purely feminist writer, or Skinny Legs and All as a purely feminist book. In fact, I'm not sure I would call it "feminist" at all. Skinny Legs and All is simply, in my opinion, the finest example of Robbins' ecletic ideas and ideals, his bizarre and alliterative imagery, and his love of people and the world at large. Not even in Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, a novel whose main character is famous for her hitch-hiking, is the breadth and width of the U.S. so lovingly described, or its place in the world studied. It's a strange mix of modernism and romanticism, of mythology and street performers. Robbins spins us through the story with breath-taking ease and familiarity. No one who is familiar with Robbins' past work will be surprised to find that Skinny Legs and All evolves into a treatise on religions: ancient, organized and defunct, Robbins considers them all. His main beef is with Christianity, so if you're a bit edgy on that subject, I'd suggest keeping an open mind or avoiding the book altogether. The good news? He's already used the Corpse of Christ in one novel, so it doesn't pop up again. The bad news: two of the Bibles most famous tramps are, welll--unveiled. But that's not so bad.

(less)

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Apr 14, 2013 Bill rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literary

Clever For the Sake of Cleverness (2012)

Robbins, Tom (1990). Skinny Legs and All. New York: Bantam.

This novel is about Tom Robbins, who wants to show you how clever, funny, and sophisticated he is. With respect to that goal, the book succeeds.

However, does he create and motivate interesting characters? No. Does he develop an interesting story? No. Does he elucidate some significant point? No. Does he create a haunting sense of place or time? No. Does he skewer social or political practices with...more

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Feb 12, 2013 Sam rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 27, 2010 Barry rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 03, 2011 Sunshine rated it 5 of 5 stars

A guy I briefly dated first introduced me to Tom Robbins. I knew that my seminal interest in his books was genuine when I continued reading him after I stopped seeing the guy. However, there was a catch: it was becoming increasingly necessary for me to be aware of my physical location when reading Robbins. Why? It's impossible to not cry, guffaw, laugh, snort, and generally cause arched eyebrows to be directed your way when reading him in public. After I tried suppressing my reactions, to little...more A guy I briefly dated first introduced me to Tom Robbins. I knew that my seminal interest in his books was genuine when I continued reading him after I stopped seeing the guy. However, there was a catch: it was becoming increasingly necessary for me to be aware of my physical location when reading Robbins. Why? It's impossible to not cry, guffaw, laugh, snort, and generally cause arched eyebrows to be directed your way when reading him in public. After I tried suppressing my reactions, to little success, I stopped caring when mothers silently pulled their children away from me in frozen yogurt shops, the gym, the doctor's office and other place where I brought Mr. Robbins.

So, to summarize: if you've got a quirky sense of humor and don't mind a bit of philosophizing, then puh-leeze take a hearty bite of Robbins. You'll fly away on an anthropomorphic beast, I promise.

Skinny Legs and All is focused on the question of religion, spirituality, and society. However, it's not a Sunday morning of yawns. It's a triple shot of espresso finished off with two shots of vodka. Robbins is a deep thinker, and yes, he's very wary of institutionalized religion (of any sort). He grew up the son of a ....Baptist preacher, I think. I'd have to check Wikipedia again. Ha. So be prepared for some peripheral thinking *outside* of the catechism, the Canon, or perhaps the Koran.

He also is not afraid to talk about a woman's "dot" - or menstruation. In fact, he's one of the few male writers I know who engages and uplifts the sacredness (the secrecy as well) of life as formed through woman. In other words, he'll challenge your patriarchal centered notions of God, faith, and life. He takes phallus-centered worldviews seriously enough to lighten their hubris. He celebrates the complexities of the XX chromosome, while taking care to not gloss over stereotypical female weaknesses such as emotional and illogical. He also takes care to show characters with characteristics outside of their gender norm.

Anyway, that's just one of the reasons why I like Robbins. I don't agree with everything he purports in Skinny Legs and All. At times, he sounds overly cynical about God. I think he may be an agnostic, but he's also a mystic, and so I find him intriguing, refreshing, and honest. Those are qualities which I attribute to God as well, even though Robbins would probably disagree with my personalized concept of the Divine Oh, well. He's a hoot to read and I don't think he needs to short circuit his whimsical afflatus. (less)

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Jun 15, 2011 Martha added it · review of another edition

Shelves: f-novel, l-american, read-2011-12

No doubt fun to read; rollicks along, and for each wacky metaphor that fails, there's several delightful ones. The non-stop verbal circus is bit overly flashy and self-indulgent for me, but I guess that's his thing and he rocks it. I wouldn't want every book to be written like this, but I'm glad one is. Still I do have some gripes.

First, for a book whose message is 'think for yourself!' it's awfully preachy. It's odd; some of the most interesting ideas revolved around the need for purely beauti...more No doubt fun to read; rollicks along, and for each wacky metaphor that fails, there's several delightful ones. The non-stop verbal circus is bit overly flashy and self-indulgent for me, but I guess that's his thing and he rocks it. I wouldn't want every book to be written like this, but I'm glad one is. Still I do have some gripes.

First, for a book whose message is 'think for yourself!' it's awfully preachy. It's odd; some of the most interesting ideas revolved around the need for purely beautiful art as opposed to conceptual art 'fraught, simply fraught with commentary.' Yet, the book itself is loaded with commentary, is arguably nothing but a very colorful vehicle for same. Each time a veil drops, we should supposedly be shedding harmful dogma and drawing ever nearer to the natural world as it really is. In fact though, each time a veil drops, we get a big chunk of propaganda -- the world according to Robbins. I guess if you already agree with his point of view, then the whole thing could be really satisfying. I, however, think that he himself is dogmatically devoted to the myth that one should encounter the world as an individual in order to perceive it truly. I am pretty sure that, to the contrary, sometimes the fullest encounters with the world can be through groups - a community and its structures (such as political and economic processes and religious traditions) can actually lead to a deeper and truer experience of reality than one lone ranger all isolated and proud. Whether I or Robbins is right, there's no question that he does torture his art into a soapy mouthpiece (or a mouthy soapbox), particularly in the wildly disappointing Dance of the Seven Veils at the end. He needed a dash of Ellen Cherry's abstract aesthetic!

Gripe number two: Why must the objects be so human-like? There's cool scifi type reflections on how objects move, but the exploration of this imaginative conceit end there; the objects might just as well be oddly named humans. That's a huge missed opportunity. Also, conch shell was way too bland and I don't at all get why the panties would be giggly ditzes into gossiping about celebrities of all things, which brings me to the third and final gripe, the exploration of the old goddess religion struck me as totally inadequate. What is this female energy and why do the patriarchal religions fear it? Robbins mentioned a nurturing energy and a large sexual appetite, but he needed to give something a bit meatier here, since so much of the book rides on it. Again, this weakness glared worst in his wimpy descriptions of Salome.

Despite these problems, I always looked forward to picking the book up again and am kinda sad it's over. I may indeed just have to read another Robbins one o' these days...(less)

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May 15, 2010 Joseph rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In another version of my life where I'm out playing the academic field, one of the courses I'd be aiming to teach would have a tile something like "1989 to 2001: Literature and Cinema from the Fall of the Wall to the Rise of Terror," and this book would go somewhere between Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and DeLillo's Mao II. Now, when I say that Skinny Legs and All is the perfect primer to Mao II its to the benefit of both novels. For having been published only a year apart they s...more

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Aug 19, 2009 Mark Ferguson rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is quintessential Robbins. His metaphors and similes are incredibly distinctive and constantly surprising, and the story itself is pretty satisfying. The book is about an artist and her crude, cowboyish fiancee escaping the rural south for New York city. The plot takes you through the art world, Israel, the apocalypse, an Israeli-Palestinian owned restaurant, the Christian right, and the adventures of a conch shell, a stick, a can of beans, a spoon, and a sock, all anthropomorphic and on a...more

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Sep 17, 2008 Cherise rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Slightly eccentric folk looking for a laugh

Recommended to Cherise by: Michelle Peters

Inanimate Objects... make me laugh out of my skin! My 11th grade English teacher recommended this to me because she believed I could appreciate it with her. It became my favorite instantly and held that title for years. I enjoy stories that stem from someone's wildly fascinating imagination-- they're always funnier and more entertaining to me. This was an easy, fun read that inspired my continuation in quirkiness in general, and in my own writing.

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Mar 15, 2013 Stacy rated it 3 of 5 stars

This sounds like a simple storyline, but it is full of crazy people, and, well, utensils, canned goods, clothing, and objects of nature. Yes, there is secondary storyline where a stick and shell are trying to make their way back to Jerusalem after hundreds of years in American exile. And they receive help from a spoon, sock, and can of beans. And there’s also Uncle Buddy, who is trying to start World War III in Israel so that Jesus will return.

It is quirky and the writing is fun and smile-worthy...more

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Feb 05, 2013 Sarah Brillinger rated it 4 of 5 stars

I finished this last night and my head is still spinning with the concept of inanimate objects having lives, the depths of the discussion on religion, art and the apocalypse. This book is a lot to take in and despite the heavy subject matter, it's still funny and surprisingly light in feel.

I'll admit to a bit of skimming over the lengthly discussions of events surrounding temples and battles from thousands of years ago but don't let that discourage you. I'm just not much of a history buff.
The s...more I finished this last night and my head is still spinning with the concept of inanimate objects having lives, the depths of the discussion on religion, art and the apocalypse. This book is a lot to take in and despite the heavy subject matter, it's still funny and surprisingly light in feel.

I'll admit to a bit of skimming over the lengthly discussions of events surrounding temples and battles from thousands of years ago but don't let that discourage you. I'm just not much of a history buff.
The story opens with a couple, Boomer and Ellen Cherry, travelling across the country in their trailer which Boomer has welded into a turkey. It's just gets more bizarre from there. You follow Boomer and Ellen Cherry, Ellen's parents, their fanatical "uncle" who's a preacher and their employers through what feels like the end days of time.

Every once in a while, things are so descriptive, I would start to lose track of what the original subject was and I can't explain this anymore than to give you a direct quote from the novel:
"Spilling from tenements and condominiums, from boutiques and bodegas, the anxious multitudes have found a new tempo, a pace in between the wind-up toy frenzy of winter and the deep-sea diver drag of the summer to come. Crushing Styrofoam burger cartons, condom packs, hypodermic syringes, and graffiti-spewing spray cans underfoot, they almost dance as they walk, and unconscious rite of spring in their steps, a forgotten memory or sod and seed and lamb and ring-around-the-rosy. The unfinished and unfinishable symphony to which they move is composed of salsa, rap, and funk from boom boxes, strains of Vivaldi sifting out in a silvery drizzle from fine restaurants and limousines, the sophisticated rhythms produced by Cole Porter's phantom cigarette holder tapping upon the vertebrae of tourists and businessmen in hotel lobbies throughout midtown, fey techno-rock in SoHo bars and art lofts, drum solos banged out on plastic pails and refrigerator trays by brilliant buskers, androgynous anchorpersons announcing the "news", a loud screeching of truck and bus wheels, and interminable red bawling of sirens, the tooting of taxis, an occasional gunshot or scream, girlish laughter, boyish boasts, barking dogs, the whine of aggressive beggars, the yowls of the unsheltered insane, and, on many a street corner, the greased-lung exhortations of evangelists, ordained or self-proclaimed, warning all who pass that this could be the last April that God will ever grant, as if April were a kitten and God and angry farmer with a sack."
Where were we? Oh right... I was saying how you can suddenly get caught up in descriptives and then have to go back and check what the original subject matter was to begin with. Right.

I also have to mention the can of beans, the sock and the spoon... the inanimate objects who talk and have personalities. They can even move. They meet up with an ancient stick and conch shell on their way to Jerusalem. Seriously.

Some of the 'revelations' from the book that summarize the religious component struck a chord with me.

"While the afterlife concept renders the masses manageable, it renders their masters destructive. A world leader who's convinced that life is merely a trial for more valuable and authentic afterlife is less hesitant to risk starting a nuclear holocaust. A politician or corporate executive who's expecting the Rapture to arrive on the next flight from Jerusalem is not going to worry much about polluting oceans or destroying forests. Why should he? Thus, to emphasize the afterlife is to deny life. To concentrate on heaven is to create hell."

As the veils come down throughout the book, new revelations come to Ellen Cherry, and it is about these revelations that I have primarily been thinking. This is one of them:

"And there would be willing followers until humanity reached that philosophical plateau where it is recognized that its great mission in life had nothing to do with any struggle between classes, races, nations, or ideaologies, but was, rather a personal quest to enlarge the soul, liberate the spirt, and light up the brain."

I want to re-read the last section of this book over and over and memorize it. His writing is unlike anything I've encountered- and the story so strange- it's hard to summarize other than to say you should read it yourself.
(less)

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Nov 22, 2012 Ben Eldridge rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

I'm still not entirely sure what to think of Tom Robbins. His quirky use of language and fascination with absurdity are highly entertaining, but the rather shallow philosophizing underpinning his narrative, and his deliberately flat characterisation make him a somewhat frustrating author to read. Skinny Legs and All doesn't really cohere as a novel, reading more as an extended stand-up comedy routine by a comedian who takes himself far too seriously. The preceding novel Jitterbug Perfume deals w...more

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Jul 15, 2012 Celena rated it 4 of 5 stars

Tom Robbins is one of the only authors my father has ever gotten behind.
My dad is not a "reader" so to say. I don't mean that he DOESN'T read...he just is very particular (I mean VERY particular) in what he reads. So he doesn't read often.

But I have been hearing about Tom Robbins and Kurt Vonnegut from that man for my whole life. I believe the word "brilliant" is often used.

So I thought, HEY, I like my dad and my dad likes Tom Robbins so I might as well read this book that is already on my books...more

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Feb 13, 2013 Anastasia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: alphabet-challenge-2013, biblioteca-civica, contemporanei, usa

Da un po' di tempo ho voglia di dedicarmi anche ad autori nuovi: voglio accantonare momentaneamente i soliti nomi strombazzati - a meno di non averli mai affrontati io, in prima persona - e voglio fare un po' la ricercatrice hipster infilandomi nei vicoli più secondari, nei negozietti di periferia dove si trovano le chicche che è quasi una soddisfazione scovare perché torni e dici "e questo te potevi trovarlo, eh, eh? guarda che figata", etc etc.
Oddio, dire che Tom Robbins è una conchiglietta di...more Da un po' di tempo ho voglia di dedicarmi anche ad autori nuovi: voglio accantonare momentaneamente i soliti nomi strombazzati - a meno di non averli mai affrontati io, in prima persona - e voglio fare un po' la ricercatrice hipster infilandomi nei vicoli più secondari, nei negozietti di periferia dove si trovano le chicche che è quasi una soddisfazione scovare perché torni e dici "e questo te potevi trovarlo, eh, eh? guarda che figata", etc etc.
Oddio, dire che Tom Robbins è una conchiglietta di periferia è un po' azzardato, ha una sua fama considerevole negli USA, però io personalmente fino a un mesetto fa manco sapevo chi fosse, e a me basta anche quello. Anche perché dopo tre Jane Austen nello stesso anno di letture ho preferito uno sconosciuto Robbins a lei, con tutto l'affetto possibile. :P
Può interessare far presente l'ammirazione della Pivano per Robbins, che lo chiama "il più pericoloso autore al mondo" (ma anche no, oddio, però) e che il signore in questione è conosciuto anche per un romanzo cult degli anni sessanta; Il nuovo sesso: cowgirl, di cui l'amico Gus Van Sant ha fatto una trasposizione cinematografica - citato anche in Pulp Fiction! - Insomma: ha fatto il suo periodo amenamente sotto le luci del pubblico, non è uno sfigatello di una frazione di un paesino in una provincia, per dire.
Coscine di pollo mi sembrava un possibile primo tentativo che andasse incontro al mio sesto senso, fra le scelte possibili nella bibliografia in esame. Non so come siano gli altri, ma se sono almeno a questi livelli penso che lo leggerò sempre con molto molto piacere.
Considerando già l'incipit:
"Era una mattina luminosa e sbrinata all'inizio della primavera, i salici già esibivano le loro infiorescenze, e gli sposi novelli viaggiavano da costa a cosa su un tacchino arrosto."
Si capisce che un "oibò, che è" ci sta, davanti a questo inusuale esemplare di romanzo, che di certo non segue le vie più canoniche. E un certo senso di divertimento e insieme perplessità accompagna infatti i primi paragrafi della storia: che cosa sto leggendo?
Eh, sto leggendo una bella perla!
Non sarò di certo la prima a parlare di quanto sia "strambo" Robbins, o ancora di più, del fatto che probabilmente sia addirittura matto come un cavallo. Ma, ecco, ci sono matti e matti: lui è un eccentrico che si fa assolutamente ascoltare, fa sbattere tanto le ciglia, fa sorridere increduli e alla fine ammalia. L'originalità dell'autore dilaga su tutte le componenti del romanzo. Fa paragoni e similitudini che non mi sarebbero passate per la capa neanche a mettermi d'impegno: "Se il passato è un buffet di quercia le cui zampe debbono essere svitate e i cassetti estratti prima che, così modificato, possa essere appoggiato sul fianco nell'atrio della nostra mente, allora il futuro è un letto ad acqua a tre piazze che difficilmente ha qualche possibilità, soprattutto dovendolo portare in ascensore."
E non solo: se ne esce fuori con interrogativi ed elucubrazioni in cui io non sarei mai incappata probabilmente, se non per mano sua. Arzigogolamenti e considerazioni che gli danno un'aria intelligente, un po' da genialoide miracoloso, anche se difficile da rincorrere (ammetto che io certe frasi ancora non le ho capite, ma sarò io la plebea della situazione). Ma non solo a livello stilistico: ad esempio in codesto romanzo abbiamo la spedizione travagliata verso Gerusalemme di..un'erudita e saputella scatola di fagioli, una pudica signora Cucchiaino, un Calzino Sporco molto alla mano, una saggia e regale Conchiglia Strombo e un punto di riferimento per il gregge chiamato Bastone Dipinto. Sì, gli oggetti prendono vita e discorrono in maniera molto simile a quella "umana", e si affiancano in scena a personaggi inconsueti come l'artistaEllen Cherry con il marito Boomer Petway (adorabile, ne voglio uno anch'io!), i genitori Verlin e Patsy, il reverendo foruncoloso Buddy Winkler e così via. Portatori anche loro di caratteristiche bizzarre e battute degne della strana capa del loro autore, ma comunque inseriti in una quotidianità del tutto "reale" per cui in qualche modo la loro originalità trova spazio in un quadro con cui abbiamo a che fare tutti i giorni, motivo per cui alla fine non è per niente difficile empatizzare con loro. Ammetto che ho preferito le parti "umane", mi sono affezionata davvero ai personaggi dipinti da Robbins, tanto che ora mi dispiace un po' lasciarli indietro per altre avventure.

Non è esattamente un rapporto che parte bello disteso in quarta, anzi, per entrare negli schemi dell'autore ci vuole un po', si sente anche il rumore di chi ingrana su terreni difficili, per quanto piacevoli. All'inizio la trama è del tutto disordinata, vengono messe in tavola situazioni in media-stress di per sé interessanti ma ancora deconstualizzate, a volte come molti scrittori logorroici Robbins sembra quasi torcersi su se stesso preferendo la propria personalità dirompente ad una chiarezza nella trama e in un incastro efficace. Presenta fin da subito un calderone su cui ci sono carote, cavoli, patate, di tutto e le verdurine galleggiano tutte insieme in una minestra vorticosa. Ma come in tanti altri casi, basta solo prenderci la mano: gli stessi elementi della trama in un divario all'inizio difficoltoso si riuniscono tramite un filo connettore che spunta ed emerge ed emerge, fino a quando ormai si tratta solo di girare la pagina per sapere come andrà avanti.

Forse la fetta considerevole di libro che gli fa guadagnare l'etichetta di "romanzo politico" non è stata proprio la mia preferita. Non sempre mi ha catturata, con tutte le sue lezioni improvvisate su Gerusalemme, la religione ebraica, araba, figure bibliche come Jezabel sono state interessanti, per carità, ma forse non appartengono esattamente alla mia principale fascia di interessi. Apprezzabile comunque l'intenzione quasi "chiarificatrice, pacifista" di Robbins che tenta di comprendere la parte avversa nella sua cultura nello scontro in Medio Oriente, ora pacifista non è proprio il termine esatto, ma io ho scorto la volontà di far intendere una volonta di pace e rispetto reciproco nelle proprie diversità, che sembra anche lo stemma del ristorante Isaac & Ishamel (un arabo e un ebreo che collaborano..!), scenario di tutta la seconda parte della storia.
Si guadagna anche la definizione di "romanzo un po' filosofico" con questa divisione della storia che non avviene in capitoli, bensì in veli: primo velo, secondo velo, terzo velo fino al settimo. Ho apprezzato davvero il significato che sta dietro a questo ordine, anche se non considero esattamente illuminanti i precetti di Robbins, non perché non sia d'accordo con lui, ma forse perché per me non dice nulla di nuovo e inaspettato che non sapessi già, specie nelle considerazioni finali da parte di Ellen Cherry. Resta il fatto che sono comunque opinioni che condividerei senza esitazione. Sarebbe interessante sapere quale sarebbe stato l'atteggiamento di Robbins se avesse scritto questo libro dopo l'attentato alle torri gemelle: si sarebbe mantenuto ugualmente volenteroso nell'esplorare Gerusalemme, il Medio Oriente? oppure avrebbe risentito anche lui del forte trauma che avvertirono gli statunitensi e questo romanzo sarebbe stato del tutto diverso, se non inesistente?
Eh, chissà..(less)

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Jun 12, 2012 Matt rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It is hard to describe this book. On the surface it is a standard Robbins book. Very funny, ironic, and metaphysical. He was a little over the top with his jocular metaphors, probably what was holding this thing back from 5 stars. He does a great job with humor just through his characters and situations, he doesn't need the constant barrage of quasi jokes. This book is also great because it is decades ahead of its time in making fun of hipsters, which I didn't even realize existed in the late 80...more

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Jun 28, 2011 Aaron rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Skinny Legs and All is only the second Tom Robbins novel I've read, and I think it's pretty safe to say that I probably don't need to read any more. All the charm and magic that was Still Life With Woodpecker is just obnoxious here. The weirdness of Robbins' writing style is still funny and entertaining, and I enjoyed if not loved the majority of the characters (major, minor and inanimate objects). Skinny Legs and All showcases a hefty amount of magical realism and absurdism, which is fine by me...more

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Mar 21, 2009 Tinea rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Tinea by: Katie

Shelves: brain-candy

The thing that makes Tom Robbins thrilling is the way he declares absolute truths, bestows significance to the overlooked, and dismisses everything else with complete and unarguable disdain. Even Cowgirls Get the Blues was so right on that my best friend tattooed the pin-up on its cover to her arm. Still Life with Woodpecker caused me to collect empty Camel cigarette boxes for years (the secret to life: choice tobacco). His philosophizing and sexualizing were an essential part of my formative ye...more

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