Tikay (USA: CA) (2012/08/25):
This book is not an easy review for me. In some ways it was a paradox....as for me, for the first three chapters I found it to be a mix of both utterly convoluted and boring nuances. I almost set it back upon a shelf to be basically forgotten with other books that I will never ever finish. Then I decided the person writing it had something of potential value to me, something to offer that might eventually enhance my understanding of the human race, which is what books do...well that he deserved the benefit of my reading another chapter...perhaps, anyway.
During that reading I began to chortle and enjoy the story...he won me over in the next few chapters. I was happy I had not abandoned the book, or written a bad review about a sad book that didn't deserve any patience from me.
I enjoyed and laughed through many chapters until alas, the love affair began to wane...perhaps the author was tiring of his own shenanigans, perhaps it was merely that his flaws were being slowly exposed as in any love affair, and those long hairs were beginning to bug me protruding from me loves ears and nostrils.

He became something of an annoying friend, of sorts or even a potential foe. What at first was hilarity, became redundant...I got really rather bored with the never ending chaos of the story. For someone, like myself who has caught themselves (more than once), with maniacally addictive tendencies toward the creation of stressors...causing unwanted chaos in my life...the book became a chore to read.

The amount of energy the author expended in chaotic energy creation...became a noose about his neck, for me....he slowing strangled the fun out of this funny story with much to much action. I did bear with him and finish it, I did want to know how it all would end, but it had lost it's luster...the pearl having been examined closly, was discovered to be mere plastic.

At some level, I became judgmental, and decided that if I met this person he would probably be one of those stuffy intellectuals hiding behind a nice veneer, or a Tom Robbins wannabe type, who really had not much out of the ordinary to offer....In REALISTIC TERMS, I know that I have "no clue", but based on his book I can guess he grew up as I did with dreams of being the next Tom (ROBBINS)...the next genius of comedic truth.

What he turned out to be, in the end was just another fool. Not that the next book won't be looked into, I am a forgiving fool myself. And I am curious to find, if he will be finding his inner Tom...or his inner Robin Williams...whatever fool he has in there, I bet eventually they can really turn out a good book or even a few of them. they will be making a movie it says, A Warner Brothers production? I have no idea HOW that could be done...It has Faustian? implications, maybe like that PaRiSian BuTCher movie (i've forgotten the name) WeLL, it could be quite good? I suppose, a definate UPROAR to be deciphered on film. I would love to see what such a Hollywood troop could do with this text, I would think INDEPENDANT Studios would be required for this~

TO END: Might I suggest a re-reading or a first reading of Jitterbug Perfume? (Which I consider to be Tom's absolute, and all time BEST story) to date. Me thinks mayhap's, that it's time we got back to the basics, where funny genius is concerned. Malachy McCourt did me a nice turn with his "A Monk Swimming" as well, fairly recently. It was so good, to laugh that way, with a book in hand, and I felt that need to share it, and had to give it away, to another (comedian type} friend. Of course, NOW I'll need one to keep, a "referance" for my shelves.

CheeriO, CiAO, and Auf Wiedersehn, Cheers & Aloha...yours truly {Another Wannabe Writer}

~dreaming tikay ( )