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Pages are clean with normal wear. May have limited markings & or highlighting within pages & or cover. Includes dustjacket, if applicable. May have some wear & creases on the cover. The spine may also have minor wear. Does not come with CD DVD, if applicable. Access code has been used, if applicable. Does not come with any supplementary materials. Pages are clean with normal wear. May have limited markings & or highlighting within pages & or cover. Includes dustjacket, if applicable. May have some wear & creases on the cover. The spine may also have minor wear. Does not come with CD DVD, if applicable. Access code has been used, if applicable. Does not come with any supplementary materials. See less
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Tom Robbins
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Still Life with Woodpecker: A Novel Paperback – April 1, 1990

by Tom Robbins (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,930 ratings
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“Robbins’s comic philosophical musings reveal a flamboyant genius.”—People

Still Life with Woodpecker is a sort of a love story that takes place inside a pack of Camel cigarettes. It reveals the purpose of the moon, explains the difference between criminals and outlaws, examines the conflict between social activism and romantic individualism, and paints a portrait of contemporary society that includes powerful Arabs, exiled royalty, and pregnant cheerleaders. It also deals with the problem of redheads.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    277 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Bantam
  4. Publication date
    April 1, 1990
  5. Dimensions
    5.17 x 0.6 x 8.24 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    9780553348972
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0553348972
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Robbins’s comic philosophical musings reveal a flamboyant genius.”—People

From the Inside Flap

Life with Woodpecker is sort of a love story that takes place inside a pack of Camel cigarettes. It reveals the purpose of the moon, explains the difference between criminals and outlaws, examines the conflict between social activism and romantic individualism, and paints a portrait of contemporary society that includes powerful Arabs, exiled royalty, and pregnant cheerleaders. It also deals with the problem of redheads.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0553348973
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bantam; Reissue edition (April 1, 1990)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 277 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780553348972
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0553348972
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.17 x 0.6 x 8.24 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,930 ratings

About the author

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Tom Robbins

Tom Robbins

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Thomas Eugene "Tom" Robbins (born July 22, 1932) is an American author. His best-selling novels are "seriocomedies" (also known as "comedy-drama"), often wildly poetic stories with a strong social and philosophical undercurrent, an irreverent bent, and scenes extrapolated from carefully researched bizarre facts. His novel Even Cowgirls Get the Blues was made into a movie in 1993 by Gus Van Sant and stars Uma Thurman, Lorraine Bracco, and Keanu Reeves.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
1,930 global ratings
Wee bit damaged
4 Stars
Wee bit damaged
It actually came two days early which is great got it as a bday gift for myself. It did come a bit damaged honestly not that big of a deal to me as long as it’s still readable! 🙌
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Top reviews from the United States

Sarah
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2024
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Devoured this book. Nice read!
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jan
5.0 out of 5 stars I love Tom Robbins books
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2024
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re reading after msny yesrs
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Karen
4.0 out of 5 stars What an experience!!
Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2014
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I was joyously entertained by the author's words and twists of this story. Such imagery he is capable of evoking as well as being amusingly outrageous. This book is also very informative about a lot of topics, and telling of the era in which it was written.

I was moved to try to read this book several years ago when I learned it was the inspiration for Dan Folgelberg's song Make Love Stay. But I did not know Tom Robbins as an author, and after reading the first paragraph, I had no idea what to expect. I made a few more unsuccessful attempts, each time placing it back onto the small pile of books to consider for the used book store or library, precarious of being relegated to such a fate before I had the fortunate chance of discovering it's magic . Part of the problem is this reader in that I found him difficult to follow during the first half of the book; I think that it takes a certain amount of energy to fully enjoy this book. :=)

I only gave the book four stars because I thought the plot was very weak, IMHO. But I do highly recommend it to anyone who is in need of some brilliant entertainment. For more information about the content, I recommend reading some of the other good reviews.
5 people found this helpful
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RC
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun read, Tom Robbin’s at his best
Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2023
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Tom Robbin’s is one of my favorite authors. He writes the most interesting characters. This is a fiction book about an anarchist (the woodpecker), an expatriate princess, a pack of camel cigarettes, and the moon! I highly recommend it if you are looking for a quick funny read that gets you thinking about society, love, identity and the universe!
2 people found this helpful
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Forever Young
5.0 out of 5 stars Can you ignore foul language?
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2023
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If you can ignore the language and concentrate of the etherial story being told, you are in for a treat. One of my all time favorite books….life inside a pack of Camel cigarettes?
One person found this helpful
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James
5.0 out of 5 stars Good read, give it a chance and ponder the things between the lines.
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2018
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Book was in good condition. It’s old so there was some yellowing but I think it added to the feel of the book. Loved reading it. Definitely not for everyone I’m sure my fellow book club members didn’t appreciate it the way I did, considering no one read it all the way through and only three of about twenty women showed to discuss it. Oh well, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Especially the honest discussions of things like outlaw-ism and group think which are woven into an intereting modern love story of sorts. It was entertaining and thought provoking. The kind of read that made me think about who I am and who I’d like to be and what I stand for and how I get things done in this world to help relieve its issues. Read it and if you hate it, so what? Move on with your life. Don’t fear losing out on time. We all have more than we realize when we cut out the unnecessary.
24 people found this helpful
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Rosemary Castro
3.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected
Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2012
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I really expected more out of this book. It had good moments and a few good quotes, but overall I found it a little trite. I read the reviews of those who loved it and I was excited but for me the book fell flat, the characters were not very memorable and I found myself reading but my mind would wander. I did not dislike the book , I think it is ok . It is not a beach read, but for me it was not a life changing OMG I must recommend this book to everyone.
3 people found this helpful
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savvylawgal
5.0 out of 5 stars Teasing Wisdom from Absurdity
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2014
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At least once a year I buy someone a copy of one of Robbins' books as a gift and wait to see if my friend (reads it and) "gets it." Kind of a litmus test.... The "it" of which I speak is the wisdom hidden within Robbins' absurd plots and served up with the author's unique, zany, and wry brand of humor. Often one must piece "it" together like a puzzle spilled on an unswept kitchen floor, sorting the pieces from odd chunks of dog food--and spaghettios--but that's the beauty of it. The fun is in the sorting. I was only slightly disappointed with this particular book, which I'd anticipated given it was his first. Even geniuses recognize they have room to improve and sometimes do, as has this one. Compared with my favorite--Jitterbug Perfume--Still Life has weaker character development and comparably lower plot tension. Yet it contains similar zany twists, incongruous pairings, entertaining flights of fancy through inner and outer space, and takes us back in time to expose the most specious aspects of 1970s American culture. In the end, entering Robbins' world provides readers with something mystics would claim only for meditation--renewal of one's mind--not through stillness but through the mental gymnastics found only in novels like Robbins' Still Life with Woodpecker.
32 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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john lane
5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book today!
Reviewed in Canada on June 25, 2021
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Just buy it and read it. You won't regret it.
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Víctor Carro
3.0 out of 5 stars No es la portada anunciada
Reviewed in Mexico on May 21, 2020
Verified Purchase
El libro (la historia) es genial, ya lo había leído antes pero lo quería en formato físico, la entrega llegó a tiempo en buenas condiciones pero la portada anunciada no es la real, el papel se siente realmente económico igual que la impresión, es un libro bastante difícil de conseguir así que tendré que aceptarlo.
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Víctor Carro
3.0 out of 5 stars No es la portada anunciada
Reviewed in Mexico on May 21, 2020
El libro (la historia) es genial, ya lo había leído antes pero lo quería en formato físico, la entrega llegó a tiempo en buenas condiciones pero la portada anunciada no es la real, el papel se siente realmente económico igual que la impresión, es un libro bastante difícil de conseguir así que tendré que aceptarlo.
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One person found this helpful
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Roo H
4.0 out of 5 stars Whimsical! You will either love it or hate it.
Reviewed in India on September 12, 2019
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I absolutely enjoyed reading this book as much as the author seemed to enjoy writing it.
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Marie Macri
2.0 out of 5 stars Meh
Reviewed in France on August 11, 2017
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I appreciate humorous novels, but this is a silly book that I didn't even want to finish. I was disappointed because I like some of his other work. Meh.
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Jonathan Griffiths
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Entertaining.
Reviewed in Australia on October 29, 2018
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Redheads rock in this rollicking adventure. Very funny. Absolutely absurd yet beautifully believable. I loved it.
One person found this helpful
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