I’ll just say that all-in-all, this was a very “dude” book. Perhaps it’s because I’m a female reader, and I prefer to read sappy romances and tear-jerking love stories. But, like I said, the beginning was not so enjoyable for me. Things began to pick up, the purpose of all of the agonizingly detailed history began to come to light, and all of my questions were answered. The end was actually very good in comparison to the beginning of the book. But for one, it’s not the focus of the novel, at least not for the first 3/4 of it. Granted, it does have a love story within it.

I mean, who doesn’t like a page turner?Īlso, for all of you romance and love story lovers – don’t pick up this book. Personally, I just tend to value a fast-paced plot line. It’s well written, the storyline is incredibly deep, and the characters are well developed. Admittedly, I can see why it has such high recommendations. To put it more bluntly this is not a book that enraptures your attention. I struggled to not give up throughout most of the novel.

But I didn’t give myself the luxury of getting through it slowly. Combined, those qualities make it a bit of a slow read. It is extremely abstract and thought-provoking on the one hand, but it’s also extremely verbose and descriptive on the other. You see, this is not a book to cram-read. I stayed up nearly all night, only getting two hours of sleep, to finish this book. First off, this was a book club read, and I made the mistake of procrastinating until – literally – the day before the meeting. I tried to put more emphasis on the “Quotes of Note” because, sadly, this is not a positive review. “ ‘…Unhappiness is the ultimate form o’ self-indulgence.’” There are only different levels of life…’” “ The highest function of love is that it makes the loved one a unique and irreplaceable being.”

Even water in a covered jar will disappear in time. It is always off to somewhere else restless, talkative, and curious. When you come upon a man who has been dead many years, his bones will still be lying there, in place, content, patiently waiting, but his flesh will have gotten up and left him.

Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins | 2.5/5 Star Rating

Jitterbug perfume book