If you have ever smoked a Camel cigarette, dreamed about the living the life of a princess, or had dealings with a redhead, then "Still Life with Woodpecker" is the book for you. In a tone similar to Kurt Vonnegut's, Tom Robbins tells the stories of the exiled Princess Leigh-Cherie, whose adventures always feature Ralph Nader, the outlaw Bernard Mickey Wrangler, who specializes in dynamite, and the faithful servant of the Furstenberg-Barcalonas, Gulietta, who develops a cocaine addiction on a trip to Maui.
Robbins toys with the fairy tale principles of Prince Charmings, pokes fun at Albert Camus, and bemoans the sad state of lovers in the 20th century. He writes in a narrative voice that carries the reader quickly from page to page. Robbins also creates the strangest of plot twists in a fantastic world, leading to interesting conclusions about existentialism, politics, and the possibilities of personal choice.
After their fortuitous meeting at a Care Fest conference on Maui, the princess and the outlaw return to Seattle. The king and queen do not approve of the romance, and their mood worsens when the suitor crushes Queen Tilli's chihuahua and is then arrested for his many TNT-related activities. Bernard's imprisonment leads to Leigh-Cherie's self-inflicted exile to the castle attic where she spends months studying an unopened cigarette package, stark naked.
The book features many fairy-tale elements. Alongside frogs and golden balls, love certainly plays a role. One aim is to discover how to make love stick. Robbins constructs a number of quotable explanations as to how one might accomplish that in Leigh-Cherie and Bernard's correspondences during Bernard's stay in prison.
The protagonists are both redheads, and Robbins develops wonderful theories about the existence of redheads and what the brilliance of their roots suggests. This is only one of the threads running through the book that contributes to its humor. Another is the practice of "lunaception" (don't try this at home) and the benefits of living in harmony with the moon
A third thread in this novel is the author's relationship with his typewriter. He is confident that if he and his Remington SL3 can't tell this story, then no one can. Robbins inserts interludes into the narrative where he wrestles with the abilities of his machine and he ends up writing the last few pages of the book in longhand.
The book deals with the absurdities of convention in a hilarious way. Robbins plays off clichés brilliantly. He spins a wonderful story that leads to the lovers living locked up inside a modern pyramid, living off wedding cake and champagne and an ample supply of dynamite. I won't tell you how they get out.