"Still Life With Woodpecker" was my first encounter with author Tom Robbins. A self proclaimed "sort" of love story which seeks to answer the question, "How to make love stay." The story is woven around Leigh-Cheri, a princess from exiled lineage living out that exile in the Pacific Northwest Seeking to restore the respectability and honor of the princess, Leigh-Cheri sets out for Care Fest in Hawaii. A gathering of extremely concerned citizens in festival form, the keynote speaker--Ralph Nader. In Hawaii, Princess Leigh-Cheri encounters one Bernard Wrangler (aka the woodpecker). The woodpecker is committed to his dynamite, interestingly it is a failed explosiion that thrusts Bernard into the life of Princess Leigh-Cheri. An "explosive" chemistry insues.

Robbins shows a mastery of imagery and the ironic. He is a philosopher who's purest language appears to be the absurd. It is a fantastic read, enjoyable and provoking. An attack on power. A gasp for love. ( )

Unlike any book I've read. It's packed with constant silliness like a Mel Brooks movie. The story and characters are almost ludicrous yet have great depth, similar to those found in a Christopher Moore novel. It is loaded with truisms and quotable observations of people and society. It makes fun of anything and everything. My only gripe was that a few parts were a bit vulgar. Overall, though, a real pleasure to read.

A princess falls in love with a bomb-throwing outlaw. Both the author himself and the outlaw frequently lecture, on what it means to be an outlaw, why good ideas always are turned into bad dogmas by small-minded followers, and like topics, yet somehow it never gets boring. Robbins never quite shades over into taking-himself-too-seriously territory. The plot and characters are amusingly goofy. ( )

I have read almost all of Robbins' books, and they are all amazing. Such a great writing style and sense of humor! This is by far my favorite though! ( )

Philosophy mixed with absurdity joyously baked into a fruitcake of wise laughter. ( )