Spend a Day With a Person

¶ … Tom Robbins was on a family trip; a friend of mine lent me his copy of Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas and the title intrigued me. I had heard of Tom Robbins before on several occasions, and the comments usually ranged from praise to pure gushing. Never did I hear anything negative about the Seattle-based author, so I grabbed the paperback and dug in. It took a good fifty pages for me to get used to his style of writing, which defies conventions and genres.

Sort of a combination of smut and high literature, Tom's tone never fails to titillate the poetic senses. His writing is filled with metaphors and meanings that lay behind wacky plots. In fact, most of his novels seem to employ plot as a secondary measure, to provide a vehicle for the primary purpose of having fun with words. On several occasions since reading Half Asleep In Frog Pajamas I fantasized about meeting my newfound literary hero.

After devouring that first book, which at the time was Robbins' latest, I sought out the rest of his repertoire. Not a particularly prolific author, Tom Robbins has only published eight novels in the past thirty years or so. But each of those eight gleams as a gem of American literature. His latest book, Fierce Invalids From Hot Climates was actually one of my favorites.

If I had the opportunity to spend an entire day with the notoriously media-shy Robbins, I would try to steer conversation away from his work and towards his personal life. I am ever curious about how he developed his unique writing style and what set of life experiences led him to his chosen profession. I am curious about his background: supposedly he grew up in the South and later moved to Washington state. Also, Tom recently got married after a lifetime of bachelorhood.

Who is this special woman that stole his heart? Basically I'd like to find out what makes Tom tick. However, our day together would doubtlessly include a plethora of questions about his books. Perhaps the two of us would hike through the woods near his Western Washington home, or even paddle in a kayak in the Puget Sound. Or over coffee we could discuss some of the metaphysical and political concepts broached bravely by Robbins in his novels.

Specifically I'd inquire about his philosophy of life, always one of the central themes in his books and what elevates them above pulp fiction. Robbins seems to view the world as his characters do: through a psychedelic lens. A proponent of the maximization of joy and humor, Robbins encourages his readers to view life differently. Basically, his books can transform consciousness; his novels literally change lives. Jitterbug Perfume remains one of my favorite Robbins novels; I would love to ask him how he came up with the ideas behind it.

Also, Skinny Legs and All contains inanimate characters that play as important roles as the human characters. Robbins has a knack for blending fantasy and reality into a hybrid style most similar to "magical realism." I would ask the author who his influences are and which writers he could recommend I read until the next Robbins instalment. Tom's sense of spirituality transcends.