Even Cowgirls Get the Blues

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues is perhaps the ultimate love story. In the hands of master author Tom Robbins, love is found throughout the book; all its main characters devoutly believe in or eventually achieve love's magic. But it is the heroine, Sissy Hawkshaw, for whom love is always present in two distinct forms. With Michael Nouri's narration, Robbins's intelligently wacky credo of love is as wild a success as the last flock of whooping cranes found in the novel. Nouri's decision not to soften his voice for Sissy's lines is an interesting choice (as many male readers do to portray females). There are soft moments in the story, which he reads appropriately, but all in all, Sissy's voice is his own. The result is a smooth, all-encompassing reading that allows listeners to be fully absorbed. Many characters have a vital influence in this novel, and Michael Nouri does a superb job bringing each to life without straying too far from his own personal voice. Listeners couldn't ask for a better guide through Tom Robbins's adventures in love. R.A.P. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

This sexy, bizarre and inventive tale needs to be experienced firsthand. Don't even try to explain the descriptions of the Rubber Rose Ranch or Sissy Hankshaw's thumbs or the other details which made you laugh out loud. The twisted saga of a beautiful young woman born to hitchhike makes for lively listening. And the author's wise cracking asides and convoluted digressions create a conversational quality to the text which asks to be read aloud. Narrator Michael Nouri is generally up to the task: his slightly sarcastic tone is perfect, and he only occasionally loses himself in Robbins's fanciful flights. The long-standing popularity of the book plus the pending release of the film will make this worthwhile program popular. S.K. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine