B Is for Beer
ReviewBook Description A Children’s Book About Beer? Yes, believe it or not–but B Is for Beer is also a book for adults, and bear in mind that it’s the work of maverick bestselling novelist Tom Robbins, internationally known for his ability to both seriously illuminate and comically entertain. Once upon a time (right about now) there was a planet (how about this one?) whose inhabitants consumed thirty-six billion gallons of beer each year (it’s a fact, you can Google it). Amon [Read More...]
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As a Tom Robbins fan who has eagerly awaited each of his books since he burst forth with “Another Roadside Attraction” in 1971, I am sorely disappointed. “B Is for Beer” is touted as “A Children’s Book for Grown-ups” and “A Grown-up Book for Children.” It is neither. At one point I surmised that he had started a book commissioned by the beer industry for people who want to know how beer is made. As the book got more and more boring I decided that could never have been his intent.
If you are a contrarian reader who is powerfully addicted to his writing, go ahead and buy it. I don’t know how to warn you so you will save your money. It is just seriously bad writing.
Tom, you charmed us into holding on for four to six years between novels after we learned that it took you that long to release each one with its glorious metaphors, similies and crazy plots. It’s been six years since “Villa Incognito” was put to the press in 2003. It is time for another. “Wild Ducks Flying Backwards” in 2005 wasn’t even a novel and “B is for Beer” is a watered-down novella about which you say many people warned you “that I couldn’t or shouldn’t, or wouldn’t bloody dare.” Okay Tom, you proved that you could get it published. Now it’s time to write something that again really scours the far reaches of your imagination and takes us on exotic (and erotic) journeys.
This morality tale is as flat as a Budweiser opened and left in a Seattle backyard for weeks to attract parched raccoons that don’t know there are better ways to enjoy brewski.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Tom entertains - even when it seems he’s not trying.
Tom entertains me - even when it seems like he’s not trying. I suspect that Tom needed to get a book out. This was a quick write I suppose.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not intended to be his best, but a funread
OK TR fans, I agree with you. I was waiting for another Villa Incognito or Skinny Legs and All, and what I got was 125 pages about beer.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not convinced
So this is supposed to be a children’s book for adults and vise versa…..well, I’m not convinced at all that the book is a “family” book.
For Robbins fans waiting, yearning, for the next great Robbins novel, this is not it. Sorry.
It is, however, exactly what it professes to be. A children’s book for grown-ups, and a grown-up book for children. (Which is what I based this review on, vs. comparing it to other Robbins books … there’s no comparison.) The writing is definitely child-like in its tone.
Gracie is practically six-years-old when she develops a curiosity about beer. As Robbins will do, he leads us on a delightful, whimsical discovery about - yes, Beer. The book is filled with Robbins’s humor, philosophy, and magical writing.
I had a dumb grin on my face the whole time I was reading the book (less than two hours from start to finish) and I laughed out loud several times.
This tantalizing taste of Robbins’s words has definitely left me with a craving for more Robbins. And perhaps a Red Stripe.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Definitely a Tom Robbins story
which means it is witty, illuminating, and highly entertaining. Sure, it doesn’t carry the same weight (and words) as his other stuff. But good it is!
Tom Robbins is one of my top five favorite authors. Kurt Vonnegut (deceased) , Edward Abbey (deceased) , Carl Sagan (deceased), and Tim Callahan are the other four.
I anxiously awaited this new work by Robbins, and Amazon delivered it to me right after publication, but what a waste of time and paper.
Let me start by saying the novel (more of a novella) is only 125 pages long. If you throw in the 12 point font, double spaces on every line, and quad spacing after every paragraph, this is a very short book and could have been a piece of non-fiction in a magazine.
Forty pages into this inane work, we have learned that the protagonist (a 5 year old girl) is curious about beer, and her curmudgeon uncle will take her to visit a brewery. That’s it. One-third of the way through this book, that’s all we get.
On the other hand, I am glad it was short and only cost $12.
Come on Tom! I have read Another Roadside Attraction three times! The same with Only Cowgirls Get the Blues, and Still Life with Woodpecker twice. I have read (and have mostly first editions of) all your novels. But this? This is just as bad as Jimmy Buffet’s latest piece of work, which was another major disappointment.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book A++++
I bought this for a present. They loved it. Read it in one day. Excellent book.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not his best work
I understand that Tom Robbins was going for an understated and cute book when he decided to use the children’s book conceit.
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Bookschlepper Recommends
A children’s book for grown-ups; a grown-up book for children. The Beer Fairy helps Gracie understand brewing and to make sense of beer’s effect on adults.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Go to the library
I think if I had paid $17.95 for this book I also would have been very disappointed. But if you like Tom Robbins it is a fun little read. Definitely not his best work.
1.0 out of 5 stars
a rip
If I had seen this book in a store I would have known it was puffed up. How many authors have run out of ideas and gotten some exta cash by putting out a hundred pages of large…
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is a great little read! Ignore the sourpusses!
What’s with all the hateful teetotalers posting nasty reviews? If you love beer, you will love this book.