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** spoiler alert ** Tom Robbins' sixth novel is a departure for the brilliant yet confounding author. Unlike his previous five books, this one stays the course with one main story, focused exclusively on one main character. Making matters more different than his previous work, the entire novel takes place over one weekend, and almost performs as a traditional romantic comedy. With this unusually intense focus, and the limited, claustrophobic time structure, one would think that Tom Robbins could turn out a whammy of a story that utilizes his highly intelligent, highly original, and highly off-the-wall style to transform the medium and the message. Instead, after reading "Half Asleep In Frog Pajamas," one is left with an entertaining yet hardly engrossing narrative that teases the reader with a promise that is never fulfilled, and a set-up that never pays off.

As much as I did enjoy experiencing the storied weekend journey of one money-minded, materialistic Gwendolyn Mati, and her search for her boyfriend Belford's money, as her search for her lost obese friend Q-Jo, and Gwendolyn's strange yet not so surprising romance with one post-autistic genius named Larry Diamond, I felt more frustrated than enraptured by the twists and turns of the tale. There were times when I felt encouraged to read on, however too much of the time I felt inspired to place the book down.

The reasons are many, as to why a story fails to take hold of one's attention. I believe with the case of "Half Asleep In Frog Pajamas," I felt myself drowning in Larry Diamond's never-ending speeches, theories, facts, philosophies and the like regarding amphibians, aliens, alien-amphibians, and all things Timbuktu. Usually Robbins scatters his off-the-wall tangents throughout the story, via narrative or through any number of characters. In "Half Asleep In Frog Pajamas," Robbins puts it ALL on Larry Diamond alone, and thus the message takes on an unpleasant sheen of pretension, nonsense, and just plain boredom.

....and what of Q-Jo? What happened to her? Did she just...beam over to Timbuktu? The author never bothers to resolve what happened to Gwendolyn's fine, fat tarot-reading friend.. Sure, Tom Robbins give us a hint, and indication, yet a reader deserves more. And what of the "Safe-Sex-Rapist"? Was that ever resolved? No, it was not. One does not need things spelled-out per say, yet why the author introduces mystery to the story only to have the reader left twisting in the wind, with no closure at all, is anybody's guess. Another frustration.

Though, what REALLY bothered me was Gwendolyn Mati, the novel's main character. Throughout the book, I never really was sure whether I liked her or not, nor whether I cared about her...or not. There were times I rooted for her, and times where I felt she was foolish, and just plain dumb. The clincher for me, was the last quarter in the book. After going through 3/4 of a novel with this one ant-heroine, Robbins turns the screws and makes it plain as day that Gwendolyn learned nothing from her humbling weekend experience. In fact, not only has she learned nothing, Robbins' turns Gwendolyn into an evil, contemptuous, manipulative criminal.

So let me get this straight. After taking a bath with the stock market, after surviving an assault, after failing to find her missing best friend, after having her mind and her body blown by Larry Diamond, after given an opportunity to redeem and expand her soul with a free trip to Timbuktu, Gwendolyn decides to sexually manipulate her soon-to-be-dumped boyfriend in order to use his monkey to steal a doctor's special enema device, in order to save Larry Diamond's life. Okay. I can accept that. But then, Robbins' has Gwendolyn go insane by following her selfless, well-intentioned act of criminality with a
completely evil of supreme selfishness! Why? So, Gwendolyn's plan was to steal Larry's housemate's two million dollar Van Gough painting, fly to New York, then Amsterdam so Gwen could sell the painting for a million dollars. THEN, Gwen would fly to the Philippines to be hide and be with her grandmother. WHAT??? Where the f*%k did THAT come from? The Gwendolyn Mati that Tom Robbins created, the one who was made star of the show for 3/4 of the novel, simply would not do that! Or would she? I don't know anymore. All I do know is that I now dislike her, and lament the fact that I spent so much time on her story.

No Tom Robbins book is a waste of time. No matter whether I like the novel or not, I always get something good out of it, despite the confusion and frustration. I just wish that "Half Asleep In Frog Pajamas" paid off what it promised, what it held in its grasp, what it did to my hopes and expectations. Oh well. Robbins only has himself to blame, or more to the point: I have only myself to blame. Being a fan of the author's work, I expect the quality of his prose and his storytelling to be always up there with his masterworks "Jitterbug Perfume" and "Still Life With Woodpecker." That said, even if I had never read a Tom Robbins novel, "Half Asleep In Frog Pajamas" would still be a disappointment.