{"product_id":"9780553804515","title":"Wild Ducks Flying Backward: The Short Writings of Tom Robbins","description":"Known for his meaty seriocomic novels, Tom Robbins’s shorter work has appeared in publications ranging from \u003ci\u003eEsquire\u003c\/i\u003e to \u003ci\u003eHarper’s\u003c\/i\u003e, from \u003ci\u003ePlayboy\u003c\/i\u003e to the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e. Collected here for the first time in paperback, the essays, articles, observations—and even some untypical country-music lyrics—offer a rare overview of the eclectic sensibility of an American original.\u003cb\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eWhether rocking with the Doors, depoliticizing Picasso’s \u003ci\u003eGuernica,\u003c\/i\u003e lamenting the angst-ridden state of contemporary literature, or drooling over tomato sandwiches and a species of womanhood he calls “the genius waitress,” Tom Robbins’s briefer writings exhibit the five traits that perhaps best characterize his novels: an imaginative wit, a cheerfully brash disregard for convention, a sweetly nasty eroticism, a mystical but keenly observant eye, and an irrepressible love of language. Embedded in this primarily journalistic compilation are brand-new short stories, a sheaf of largely unpublished poems, and an offbeat assessment of our divided nation. Wherever you open \u003cb\u003eWild Ducks Flying Backward\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e,\u003c\/i\u003e you’ll encounter the serious playfulness that percolates from the mind of a self-described “romantic Zen hedonist” and “stray dog in the banquet halls of culture.”","brand":"Random House Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47026382405872,"sku":"9780553804515","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780553804515_p0.jpg?v=1763718566","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780553804515","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}