Tom Robbins, the acclaimed author who found acclaim with his novel Even Cowgirls Get the Blues has died aged 92.
He passed away in his hometown of La Conner, Washington. His death was announced by his son Fleetwood, but no cause was given.
Robbins debut novel Another Roadside Attraction came out in 1971, but his second novel 1976’s Even Cowgirls Get the Blues is his best-known work.
The book is remembered for its quirky characters. It follows the adventures of Sissy Hankshaw, a woman with unusually large thumbs who hitchhikes across the USA. Along the way she meets many odd and interesting people including Bonanza Jellybean, a sexually open cowgirl. The novel explored themes of feminism, free love and political rebellion.
Director Gus Van Sant made a film adaptation of the book in 1993, the follow up to his acclaimed film My Own Private Idaho. The film featured Uma Thurman, River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, John Hurt, Lorraine Braco, Angie Dickinson and Karate Kid star Noriyuki “Pat” Morita.
k.d. Lang created the soundtrack for the film and featured the hits Just Keep Me Movin’ and Lifted by Love. The soundtrack was hugely popular in Australia where it achieved platinum sales.
Robbins would go on to publish several additional novels including Still Life with Woodpecker (1980), Jitterbug Perfume (1984), Skinny Legs and All (1990), Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas (1994) iFierce INvalids Home from Hot Climates (2000), and Villa Incognitio (2003).
The author had a cult following who loved his works and he has been described as one of the most important writers of the 20th century. His absurdist comedy works sat alongside writers including Richard Brautigan, Kurt Vonnegut and Carlos Castaneda.
Robbins wrote all his works longhand and was known to spend hours focussing on just a single sentence. He rarely left his tug-boat town north of Seattle.
In 2014 he published Tibetan Peach Pie: A True Account of an Imaginative Life, which he described as an un-memoir.
