Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates

by Tom Robbins, Keith Szarabajka (Narrator)

The fierce invalid in Tom Robbins's seventh novel is a philosophical, hedonistic U.S. operative very loosely inspired by a friend of the author. "Sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll are enormously popular in the CIA," claims Switters. "Not with all the agents in the field, but with the good ones, the brightest and the best." Switters isn't really an invalid, but during his first mission (to set free his ornery grandma's parrot, Sailor, in the Amazon jungle), he gets zapped by a spell cast by a "misshapen shaman" of the Kandakandero tribe named End of Time. The shaman is reminiscent of Carlos Castaneda's giggly guru, but his head is pyramid-shaped. In return for a mind-bending trip into cosmic truth--"the Hallways of Always"--Switters must not let his foot touch the earth, or he'll die.

Not that a little death threat can slow him down. Switters simply hops into a wheelchair and rolls off to further footloose adventures, occasionally switching to stilts. For a Robbins hero, to be just a bit high, not earthbound, facilitates enlightenment. He bops from Peru to Seattle, where he's beguiled by the Art Girls of the Pike Place Market and his 16-year-old stepsister, and then off to Syria, where he falls in with a pack of renegade nuns bearing names like Mustang Sally and Domino Thirry. Will Switters see Domino tumble and solve the mystery of the Virgin Mary? Can the nuns convince the Pope to favor birth control--to "zonk the zygotic zillions and mitigate the multitudinous milt" and "wrest free from a woman's shoulders the boa of spermatozoa?" Can the author ever resist a shameless pun or a mutant metaphor?

The tangly plot is almost beside the point. Switters is a colorful undercover agent, and a Robbins novel is really a colorful undercover essay celebrating sex and innocence, drugs and a firm wariness of anything that tries to rewire the mind, and Broadway tunes, especially "Send in the Clowns." Some readers will be intensely offended by Switters's yen for youth and idiosyncratic views on vice. But fans will feel that extremism in the pursuit of serious fun is virtue incarnate. Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates is classic Tom Robbins: all smiles, similes, and subversion. --Tim Appelo

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Novels, Literature, Contemporary, Comedy, Audiobook

Audible Audio

First published September 5, 2000

About the author

Thomas Eugene Robbins was an American novelist. His most notable works are "seriocomedies" (also known as "comedy dramas"). Robbins lived in La Conner, Washington from 1970, where he wrote nine of his books. His 1976 novel Even Cowgirls Get the Blues was adapted into the 1993 film version by Gus Van Sant. His last work, published in 2014, was Tibetan Peach Pie, a self-declared "un-memoir".

Reviews

[Mario the lone bookwolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meet a pretty different James Bond type who is completely insecure about choosing between a teen or nun fetish that has nothing to do with the persons but what they stand for and symbolize, government or rebels, pacifism, or war, and having an obsession with purity and trying out religions.

The introspections of this dude are amazing, the protagonist Switters is an ultra meh whatever style inner peace guy, the mind of a chilled, nihilist agnostic hybrid, stoner hippie in the body and function of an über government agent.

Just as most of Robbins novels, this one is immensely complex, many depts and innuendos in the characters and the motivations of their actions, a journey through different settings, huge piles of connotations, satire, social criticism, biting sarcasm, and dark humor.

There is definitely much in here that goes over my head, the logical mind vs the guru karma meditation enlightenment alternative thinking, madness of civilized city life vs indigenous people, the symbolism of all the characters, their obsessions, heck, possibly even the Chekhovs and McGuffins. Because I don´t really listen to music, I know nothing about the meaning of songs or tunes that are used to imply anything.

There is a reason for why Robbins is a cult author and I a not sure which of his works could and should be called the best because of their mind penetrating potential and subjective preferences, although this one is very close, because it´s not that extremely anarchistic aggressive against any kind of institutionalized stupidity thing than his earlier works and combines the notorious coarse elements to a mixture of bizarre, even more sophisticated, postmodern destructions of human society.

I did hope for some time that Robbins maybe will put out 1 or 2 more novels, because I´ve still found nothing that just comes close to his style and abilities, but I fear that this option is meanwhile sadly gone. But what he wrote definitively made him immortal.

Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...

[°°°·.°·..·°¯°·._.· ʜᴇʟᴇɴ Ροζουλί Εωσφόρος ·._.·°¯°·.·° .·°°° ★·.·´¯`·.·★ Ⓥⓔⓡⓝⓤⓢ Ⓟⓞⓡⓣⓘⓣⓞⓡ Ⓐⓡⓒⓐⓝⓤⓢ Ταμετούρο Αμ · Rating 5 out of 5]

"ΑΓΑΠΑΩ ΤΟΝ ΕΑΥΤΟ ΜΟΥ. ΑΛΛΑ ΕΙΝΑΙ ΑΓΑΠΗ ΧΩΡΙΣ ΑΝΤΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΗ".

Σίγουρα,τεκμηριωμένα και εμπεριστατωμένα,οι ιδρωμένοι επαναστάτες που διαλογίζονται για να φτάσουν στην έσχατη πραγματικότητα του τίποτα,απεχθάνονται να αλυσοδένονται απο μονιμότητες και ιδιοκτησίες.

Αυτοί οι δολιοφθορείς της εξτρεμιστικής έμπνευσης, που αποτελούν την αντανάκλαση του θεμελιώδους νόμου του σύμπαντος και επιταχύνουν την πραγματικότητα -την οποία παραδέχονται μόνο ως εικονική- είναι το ουρλιαχτό που προέρχεται απο μια παραδοχή:
Οι αγριεμένοι ανάπηροι που επιστρέφουν απο καυτά κλίματα αγαπιούνται παράφορα απο τις γυναίκες....(προσωπική άποψη).

Ο Τομ Ρόμπινς -στο εξής αγαπημένος και ξεχωριστός- ορμάει με γλυκιά και σεμνή χυδαιότητα πάνω στον αναγνώστη και τον εκμαυλίζει συνειδησιακά οδηγώντας τον στην παραμεθόριο γνώση του κόσμου.
Ο τρόπος γραφής του είναι σοκαριστικός.
Παραπαίει ανάμεσα σε συμπαντικά δίπολα και υπερχειλίσεις φιλοσοφίας,ευφυΐας,έμπνευσης,
ενόρασης, ενσυναίσθησης και αρχέγονων κρυμμένων νοημάτων.

«Χιούμορ, φαντασία, Ερωτισμός- σε αντιδιαστολή με το άλογο ενστικτώδες ζευγάρωμα των σκουληκιών ή των ρακούν- η Πνευματικότητα, η Επαναστατικότητα και η Αισθητική, η εκτίμηση της ομορφιάς για χάρη της ομορφιάς και μόνο… Αυτά είναι τα χαρακτηριστικά που ορίζουν τον άνθρωπο… »

Καταφέρνει με πλήρη άνεση, χιούμορ,ερωτισμό,ευαισθησία,
λαγνεία ποιητική και πολιτική,πρόστυχη ψυχεδελική ονείρωξη και άπειρες γνωστικές μεταμφιέσεις να σε κάνει θιασώτη αγγέλων και δαιμόνων.

«Είσαι πολύπλοκος άνθρωπος, αλλά ευτυχισμένα πολύπλοκος. Έχεις βρει έναν τρόπο να συμφιλιωθείς με τη σύγχυση του κόσμου, έναν τρόπο για να αγκαλιάσεις το χάος αντί να παλεύεις να το μειώσεις ή να πέσεις θύμα του. Για σένα είναι όλα μέρος του παιχνιδιού και σ’αρέσει να παίζεις».

Στο προκείμενο, ο Σουίτερς (ένας απο τους πιο χαρισματικούς και αξιολάτρευτους λογοτεχνικούς ήρωες) πράκτορας της CIA,είναι έτοιμος για μια αποστολή στη Νότιο Αμερική.

Η υπερήλικη γιαγιά του,διάνοια στον χειρισμό ηλεκτρονικών υπολογιστών και Μαέστρα της ζωής του, τον διατάζει να πάρει μαζί του τον ηλικιωμένο παπαγάλο της για να τον απελευθερώσει στο φυσικό του περιβάλλον.

Στην Περουβιανή ζούγκλα ο Σουίτερς προσπαθώντας να κάνει το καθήκον του συναντάει έναν Σαμάνο ιερέα,μάγο,γιατρό και αρχηγό της εξωκοσμικής έκστασης.
Μετά απο μια παραληρηματική νύχτα με τον ψυχοπομπό της ζούγκλας,ο Σουίτερς περνάει μια μεταβαλλόμενη κατάσταση συνείδησης καταραμένος να μείνει για όλη του τη ζωή σε αναπηρικό καρότσι.

Απο εκεί και μετά αρχίζει η παράνοια της πραγματικότητας που δεν μπορούν να κατανοήσουν όσοι ζουν στο φυσικό κόσμο και διαθέτουν μόνο τη γήινη αντίληψη των πραγμάτων.

Ο Τενεσί Ουίλιαμς έγραψε κάποτε :
« Ζούμε όλοι μέσα σε ένα σπίτι που καίγεται και δεν υπάρχει πυροσβεστική για να καλέσουμε. Δεν υπάρχει ούτε έξοδος, μόνο ένα παράθυρο στον πάνω όροφο για να κοιτάζουμε έξω ενώ η φωτιά καίει το σπίτι με εμάς παγιδευμένους, κλειδωμένους μέσα»… Εκείνο που δεν είπε ο Τενεσί είναι ότι αν κοιτάζουμε από το παράθυρο αυτό με έντονη περιέργεια και παθιασμένο μάτι, με γενναιόδωρο πνεύμα και την ικανότητα της χαράς και, ναι, αν έχουμε τη γλώσσα με την οποία να στηρίζουμε και να εμπλουτίζουμε τα πράγματα που βλέπουμε, τότε ΔΕΝ ΕΧΕΙ ΣΗΜΑΣΙΑ που το σπίτι καίγεται γύρω μας. Δεν πειράζει. Άστο να καίγεται το γαμημένο»

Διαβάστε το!

Είναι ένα μεταστοιχειωμένο ταξίδι σε θάλασσες απίθανης ευστροφίας,τραγικής ζωντάνιας,ασυγκράτητου πάθους,προκλητικού λάθους,εσωτερικής φλυαρίας,απρόβλεπτης πτώσης,ιδιαίτερων νοημάτων,κλεμμένων ονείρων,ανατριχιαστικού κυνισμού και σπάνιες μείξεις έμπνευσης και αισθήσεων.


"Αθρωποι όλου του κόθμου,χαλαρώθτε".

Καλή ανάγνωση!
Πολλούς ασπασμούς!

[Leslie Gal · Rating 1 out of 5]

Some people love this shit and find it oh so witty and creative, but to me the perfect phrase to describe this book (and all Tom Robbins) is "verbal masturbation." If you value the simple beauty of good prose, you will feel dirty after ol Robbins spews gratuitous, barely cogent metaphors willy-nilly all over your literary face line after nauseating line. Robbins is clearly getting off on his own cleverness; it's just too bad he didn't stop to think about your needs.

[Tim Darnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is by no small margin my favorite novel of all time.

First off, Switters is the greatest single character to emerge from modern literature pure and simple. Not only is he hilarious and a great role model for any law enforcement employee, but his personal philosophies (not discounting his desire to plow his step-sister,) are intriguing and captivating. "Rather than eschewing his contradictory nature, as is typical Western practice, Switters embraces it. He's a CIA agent who hates the government. He's a pacifist who carries a gun. He's as much in love with a sixteen-year-old girl as he is with a forty-six-year-old nun. Switters feels that the core of the universe, the heart of existence, is light and dark existing together. One is not separate from the other, they just exist,"(-The Wikipedia Page for Feirce Invalids). He is totally bad-assed, and while a little difficult to like or identify with at first, he quickly and enthusiastically grows on you.

The story itself is fascinating, zany, off the wall, engaging, and at times nerve wracking. The philosophies presented within are engaging and thought provoking, and presented in an incredibly accessable (no, not dumbed down, but artistic...) and well thought out way. An exciting and provocative discourse on the nature of Duality, this book not only has a purpose behind every minute action therein, but disguises it in such a way that it goes unnoticed until a thorough debriefing is held between the kid in you (who likes Fierce Invalids for its comedic, world hopping spy thriller action with sexy ladies and awesome protagonists,) and the wannabe philosopher in you (who'll love it for its stylistic diction and damn near poetic prose, its dense symbolism, and its staggering humanistic study of dualism.)

I can't begin to do this book justice in this discription. Its a great book, and if you're not affraid to think while you read, you should check it out.

[foteini_dl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Καλοκαίρι=παγωτά, μπάνια (όσα και αν είναι αυτά), συναυλίες, μπίρες (και κοκτέιλ όταν είμαστε λαρτζ) και Robbins. Και ΚΑΥΣΩΝΑΣ .

Συστατικά του βιβλίου: σάτιρα,ερωτισμός,ευαισθησία, ώρες-ώρες κυνισμός, μια ζούγκλα, ένας παπαγάλος, μια γιαγιά εξπέρ στους υπολογιστές και ο Switters, ένας απ' τους πιο ενδιαφέροντες χαρακτήρες του Robbins. Και αναφορά στον Tenessee Williams.

Άνθρωποι όλου του κόθμου,χαλαρώθτε.

[Danger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a reread, about 20 years after my first time.

Hugely influential on me as a young author. And even now, I would encourage anyone who likes to write to read at least one Tom Robbins book. Nobody can turn a metaphysical phrase with as much exuberance and exactitude as Robbins. From the plot to the characters to the prose, this was once again a small wonder.

[Zaphirenia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Με λύπη (και λίγη νοσταλγία) συνειδητοποιώ ότι τα καλύτερα του αγαπημένου Τομ τα έχω ήδη διαβάσει. Και πάλι βέβαια ένα βιβλίο του Ρόμπινς αποτελεί μια ανάσα δροσιάς στον καύσωνα, το καλύτερο αντικαταθλιπτικό. Και μπορώ πάντα να ξαναδιαβάσω το Χορό των Επτά Πέπλων.

[Will C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably my favorite Tom Robbins novel, one of the few with a male protagonist (some of his books focus on female leads, and a few have couples, but the narration generally focuses on the woman). Switters, the nymphet-chasing secret agent and self described "acquired taste," finds himself confined to a wheelchair. A shaman's curse (the price of a psychedelic revelation) condemns him to death if his feet ever touch the ground. He starts the novel in love with his underage step sister, working for the CIA, and fully ambulatory. His adventures take him around the world and through theological intrigue, but the main feature of this book is really Switters as a character. The plot, although clever and fun to follow, is mostly a way of putting him in various situations where he can discourse on the meaning of life, language, and pleasure. A friend of mine who also loves this author told me that Switters seemed to her to be the Tom Robbin's character who is the most like Tom Robbins, and this seems intuitively true. For one thing, the content of Switters' monologues, both inner and outer, echo themes that resonate throughout his other novels, and seem in this novel to be gathered in one voice. Also, the form of Switters' speeches echoes the author's style of wording and imagery. The greatest joy of reading Tom Robbins is the way he plays with language as something oral, something that we hear with our ears and make with our mouths. He does things with writing that can only be done in writing, but he never lets the reader forget that language is something sensual, and he invokes the sounds of words, the music of sentences, and even descriptions that vividly sexualize the mechanics of a character (female or male, but usually female) actually pronouncing a certain word.
Except for Nabokov, who Robbins seems to be pretty obviously paying homage to (and perhaps lovingly mocking) with parallels and allusions to "Lolita," no other novelist I've read has captured the sensuality of language on this level. Languages, accents, and even speech impediments seem to be elevated to the highest objects of aesthetic appreciation in Robbins novels. Robbins can write a conversation, or a thought about a conversation, or even a thought about a word with as much guilty, indulgent enjoyment and libidinal gravity as anyone else can write a sex scene. An employee at an independent bookstore (Liftbridge books, Brockport NY, highly recommended) that Robbins is one of a few specific authors who they regularly argue over putting in "fiction" or "literature," and his work does have the same guilty-pleasure value of trashy novels, and always seems to end happily. Despite that, as someone who appreciates language as something that is at once abstract and intimately connected to us as bodies, I find great intellectual value in his work.

[Roula · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Ο διαλογισμός" του είχε πει ο δάσκαλος του, "δεν έχει καμία σχέση με οτιδήποτε, γιατι το μόνο με το οποίο έχει σχέση, είναι το τίποτα. Με την ανυπαρξία. Εντάξει? Δεν αναπτύσσει το νου, τον διαλύει. Αυτοβελτίωση? Ξέχνα το μωρό μου. Ο διαλογισμός σβήνει τον εαυτό. Πετάει το εγώ έξω με τις κλωτσιές. Και τι ωφελεί τότε? Δεν ωφελεί σε τίποτα. Στο τίποτα είναι φοβερός. Ναι, αλλά θεούλη μου, όταν φτάσεις στο τίποτα, φτάνεις στην έσχατη πραγματικότητα. Τότε και ακριβώς τότε αισθάνεσαι την αληθινη φυση του σύμπαντος, συνδέεσαι με το απολύτως Απόλυτο, αγόρι μου και εκτός κι αν είσαι από εκείνους τους μαλακες που τους αρκεί να μαλακιζονται σ'ολη τους τη ζωή, αυτό είναι το μόνο μέρος που μετράει. "

Η τρέλα του Ρόμπινς σε ένα από τα πιο ωραία, κατά τη γνώμη μου, βιβλία του. Με πολλούς συμβολισμούς και όμορφα νοήματα μα πάνω απ όλα με μπόλικη παράνοια 😂🙏💙

[Arax Miltiadous · Rating 5 out of 5]

από που να ξεκινήσω...
Εν αρχής ο Σουιτερς είναι ο πιο αγαπημένος μου φανταστικός ήρωας. η απολυτή αντίφαση, η λαγνεία, η εξυπνάδα, η επιρρέπεια σε όλων των ειδών τις απολαύσεις και τις πρωτόγνωρες εμπειρίες. Η γνωριμία μου μαζί του συντέλεσε στην αναδιαμόρφωση της κοσμοθεωρίας μου και της οπτικής που αντιμετωπίζω τη ζωή.

Τι να ναι αυτό λοιπόν, που θα μπορούσε να ανάγει μια γνώση σε απαγορευμένη?
Και πόσο μακριά διατίθεται κάποιος να φτάσει για να απαντήθει αυτό ερώτημα?

Είναι η ζωή ένα σύνολο φυσικών φαινομένων και συμπτώσεων? Ή έστω, η ψευδαίσθηση τους?

Είναι η ηθική άπλα θέμα του εκάστοτε πολιτισμικού περιβάλλοντος?

Φωτισμένος είναι ο άνθρωπος, με διευρυμένη την συνείδηση και την Χρυσή Τομή του Χιούμορ?

ΑΘΡΩΠΟΙ ΟΛΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΚΟΘΜΟΥ...ΧΑΛΑΡΩΘΤΕ ΕΠΙΤΕΛΟΥΘ!!!!!


where to start by ...
In the beginning Switers is my favorite fictional hero. The absolute contradiction, lust, intelligence, susceptibility to all kinds of pleasures and new experiences. My acquaintance with him was instrumental in the reshaping of my worldview and vision of life encounter.

What this then, that could reduce a forbidden knowledge;
and how far we can go in order to answer this question;

Life is a set of natural phenomena and coincidences; the very least, the illusion of them;

morality is simply a matter of individual cultural environment;

Enlightened is the man with enlarged consciousness and the Golden Section of Humor;

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top 5.
Switters is my hero. An absurd and rollicking good time. If you enjoy philosophy, drugs, booze, sex and laughing...you should be into this.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sometimes you find a book at the wrong time in your life, and you think how much you would have liked it if you had read it 10 years ago. This is one of those books for me.

I kept reading anyways, probably because there are enough funny/interesting parts to propel you through the annoying parts.

Someone recommended it to me when I was a college freshman, but I only recently got around to reading it. He told me something along the lines of "you're sex positive, so you would enjoy this sexy romp of a book." I don't remember exactly how he described it, but something like that. I probably would have like it back then as an eighteen year old, because it is raunchy and seemingly philosophical. I say seemingly, because if you let yourself be whipped around by Robbins' wordplay, it seems clever, but if you really pay attention, it's fairly routine sort of philosophizing. And a lot of trying waaaaay too hard to point out some truth or theory about humanity. WAAAAAY too hard. I kept thinking, "Um, is that it? Am I suposed to be in suspense?" Nope.

But really why this book is wrong for the 28 year old me is the disappointing extent to which women are discussed and portrayed. The unbelievably standard view of teenage virgins as the ultimate in sexiness is presented as a risky taboo in the book. Oh! The shocking desires of the main character! (/sarcasm) Is there any sexual desire LESS predictable??? I think not. Not to mention all the descriptions of sex scenes that are so not what get women all hot and bothered--even though he implies that aaaaall the women in the book want it, and they want it from Switters soooo bad. I don't know why so many guys think that girls love it when you twist and pinch our nipples, but we don't. Really. We don't. Stop that.

I'm pretty sure this book is who the author wishes he was--super clever CIA agent that all the girls are after, having crazy adventures and saying any random thing he thinks, all of which come out sounding clever and deep. Good for you, Robbins, I'm glad you have dreams.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was the only book I had to hand to read while I sat by my father's bedside for a few days this year. It was ghastly.

I found this book disturbing and boring. (Strike that - it wasn't interesting enough to be disturbing). As mentioned previously the main protagonist and his male friend are paedophiles, and the author made out this was a bit of a joke. Which it isn't.

He also seemed to love the sound of his own (narrative) voice, and, frankly, was tedious. He put flowery sentences in for the sake of it. The book wafted around like a drunken wasp. Annoying, going nowhere and ultimately you just want to slap it down.

It took me ages to read - mainly because once I put it down I couldn't really be bothered to pick it up again - I really didn't care what happened to "Switters". Actually even his name annoyed me. What a stupid upper class twit that name describes - and it fitted.



The idea that this man could be CIA agent is ridiculous.

I don't recommend this to anyone. It was just annoying and I wasted time in my life reading it. BOO.

[Fedra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Τι βιβλίο!
Πρώτη μου επαφή με τον Τομ Ρόμπινς αλλά ήδη έχω αγοράσει κι επόμενο! Ευτυχώς υπάρχει το goodreads και μαθαίνουμε για συγγραφείς που διαφορετικά δεν θα έπεφταν στο ραντάρ μας.

Μου πήρε αρκετό καιρό να το διαβάσω. Ίσως οι εξωτερικοί παράγοντες, ενδεχομένως πως είχα την προσκόλληση να αναζητήσω το "νόημα" και την ροή της ιστορίας. Κάποια στιγμή αποφάσισα απλώς να το απολαμβάνω. Και πράγματι έτσι έγινε. Είναι μια επιλογή ίσως η απόλαυση. (;)

Θα το χαρακτήριζα φιλοσοφικό στον πυρήνα του, ευχάριστο σε αρκετά σημεία. Έχει χιούμορ, ασχολείται υπερβολικά με την θρησκεία, αλλά δεν πιστεύω πως θα θίγει κάποιον ο οποίος δεν είναι φανατισμένος.

Ο συγγραφέας (Τομ Ρόμπινς) γίνεται από παντογνώστης, απλώς παρατηρητής, ακόμα και μέσα στην ίδια πρόταση. Αυτό το βρήκα ευφυέστατο.

Τι δεν μου άρεσε; Πως οι περισσότεροι χαρακτήρες (αν όχι όλοι) εκφράζονται με τον ίδιο ακριβώς τρόπο. Αφαιρεί την ψευδαίσθηση του πραγματικού, νιώθεις δηλαδή πως είναι όλοι δημιουργήματα ενός μόνο ανθρώπου.

"Τι είναι αυτό", είχε ρωτήσει εντελώς ρητορικά η Μαέστρα, "που διαχωρίζει τον άνθρωπο από τα επιλεγόμενα κατώτερα ζώα; Έτσι όπως τα βλέπω εγώ τα πράγματα, είναι μισή ακριβώς ντουζίνα σημαντικά πράγματα: Χιούμορ, Φαντασία, Ερωτισμός - [...] - η Πνευματικότητα, η Επαναστατικότητα και η Αισθητική, η εκτίμηση της ομορφιάς για χάρη της ομορφιάς και μόνο."

"Υπάρχουν φορές που νιώθουμε τη μοίρα να κλείνει γύρω μας σαν χέρι γύρω από πόμολο πόρτας. Ναι, μπορούμε να αντισταθούμε. Αλλά ένα πόμολο που δεν γυρίζει, μια πόρτα που κολλάει και δεν ανοίγει, είναι ενοχλητική για τους θεούς. Και οι θεοί μπορεί να αποφασίσουν να την ανοίξουν με μια κλοτσιά. Ή, ακόμη χειρότερο, μπορεί να απομακρυνθούν αηδιασμένοι, αφήνοντάς μας να κρεμόμαστε βουβοί από τους σφιχτούς μεντεσέδες μας, έχοντας χάσει τη μοναδική ευκαιρία στη ζωή μας να ανοιχτούμε στον περιττό κίνδυνο, και επομένως και στη γοητεία της ζωής."

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

i've well acquainted with the pantheon of tom robbins (except for wild ducks flying backward- saving that for a rainy day), but i have to count myself among the many who consider this a favorite of the bunch. well written, fast, and full of shamanic/monastic greatness. i would even say a tour de force if that wasn't the shittiest, most hackneyed phrase in book reviewdom.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am embarassed to admit that this is the first thing I have read by Robbins! Of course, I heard of him long ago, and saw the movie version of "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" (which may have turned me off), but why has it taken me so long to sit down and spend some time with him? I plan to correct that error. Robbins is one heckofa writer! His stuff is loony, thought-provoking, hysterically funny, highly creative, lively, impertinent, stylized - I could go on for a while here - all at the same time. Whatever you want to call it, it is not subtle or stupid or dull. This is one of the most enjoyable and entertaining novels I have ever read. (I listened to an audiobook of this, btw, very well performed by Keith Szarabajka).

Robbins's genius is that he borrows techniques from poetry and literary fiction and employs them in his goofy, satirical stories. There are soaring similes and brilliant descriptions aplenty here, but they are applied to everyday or wacky situations. This is not everyday humor though. Included are elements of mysticism, social and political comedy, sex and romance, and international intrigue.

The zany, picaresque story follows a character named Switters, a CIA agent who lusts after stepsister and spends time with his grand dame grandma, a lady known as Maestra. He is sent to rural Peru on some mission or other, where a native shaman with a pyramid-shaped head (due to some old head shaping techniques used on infants) places a curse on him - his feet can never touch the ground again or he will immediately die. So he spends the rest of the novel, first in a wheelchair, and eventually on a pair of stilts. After getting discharged from the CIA (portrayed here as a network of rogues with no particular political goals), he ends up trying to fulfill his infatuation with his teenaged stepsister. (Don't worry, none of this is meant to be taken seriously). From there he is on his way to Iraq and Syria to engage in some sort of espionage, and ends up under the protection of a small convent of radical Christian nuns, who are sitting on a secret prophecy that the Catholic Church is trying to suppress.

The framework provides an excuse for Switters to deal with a bunch of kooky characters (like his CIA buddy Bobby, a macho Texas good ol' boy, and Domino, the abbess of the convent), and for him to get trashed and throw around zingers and cockeyed comments. It is all in good fun, but Robbins can surprise by throwing in the occasional serious observation or thoughtful aside, such as critical comments on consumer culture. His discussion of the Hermetic tradition got me researching it online - there is nothing like a little wisdom mixed in with some fun. To use the cliche, it was hard to put this one down - I wanted the laughs and clever writing to go on and on. It has been a while since I have fallen this hard for a writer, but this book hit the sweet spot for me.

[Takisx · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ο πρίγκιπας σε μεγάλα κέφια, ίσως στα τελευταία μεγάλα κεφια, και λογω ηλικίας και λόγω ιδεών. Νομίζω ότι τα χει πει, τα χει γράψει όλα, οπότε αυτό που μένει είναι να καθησει στο θρόνο του και να απολαύσει. Ο Σουίτερς έτσι κι αλλιώς θα μας συγχωρέσει.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Likely my favorite book of all time. Former CIA agent Switters treks through the Amazon searching for shaman named "The End of Time/ Today IS Tomorrow," accompanied only by his parrot who lives by the motto "Peeple of zee wurl, relax!" I spit every time I hear the name "John Foster Dulles." Ingenious.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very funny at times, marred by the protagonist, who’s an arsehole.

He’s a globe-hopping CIA courier who continually comes out with the sort of cod-philosophic proclamations that a fourteen-year-old boy might find deep. I really could have done without him perving over his barely pubescent stepsister all the time, too. I didn’t find it offensive, just… ugh.

Most of the protagonist’s flaws wouldn’t have been a problem for me if it weren’t for the fact the author clearly expected us to think he was a laid-back, cool dude. Again… maybe if you’re a fourteen-year-old boy.

Still, it did make me laugh a lot, so I can’t give it fewer than three stars, despite its flaws.

[Natalie Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

What to call my favorite scene... let's call it: in the bathroom on hands and knees eating salad. Probably the funniest laugh-out-loud scene I have ever read.

[Georgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ιδιαίτερο, όπως κάθε βιβλίο του Ρόμπινς. Αστείο, ενδιαφέρον, λίγη φιλοσοφία από δω, λίγη περιπέτεια από κει... το σίγουρο είναι ότι μ' έχει πείσει να διαβάσω όλα του τα βιβλία!

[Macropsalis · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Αθρώποι ολου του κόθμου, χαλαρώθτε!"

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wild! This might be my favorite book!! A great combo of the sarcastic, zany, and philosophical! And don’t even get me started on the main character... Switters is something. He is realer than a lot of nonfictional characters I know irl.

Tom Robbins has honestly outdone himself here. He is a master of the English Language unlike any other. His working vocabulary definitely towers over that of the White House, combined. His metaphors and analogies have given me reason enough to live. This book is a study in contradictions. I love this. How can a book be so flippant yet hilarious yet disgusting yet profound?

I am 100% going to read this again. There are so many nuggets of pure gold, kernels of truth buried in the pages of this book.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates
Current mood: disappointed

"Could you pull off there? " she immediately asked, pointing ... to a gas station. "I really have to use the bathroom."

"Say toilet, would you darling. I don't believe bathing is one of the services Texaco provides."

"Whatever."

"No, it's not unimportant. Intelligent speech is under pressure in our fair land and needs all the support it can get."

above is my favorite part of this book, which i would NOT recommend to others.

not being a huge reader of robbins, i did like skinny legs, found this and decided to give it a try. about 3/4 of the way through i found myself not caring about this pompous, arrogant man who i found to be a walking contradiction, too proud or blind to see it himself. but, i did want to see the book through, since i had given it a good 3 weeks of my life. the ending, in my opinion was open, left to interpretation. i did NOT put this book down feeling satisified!

[Nick Iuppa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fiercely Funny and Profound

In Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates, Tom Robbins once again expounds on the meaning of life, death, religion, politics, and humanity, but this time he also goes on about sub-atomic particles, pyramids, Matisse, the CIA, John Foster Dulles, the Amazon, Syria, Sacramento, Seattle’s Pike Place Market, Finnegan’s Wake, Broadway Show Tunes, parrots, anacondas, the relative value of wheelchairs and stilts, sexual experiences perverse or otherwise, the humanizing power of a good sense of humor, and... Our Lady of Fatima. Who else but Robbins could run an extended, mind-bending commentary on all of this while telling a very funny story? Her’s the plotline.

Erstwhile CIA agent Switters lusts after his 16-year-old stepsister, Suzy. Against his better judgment, Switters helps the young lady research and then write a very conventional term paper on Our Lady of Fatima and the three prophecies she was supposed to have made during her last appearance in 1917. But before the paper is finished, and after botching a carefully-planned tryst with Suzy, Switters heads off on another assignment taking with him his grandmother’s parrot named Sailor Boy and promising to set the bird free in the wild Amazon jungle.

While in the Amazon, Switters encounters a pyramid-headed shaman who believes that a sense of humor may be the talent most separating humans from the other animals. He thinks it may actually be the key to humanity’s salvation. But then the guy eats Sailor Boy and puts a curse on Switters saying that the CIA agent will die if his feet ever touch the ground again. Cleverly, Switters takes to a wheelchair and is so unencumbered that he agrees to another dangerous but humanitarian CIA mission. He manages the task swimmingly, but on his way home he stops at an oasis in the desert of Syria, and there falls in with a group of aging feminist nuns, who are outspoken advocates of birth control, and in possession – it turns out – of the 3rd never-revealed prophecy made by Our Lady of Fatima in 1917. It’s all about the future of the world and of the church.

Eventually the nuns are excommunicated for their stand against overpopulation and soon openly encourage Switters into the bed of their youngest and horniest member, Sister Fannie. The next morning, for whatever reason, Fannie leaves the convent and heads out to tell selected authorities about the existence of the prophecy document, which the church believes it has destroyed. Just as Switters begins to fall in love with a sweet, older, but very sexy French nun name Domino Theory, the Vatican demands that the defrocked sisterhood turn over the document.

The abbess, who calls herself Masked Beauty, refuses to give in to the demands of the church. In her youth she posed nude for Matisse, and the resultant painting had hung for years in Switters’s grandmother’s living room; in fact Switters has lusted after it for most of his life, unaware that some day he would come face to face with the model who posed for it.

Switters and Domino help Masked Beauty negotiate an advantageous exchange of the third Fatima prediction for papal reinstatement of their order of nuns. Still, there’s trickery afoot, and when Switters enters a papal garden with Domino to deliver the document and decides that the woman he has fallen in love with is about to be shot, he stands, steps away from his wheelchair to save her, and in the process invokes the curse.

What happens next? Read FIHFHC to find out. It’s brilliant, insightful, and a whole lot of fun... for many reasons including the fact that Switters is an irreverent philosopher, a fighter, but also a lover. And as the author continuously reminds us, “Women simply love those fierce invalids home from hot climates.”

[Rachel Moore · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was told to read this book by a friend who is absolutely nuts over this author. Tom Robbins is obviously a very smart man and has extremely creative stories.

He has massive vocabulary and I found myself looking up words throughout this novel. In the end I was extremely unsatisfied. Tom Robbins tends to ramble for pages upon pages within this book which is like trying to concentrate on listening to someone talking to you on acid.

It can be boring, long and will relate to absolutely nothing in the overall plot. I've read a few of his other novels so i could fairly judge his books in my own opinion,but I found it all the same.

Cut out half the rambling and I may have enjoyed it more. Robbins seems to be one of those authors that has caught on because people seem to find it "trendy" to have read.

I may be alone in thinking this, but I will probably never willingly read another of his again. Like I said before, he is smart, witty and extremely creative, but its not enough to make me want to ever read a book this long of his again.

The one thing I've ever really loved of his is a short essay called "Redheads". The key word here is SHORT. ;)

[Patrick Brennan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a weird book and I enjoyed it immensely. Switters is a hilarious protagonist, with his nonsensical musings and never-ending fascinations with Finnegan's Wake and John Foster Dulles (and hey, as a DC guy myself, I'm always up for hating on Dulles).

Plot-wise, the book presented to me as being very similar to Don Quixote, except layered with profanity and vulgarity, as well as a modern lens. And our protagonist, Switters, was no doubt quixotic in his adventures. Between Seattle, Sacramento, Peru, Syria, Rome, etc, Switters was nearly constantly on the move, always having one plan derailed by the next, or having to course correct as new obstacles were encountered. In this sense, it very much read as though it were a comedic epic.

I cannot say enough positive words about Tom Robbins' writing. What a joy! Even in the moments where the plot was too outlandish or foolish for my liking, I never tired of Robbins' beautiful prose and commanding hold over the English language. I'd definitely be interested in reading more works by him.

Overall, definitely recommend, and I'm glad my friend Sarah got me to pick this one up!

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Αυτό το βιβλίο με έκανε να γελάσω. Το γέλιο είναι καλό, οπότε μου άρεσε. Πολλές λεπτομέρειες που μου έφεραν νύστα σε κάτι φάσεις σουπερ ντάγκλας. Δεν αποκλείεται και το βιβλίο να έχει γραφτεί σε ανάλογες φάσεις (ψυχεδελικές).
Ο Switters είναι ο καλύτερος αγριεμένος ανάπηρος από καυτά κλίματα που γνώρισα ποτέ και αυτό γιατί είναι αυθεντικός.
Μη διαβάζετε άλλα βιβλία με δράμα και θλίψη και όλα τα κακά του κόσμου. Διαβάστε αυτό.

[Savior Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates" by Tom Robbins is a novel that defies convention. Switters, our protagonist, is a CIA agent with a penchant for contrarian philosophies and an appetite for unconventional adventures. Robbins' narrative takes us through a kaleidoscopic journey of bizarre situations and philosophical debates. Switters' curse, which confines him to a wheelchair whenever he's in a temperate climate, adds an extra layer of absurdity to his escapades. This book is a whirlwind of humor, satire, and a deep dive into the absurdities of life.

Pros 👍

- Engaging and Eccentric Characters: Switters, the main character, is unforgettable with his witty, irreverent outlook on life.

- Unique Narrative Style: Robbins' writing is rich with humor, satire, and philosophical musings, making the narrative both entertaining and thought-provoking.

- Colorful and Vivid Descriptions: The book is a feast for the imagination, with vivid descriptions of settings and events.

Cons 👎

- Meandering Plot: Some readers might find the plot to be somewhat disjointed and lacking direction.

- Complex Themes: The mix of absurdity, spirituality, and political satire can be overwhelming and confusing at times.


Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

"Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates" gets 3 out of 5 stars. It's an ideal pick for those who love a blend of humor, adventure, and philosophical depth, though it might not appeal to everyone due to its unconventional narrative style.

Similar Reading Suggestions
- "Jitterbug Perfume" by Tom Robbins - Another Robbins' classic, known for its wit, humor, and unique storytelling.
- "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller - A satirical novel that similarly combines humor with critical commentary on society.
- "Chantilly" by Savior Sullivan - A book that offers a unique narrative style and thought-provoking themes.

[Clara Weinstein · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again Tom Robbins is human garbage