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Laddar... Still Life with Woodpecker (urspr publ 1980; utgåvan 1990)| 5,706 | 75 | 1,688 | 
(3.89) | 195 | Fiction.
Literature.
HTML: ??Robbins??s comic philosophical musings reveal a flamboyant genius.???People
Still Life with Woodpecker is a sort of a love story that takes place inside a pack of Camel cigarettes. It reveals the purpose of the moon, explains the difference between criminals and outlaws, examines the conflict between social activism and romantic individualism, and paints a portrait of contemporary society that includes powerful Arabs, exiled royalty, and pregnant cheerleaders. It also deals with the problem… (mer) |
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Information från den engelska sidan med allmänna fakta. Redigera om du vill anpassa till ditt språk. You don't need to leave your room.
Remain sitting at your table and listen.
Don't even listen, simply wait.
Don't even wait.
Be quite still and solitary.
The world will freely offer itself to you.
To be unmasked, it has no choice.
It will roll in ecstasy at your feet.
—Franz Kafka  Here should be a picture of my favorite apple.
It is also a nude & bottle.
It is also a landscape.
There are no such things as still lifes.
—Erica Jong | |
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| Dedikation |
Information från den engelska sidan med allmänna fakta. Redigera om du vill anpassa till ditt språk. To the memory of
Keith Wyman and Betty Bowen:
if there is a place where people
go after death, its proprietors have
got their hands full with those two.
To everybody whose letters
I haven’t answered.
and to G. R., special delivery. | |
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| Inledande ord |
Information från den engelska sidan med allmänna fakta. Redigera om du vill anpassa till ditt språk. In the last quarter of the twentieth century, at a time when Western civilization was declining too rapidly for comfort and yet too slowly to be very exciting, much of the world sat on the edge of an increasingly expensive theater seat, waiting—with various combinations of dread, hope, and ennui—for something momentous to occur. PROLOGUE
If this typewriter can't do it, then fuck it, it can’t be done.
This is the all-new Remington SL3, the machine that answers the question, “Which is harder, trying to read The Brothers Karamazov while listening to Stevie Wonder records or hunting for Easter eggs on a typewriter keyboard?” This is the cherry on top of the cowgirl. The burger served by the genius waitress. The Empress card. | |
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Information från den engelska sidan med allmänna fakta. Redigera om du vill anpassa till ditt språk. "One must agree that the last quarter of the twentieth century was a severe period for lovers. It was a time when women openly resented men, a time when men felt betrayed by women, a time when romantic relationships took on the character of ice in spring stranding many little children on jagged and inhospitable floes." "Regardless of what else the press might have contributed to our culture, regardless of whether it is our first defense against totalitarianism or a wimpy force that undermines authentic experiences by categorizing them according to faddish popular interest, the press has give us big fat Sunday papers to ease our weekly mental menstrual bloat." "If beneath the great issues and all-encompassing questions (as underplayed as they were in the last quarter of the twentieth century) a more intimate struggle rages, a struggle whose real goal was romantic fulfillment, maybe it was courageous and honorable to attempt to transcend that struggle, to insist on something more than that.
Maybe." "What is more likely is that technology will bypass artists, that a day is coming when our novels will be written by computers, the same devices that will paint our murals and compose our tunes." "Who does have a love life anymore? These days people have sex lives, not love lives... I don't have a love life because I've never met a man who knew how to have a love life. Maybe I don't know how, either." "Tunnel vision is a disease in which perception is restricted by ignorance and vested interest. Tunnel vision is caused by an optic fungus that multiplies when the brain is less energetic than the ego. It is complicated by exposure to politics. When a good idea is run through the filters, it not only comes out reduced in scale and value but in its new dogmatic configuration produces effects opposite of those for which it was originally intended.
That is how the loving ideas of Jesus Christ became the sinister clichés of Christianity." "This is not an easy time for lovers, either... True, most lovers don't work at it hard enough, or with enough imagination or generosity, but even those who try don't seem to have any ultimate success these days. Who knows how to make love stay?" "Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is sign on as its accomplice. Instead of vowing to honor and obey, maybe we show swear to aid and abet. That would mean the security is out of the question. The words "make" and "stay" become inappropriate. My love for you has no strings attached. I love you for free." "Maybe both lust and love demand something more than most of us have the stomach for. These days, certainly, folks seem more concerned with furthering careers than with furthering romance." "...until we admit that while a partner can add sweet dimensions to our lives, we, each of us, are responsible for our own fulfillment. Nobody else can provide it for us, and to believe otherwise is to delude ourselves dangerously and program for eventual failure every relationship we enter." "One day we wake up and the magic is gone. We hustle to get it back, but by then it's usually too late, we've used it up. What we have to do is work like hell at making additional magic right from the start. It's hard work, especially when it seems superfluous or redundant, but if we can remember to do it, we greatly improve our chances of making love stay." "Three of the four elements are shared by all creatures, but fire was a gift to humans alone. Smoking cigarettes is as intimate as we can become with fire without immediate excruciation. Every smoker is an embodiment of Prometheus, stealing fire from the gods and bringing it on back home. We smoke to capture the power of the sun, to pacify Hell, to identify with the primordial spark, to feed on the marrow of the volcano. It's not the tobacco we're after but the fire. When we smoke, we are performing a version of the fire dance, a ritual as ancient as lightning." "It occurred to her that in every relationship in which she had participated, in every union older than a year that she'd observed, imbalance existed. Of a couple, one person invariably loved stronger than the other. It seemed a law of nature, a cruel law that led to tension and destruction. She was dismayed that a law so unfair, so miserable prevailed, but since it did, since imbalance seemed inevitable, it must be easier, healthier to be the lover who loved least." "Love is private and primitive and a bit on the funky and frightening side... Underneath the hearts and flowers, love is loony like that. Attempts to housebreak it, to dress the crabs up like doves and make them sing soprano always results in thin blood." | |
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Information från den engelska sidan med allmänna fakta. Redigera om du vill anpassa till ditt språk. | |
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▾Hänvisningar Hänvisningar till detta verk hos externa resurser.  Wikipedia på engelska (1)
▾Bokbeskrivningar Fiction.
Literature.
HTML:??Robbins??s comic philosophical musings reveal a flamboyant genius.???People
Still Life with Woodpecker is a sort of a love story that takes place inside a pack of Camel cigarettes. It reveals the purpose of the moon, explains the difference between criminals and outlaws, examines the conflict between social activism and romantic individualism, and paints a portrait of contemporary society that includes powerful Arabs, exiled royalty, and pregnant cheerleaders. It also deals with the problem ▾Beskrivningar från bibliotek Inga biblioteksbeskrivningar kunde hittas. ▾Beskrivningar från medlemmar på LibraryThing |
Pågående diskussionerIngen/inga Google Books — Laddar... Byt (6 har, 92 önskar sig) |
22
I give up the idea of a fan letter – once again – and try to describe instead my thoughts about Tom Robbins book, "Still Life With Woodpecker" which I just finished reading a few hours ago.
Brief background: Tom Robbins is almost completely unknown in Sweden, but has written 10 books since 1971 (he was born in the 30's, so if I do not get my thumb out and write that fan letter soon I'll have to go on a pilgrimage barefoot to his grave, as the wretched sinner I am (it would certainly be more appropriate to go on that pilgrimage bare skinned. I'll have to think about it.)). His most famous book is "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" which was filmed in 1993 by Gus van Sant, with Uma Thurman in the lead role.
I borrowed the book "Jitterbug Perfume" from a boyfriend many many years ago (I just realized that I completely forgot to return it, sorry J!) and was completely enchanted. I was young and had to look up at least ten words on each page: Robbins' English contains words from all corners of the wordworld and often has a double-entendre: it's equilibrism on a high level, like when a clown stumbles forward at a furious pace on a tightrope: one must be very skilled to make it seem so easy.
Then I read it again and again, about every five years, five times. Finally, someone asked if I could recommend any of his other books. His other books? It hadn't occurred to me to read them. What if they were not as good? What if they did not include the moon, beets, steamy sex, genius waitresses, indigo and eternal life? Finally, I came to my senses and read "Even Cowgirls ..." (which was so-so) and "Skinny Legs and All" (which is fantastic) and now "Still Life with Woodpecker", written in 1980, four years before JP.
It's about ... uh ... It's about ... uhm ... oohm ah ouumm ... It's about how to make love stay. And about how to survive inside a pyramid when it explodes (in a pack of cigarettes). It contains some practical, simple recipes for homemade bombs. It's about contraception, about slippery sex between redheads, the moon's influence on the revolution and the necessity of lawlessness. It is a love story and a breakneck adventure, as usual when Robbins takes the pen (or in this case, his electric typewriter). The main character is, as often, a woman, and sometimes it's hard to believe that Tom Robbins is a man.
"Still Life with Woodpecker" was not as good as "Jitterbug Perfume", almost as good as "Skinny Legs and All", and absolutely wonderful.
English Wikipedia has this to say about Tom Robbins: "His bestselling novels are often wildly poetic stories with a strong social and philosophical undercurrent, an irreverent bent, and scenes extrapolated from carefully researched bizarre facts."
And if you're not on your way, head over heels, at this very moment, to steal, borrow or buy his books, I really don't know what more to say.
(Again, in Swedish:)
Tusen gånger har jag tänkt att jag ska skriva till min absoluta favoritförfattare Tom Robbins. Men hittills har det aldrig blivit av. Det som alltid stoppar mig är blyghet. Jag vet inte vad jag ska säga. Hur kan jag göra hans böcker rättvisa utan att orden faller platt? Hur ska man tilltala de finslipade formuleringarnas främste framförare? Vad skriver man till kungen av konsonanter, vokalernas välgörare, meningarnas och meningsfullhetens mästare, Allah av allitterationer? Denne man vars hjärna måste likna en karneval av fraktaler, en manisk malström av magiska drömmar? Denna gamla hippie vars tankar och visioner är mer kraftfulla än en atombomb i ett cocktailglas? Tänk er Tage Danielsson på syra, hög som ett hus, strömmande ur en oljelampa; där har ni Tom Robbins. Vad säger man? Finns det något annat än att slänga sig platt på marken och kyssa hans tår (förmodligen i ett par slitna och leriga sandaler)? Hur skulle jag kunna förklara vad hans böcker har betytt för mig, på ett sätt som inte låter som den svenske kocken i Mupparna?
Jag ger upp tanken på ett beundrarbrev – igen – och försöker istället beskriva mina tankar om Tom Robbins bok "Still Life With Woodpecker" som jag läste ut för några timmar sen.
Kort bakgrund: Tom Robbins är nästan helt okänd i Sverige, men har skrivit 10 böcker sedan 1971 (han är född på 30-talet, så om jag inte får tummen ur och skriver det där beundrarbrevet snart lär jag få vallfärda barfota till hans grav som den usla syndare jag är (det vore förvisso mer passande att vallfärda naken. men vi får se hur det blir med det.)). Hans mest kända bok är "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" som filmades 1993 av Gus van Sant, med Uma Thurman i huvudrollen.
Jag fick låna boken "Jitterbug Perfume" av en pojkvän för många många år sedan (det slår mig nu att jag helt har glömt att lämna tillbaka den, förlåt J!) och blev helt förtrollad. Jag var ung och var tvungen att slå upp säkert tio ord på varje sida: hans engelska innehåller ord från ordklotets alla hörn och har ofta dubbelmening; man får ofta känslan av ekvilibrism på hög nivå, som när en clown snubblar fram i rasande tempo på en lina: man måste vara oerhört skicklig för att få det att verka så lätt. Sen läste jag den igen, och igen, ungefär vart femte år, fem gånger. Till slut var det någon som frågade om jag kunde rekommendera någon av hans andra böcker. Hans andra böcker? Det hade inte slagit mig att läsa dem. Tänk om de inte var lika bra? Tänk om de inte innehöll månen, rödbetor, ångande sex, geniala servitriser, indigo och evigt liv? Till sist tog jag mitt förnuft till fånga och läste "Even Cowgirls …" (som var sådär) och "Skinny Legs and All" (som är helt fantastisk) och nu då, "Still Life with Woodpecker", skriven 1980, fyra år före JP.
Den handlar om … Den handlar ooomm … oooohhm ahh ouummm … Den handlar om hur man får kärleken att stanna. Och om hur man överlever inuti en pyramid när den sprängs (i ett cigarettpaket). Den innehåller några praktiska, enkla recept på hemgjorda bomber. Den handlar om preventivmedel, om slipprigt sex mellan rödhåriga, om månens inflytande på revolutionen och om laglöshetens nödvändighet. Det är en kärlekshistoria och ett halsbrytande äventyr, som vanligt när Robbins fattar pennan (eller i det här fallet sin elektriska skrivmaskin). Huvudpersonen är, som ofta, en kvinna, och ibland är det svårt att tro att Robbins är en man.
"Still Life with Woodpecker" var inte lika bra som "Jitterbug Perfume", nästan lika bra som "Skinny Legs and All" och alldeles, alldeles underbar.
Engelska Wikipedia har följande att säga om Tom Robbins: His bestselling novels are often wildly poetic stories with a strong social and philosophical undercurrent, an irreverent bent, and scenes extrapolated from carefully researched bizarre facts.
Och om du inte är på väg hals över huvud i detta nu för att låna eller köpa hans böcker så vet jag inte vad mer jag kan säga. (