“[A] wild comic rip through eternity and beyond.”—The Detroit News A genre-blending romp of a novel that “celebrates the joy of individual expression and self-reliance” (Saturday Review), from the New York Times bestselling author of Still Life with Woodpecker
Jitterbug Perfume is an epic. Which is to say, it begins in the forests of ancient Bohemia and doesn’t conclude until nine o’clock tonight (Paris time). It is a saga, as well. A saga must have a hero, and the hero of this one is a janitor with a missing bottle. The bottle is blue, very, very old, and embossed with the image of a goat-horned god. If the liquid in the bottle actually is the secret essence of the universe, as some folks seem to think, it had better be discovered soon because it is leaking and there is only a drop or two left.
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“Jitterbug Perfume has a large and exotic cast of characters, all of whom are interested in immortality and/or perfume. . . . Go see for yourself; you'll have a good time.”—The Washington Post
“Robbins again celebrates the joy of individual expression and self-reliance. He lays before us the time-honored warts and hairs of the world’s philosophies—problems with religion, war, politics, family, marriage, and sex—and leaves no twist or turn unstoned.”—Saturday Review
Overall rating: 4.2 / 5 from 5 reviews.
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Reviews
Immortality, and beets
"Tom Robbins's writing is like a magic eye image. You know the ones that look like a repeating pattern of colours until you unfocused your eyes and then the 3D image pops out? It's like that, but in writing. Absurd, delightful, intricate. Complex, but not complicated"
— Heather (5/5)
Funny smart and weird
"Funny and smart. An adventure through time and space that will make you want to wear perfume. I've never read another book like it."
— Jessica (4/5)
One of my favourites
"You need to read this book. I know of no other author who captures this zany world so well. Tom's writing in Jutterbug Perfume (and all his other stories) is sexy, humourous, and touches on religion, politics, history, and philosophy without feeling like a textbook. #plumreview"
— Laura (5/5)
Jitterbug Perfume
"Possibly my favourite Tom Robbins."
— Bradley (5/5)
First Tom Robbins book that I've read
"It was my first Tom Robbins book that I read and while I do agree that he is very talented, this was definitely not my cup of tea. It was a long and heavy read. I liked how there were simultaneous storylines that intersected but it was a little painful to read in my opinion. I was happy with the ending and it made it worthwhile, but to be honest the only reason I kept reading this book was because I had already invested so much time into reading it already. Also, call me old fashioned, but I was not really in to all of the wild, tribal, explicit adventures of the characters. . ."
— MediaBzz (2/5)
Q&A
Published date: Apr 01, 1990
Language: English
No. of Pages: 352
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
ISBN: 9780553348989
Dimensions:
5.2" W x
0.8" L x
8.3" H
Tom Robbins has been called “a vital natural resource” by the Oregonian, “one of the wildest and most entertaining novelists in the world” by the Financial Times of London, and “the most dangerous writer in the world” by Fernanda Pivano of Italy’s Corriere della Sera. His works include Jitterbug Perfume, Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates, and Even Cowgirls Get the Blues. A Southerner by birth, Tom Robbins lived in and around Seattle from 1962 until he passed away in 2025.
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