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Switters is a contradiction for all seasons: an anarchist who works for the government; a pacificist who carries a gun; a vegetarian who sops up ham gravy; a cyberwhiz who hates computers; a man who, though obsessed with the preservation of innocence, is aching to deflower his high-school-age stepsister (only to become equally enamored with a nun ten years his senior). Yet there is nothing remotely wishy-washy about Switters. He doesn't merely pack a pistol. He is a pistol. And as we dog Switters's strangely elevated heels across four continents, in and out of love and danger, discovering in the process the "true" Third Secret of Fatima, we experience Tom Robbins -- that fearless storyteller, spiritual renegade, and verbal break dancer -- at the top of his game. On one level this is a fast-paced CIA adventure story with comic overtones; on another it's a serious novel of ideas that brings the Big Picture into unexpected focus, but perhaps more than anything else, Fierce Invalids is a sexy celebration of language and life.

I found Tom Robbins while playing on Amazon.com one day. If you haven't played with the Listmania! yet, you are missing out. One book led to another which led to a different author which led to this and to that which gave way to Tom Robbins. The book that I found listed as a "must read" was not Fierce Invalids, but rather Another Roadside Attraction. While walking through a bookstore one day, as I often do, I was actually holding a copy of Another Roadside Attraction when I saw Fierce Invalids on an end cap. I picked it up, read the back, and put Another Roadside Attraction back on the shelf. I know where I can find it when I go back, but on this trip Fierce Invalids won me over.

I can honestly say that I have never read a book like this. I cannot say that I liked the book, though I was fascinated by the writing style. I would actually like to read more books based on the character Switters, though I doubt another will ever be written. He was a character so full of quirks and personal protests against the ways of societies everywhere. He is a man who has been around the world and developed an interesting set of peculiarities from here and there along the way.

The book was about so many things. The topics were minute, cosmic and everything in between. Unfortunately I just felt there was a little too much going on for the book to be enjoyable. I would not say the book was hard to follow necessarily, but more that it was just too much information to want to follow.

Robbins's ideas were interesting and thought-provoking. His writing was poetic and almost seemed too easy to read given the profound nature of the topics he tackled. When I finished the book I said that though it was not my favorite, I would be curious to read more by Robbins. My next conquest, based upon recommendation of a friend (and Tom Robbins veteran), would be Still Life With Woodpecker.

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