From Powells.com
Every once in a while a writer emerges who is so fresh, so original they
become the prototype for a new style. They become elemental. You can tell
that a writer has achieved this status when their name is used in a sentence
like this: "This spare, hilarious, angst-ridden story is equal parts
Carver, Sedaris, and Salinger." For the past three decades, Tom Robbins's
name has helped describe countless exuberant, subversive, cerebral, libidinous,
psychedelic romps through the weirdly conflicted mores of the late 20th
century. However, as Robbins reminds readers in this, his spectacular,
seventh novel, there's still nothing like the original.
Like all of Robbins's fiction, the compellingly convoluted plot of Fierce
Invalids Home from Hot Climates revolves around a spectacular, larger-than-life
character. And, even by Robbins's standards, Switters is a doozy. Propelled
through life by the most improbable, outrageous collection of contradictions
in all of literature (he's an anarchist working for the CIA, a wheelchair-bound
world traveler, etc.) Switters finds himself in the strangest situations
(plowing through the South American jungle in order to free a decrepit
parrot), in league with the oddest people (misshapen shamans, renegade
nuns), and humming the least likely tunes ("Send in the Clowns").
That Robbins used this mess of material to effect a sort of clandestine
clarity is evidence of his underlying seriousness, and of his continued
mastery of the genre he invented. Martin, Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
In
Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates, his seventh and biggest novel, the wise, witty, always gutsy Tom Robbins brings onstage the most complex and compelling character he has ever created.
Switters is a contradiction for all seasons: an anarchist who works for the government, a pacifist who carries a gun, a vegetarian who sops up ham gravy, a cyberwhiz who hates computers, a robust bon vivant who can be as squeamish as any fop, a man who, though obsessed with the preservation of innocence, is aching to deflower his high-school-age stepsister (only to become equally enamored of a nun ten years his senior).
Yet there is nothing remotely wishy-washy about Switters. He doesn't merely pack a pistol. He is a pistol.
And as we dog Switters's strangely elevated heels across four continents, in and out of love and danger, Robbins explores, challenges, mocks, and celebrates virtually every major aspect of our mercurial era.
As many readers well know, to describe a Tom Robbins plot does not begin to describe a Tom Robbins novel. Moreover, the internationally acclaimed, best-selling author, with his love of language, nuance, and surprise, is as opposed to story summations as J.D. Salinger. It is revealing, however, to learn what things Robbins lists as having influenced the writing of Fierce Invalids:
"This book was inspired by an entry from Bruce Chatwin's journal, by a CIA agent I met in Southeast Asia, by the mystery surrounding the lost prophecy of the Virgin of Fatima, by the increasing evidence that the interplay of opposites is the engine that runs the universe, and by embroidered memories of old Terry and the Pirates comic books."
Robbins also has said that throughout the writing of Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates he was guided by the advice of Julia Child: "Learn to handle hot things. Keep your knives sharp. Above all, have a good time."
Perhaps that is why he has managed to write a provocative, rascally novel that takes no prisoners and yet is upbeat, romantic, meaningful, adventurous, edifying, and fun.
Review
"Whoever said truth is stranger than fiction never read a Tom Robbins novel....Clever, creative, and witty, Robbins tosses off impassioned observations like handfuls of flower petals." The San Diego Union-Tribune
Synopsis
Now in paperback comes the newest bestseller by the author of Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas and Skinny Legs and All. Robbins explores, challenges, mocks, and celebrates virtually every major aspect of our contemporary era as he brings onstage the most complex and compelling character he's ever created.
Synopsis
The witty and always gutsy Tom Robbins creates his most complex and compelling character yet: Switters, a government worker, vegetarian, and pacifist who not only carries a pistol he is a pistol!
About the Author
Tom Robbins has been called “a vital natural resource” by The Oregonian, “one of the wildest and most entertaining novelists in the world” by the Financial Times of London, and “the most dangerous writer in the world today” by Fernanda Pivano of Italys Corriere della Sera. A Southerner by birth, Robbins has lived in and around Seattle since 1962.