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A review of Jitterbug Perfume

by Tom Robbins

A meditation of the hyperacitve?

Reviewed by: Jennifer Muzinic
About Jennifer Muzinic

Jitterbug Perfume If you are a first-time reader of Tom Robbins, be aware that beginning one of his novels is like staring into the green depths of a steaming, endless cup of mushroom tea. You have two choices in front of you--you can become a complete believer and breathe deeply of the fantasy, the spirituality (and maybe even bring a little something back from your journey), or you can say "Nah, I'd rather stay in my own little two dimensional box and feel safe." If you walk with Tom Robbins, you are accompanied by Gods and mystics, gypsies and poets. If you walk alone, well--have fun and feel safe. The rest of us, we're going on a journey. And lookie here! We just stumbled on the fountain of youth!

Okay, so we don't exactly stumble into the fountain of youth in the first chapter, but soon enough, we'll meet Alobar, King & Condemned Man, and we quickly learn his reasons for wanting to live--forever. Alobar is one well-connected guy--stick with him and he can introduce you to Pan (yes, THE Pagan God), and Einstein. And Kudra, whom you don't know now but will fall in love with at a later time.

In today's timeframe, we have Priscilla, genius waitress (in Seattle), Madame Lily Devalier and her assistant, V'lu Jackson (New Orleans), and Claude and Marcel LeFever (Paris). How--and why--their story entangles with that of Alobar, Kudra and Pan's remains to be told by the master himself--Tom Robbins. I will tell you that the key to it all lies in scent.

It seems as if our "today" characters are all hot on a trail towards developing the newest, most amazing perfume that today's world has seen. Somehow, the reader knows better--that there is an urgent and mystical purpose for all three perfumers (the Madame, Priscilla & The LeFevers) to participate in this war of fragrances. It may be the beets--we are introduced and baffled by these vegetables from the beginning of the novel until the end. What is the purpose of the beet? You must know, but to know, you have to read on. It's a dilemma, I tell you.

There's Bingo Pajamas and his bees. Why the bees? Who is this mysterious seller of jasmine? Again, the only way to discover this crazy fellow is through V'lu. And you will only know V'lu after reading the entire novel--she is not what she seems. But you knew that, and you pressed on.

Inhale the smells of jasmine, goat-rut (yes, you heard me correctly), listen to the pipes of Pan and dance. You may just live forever. You may not get it at all right now--but that's why it's not my story to tell. It's the author's amazing ability to weave a tale, alternating poetry, fantasy and everyday life that makes Jitterbug Perfume a novel with no rivals. Robbins sings an amazingly original tune--a hint of bebop, some salsa, thrown together with a Buddhist chant and Pan's pipes--and it all comes out sounding just about right.

There was yesterday, there is today, and there's going to be a tomorrow. Jitterbug Perfume lays it out for us to see--clearly, faithfully. You aren't going to forget these characters. And they may just make you a believer. I believe.

Click here to buy this book, or read more about it at Amazon.com: Jitterbug Perfume

Copyright © by Jennifer Muzinic, 2002

Reviewed by Jennifer Muzinic:
-- Hell's Angels (A Strange & Terrible Saga) - by Hunter S. Thompson
-- Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats - by Pitcairn & Pitcairn
-- White Oleander - by Janet Fitch
-- notes of a dirty old man - by Charles Bukowski
-- The Jungle Book - by Rudyard Kipling
-- Many Lives, Many Masters - by Brian L. Weiss, M.D.
-- Jitterbug Perfume - by Tom Robbins
-- The Sun Also Rises - by Ernest Hemingway









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