Wild Ducks Flying Backward

By: Tom Robbins

Narrated by: Tom Robbins, Debra Winger

A “hilarious” (The New York Times Book Review) collection of essays, articles, observations—and even some country-music lyrics—that offer a rare overview of the eclectic sensibility of an American original

“[Tom] Robbins is fearless, original, mind-expanding, and funny as hell.”—San Diego Union-Tribune

“Part philosopher, part court jester, Robbins uses sparkling phrases mixed with over-the-top puns to impart his Zenlike wisdom.”—Los Angeles Times

Whether rocking with the Doors, depoliticizing Picasso’s Guernica, 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 sensuality, 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 Embedded in this primarily journalistic compilation are brand-new short stories, a sheaf of largely unpublished poems, and an offbeat assessment of our divided nation.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 read Wild Ducks Flying Backward, 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.”©2005 Tom Robbins; (P)2005 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

Praise for Tom Robbins and Wild Ducks Flying Backward

“Soars on the imagination and passion of Tom Robbins . . . one of the bravest writers in America. . . . He’ll amaze you with his ability to entertain.”—Chicago Tribune

“Cavort[s] with language as if it were a playmate with whom he can dance, woo, rock and roll . . . Closer to a musical improvisation than traditional prose . . . Part philosopher, part court jester, Robbins uses sparkling phrases mixed with over-the-top puns to impart his Zenlike wisdom. . . . A huge amount of fun.”—Los Angeles Times

“Thank Heaven, and Hades too, for Tom Robbins. . . . Wild Ducks Flying Backward is one spicy bouillabaisse cooked up by Robbins’ hyperkinetic imagination and his prodigious galaxy of interests. . . . For his loyal legions of smitten readers, this collection may be the closest they will ever come to a Robbins memoir. There is much more to Tom Robbins and his work than is sometimes assumed and that is confirmed again by the startling collection of Wild Ducks Flying Backward.”—Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“It is a great pleasure to find this psychedelic son of Mark Twain, this metaphor-slinging, myth-steeped champion of liberation directly addressing his aesthetic and spiritual concerns in this retrospective collection. . . . Robbins’ funny and astute short works shimmer with original and piquant descriptions, sensual delight, and a firm grasp of human nature and history.”—Booklist

“A single sentence from Robbins is worth the price of admission. . . . This compilation . . . contains flashes of brilliance and myriad quirky observations about people, places, and life.”—Columbus Dispatch

The Sweet Breeze by Tom Robbins Musical Eze

Cover your ears folks because Tom is Back and he's not taking any word for granted. Have you ever lived within the heart beat of a poem? Need a free ride to the Sun Set of dreams? Listen to this Audio Book and get your mental wings back!!

Tom Robbins is the Dream of How America Should Be

I love this book and I especially love the narration... who could read and convey the nuances and the blindly obvious better than Tom Robbins himself. Tom Robbins is the spirit America never should have lost. Buy it, read it...listen again, learn to think and wonder!

I am in love

The audio version of Wild Duck's begins not unlike Michael Prichert reading Brian Greene's ?The Fabric of the Cosmos?. That is to say that Robbins voice initially seems ill suited to the task and doesn't quite spark the imagination at the first word. However, and also like the Greene book, after a short while the voice becomes the book. The voice comes to fit perfectly with the length and depth of the words contained therein.

To me, the content (regardless of narrator) is absolutely first rate. I have only become familiar with Tom Robbins fictions in the pats few years, but found in them shadows of a kindred spirit in the relentless pursuit of liberty (and all the trimmings). This book offers the Robbins fiction admirer a look into the sources of ideas and themes played upon in his many fiction works. It also offers some new and personal views of the author himself.

Tom if you are reading, thanks for crafting so many pleasant sentence, and thanks for helping me to read, listen to, and therefore crystallize, ideas that have from time to time clanged around my own soul.

It’s my yummy zone in the funny bone

For me, Tom Robinson is the best. Can’t get enough of his writings. Wish a philanthropist would fund his entire collection on audio

Almost had me hooked...

This is the third Tom Robbins book I downloaded. I was quite enjoying his stories and LOVED "Fierce Invalids..." but toward the end of this book he lost me by calling the hard-working people who shop at Walmart "scuzballs." Of course, his opinion is his and I have no problem with that but having come from a family of low to low-middle income people, Walmart has been a lifesaver for my family's budgets. Calling the blue-collar folks who shop there to save a bit of their hard earned money "scuzballs" is a step farther than I'm willing to follow him. Too bad, I was looking forward to listening more.

So long Tom!