365 pages
English language
Published April 3, 1990 by Bantam Books.
The whooping crane rustlers are girls. Young girls. Cowgirls, as a matter of fact, all "bursting with dimples and hormones"--and the FBI has never seen anything quite like them. Yet their rebellion at the Rubber Rose Ranch is almost overshadowed by the arrival of the legendary Sissy Hankshaw, a white-trash goddess literally born to hitchhike, and the freest female of them all.Freedom, its prizes and its prices, is a major theme of Tom Robbins's classic tale of eccentric adventure. As his robust characters attempt to turn the tables on fate, the reader is drawn along on a tragicomic joyride across the badlands of sexuality, wild rivers of language, and the frontiers of the mind.From the Trade Paperback edition.
This book has veins of pure philosophical brilliance surrounded by pockets of irreverent humor and muddy cynicism. It is a welcome sanctuary in these most interesting times. (2025)
Definitely an entertaining and unique read... well, 2/3rds of it at least. The book moves along at a really odd pace and sometimes I felt like the author was wasting paper, trying to shove his wit down the reader's throat. Regardless, the story of Sissy Hankshaw and her hitchhiking thumbs was amusing and kept me turning the page. I really wish Robbins would have expanded on the whole 'Clockwork People living in the caves waiting for time to end' stuff and left out all the useless crap in the end. It seemed like the author suddenly realized that the story had run on too long, decides to waste some pages explaining that the story has run on too long, and then abruptly tries to tie all loose ends.
i liked the musings regarding women and paganism. beyond that, it's difficult to identify with the characters.
I loved this book when I read it long ago. Like many people in college, I read all my Tom Robbins at once and loved every single one. I just can't imagine that any of these books have aged well, though. Maybe if I re-read this one I'll change my mind.
