I'm a world-class procrastinator, as is evidenced by the fact that I am woefully behind in this challenge. Another indicator is the fact that this book has been on my shelf for close to thirty years, waiting to be read.
As the subtitle on the book says, Still Life with Woodpecker is sort of a love story, in a redhead-stoner-philosopher-environmentalist-anarchist kind-of way. It tells the story of Princess Leigh-Cheri, the daughter of a deposed monarch of a small but apparently strategically significant country. King Max, his wife Tilli, and the Princess live in exile in the United States, on the shore of the Puget Sound, with their faithful servant Gulietta, in a house given to them by the CIA.
The princess, seeking purpose to her life, decides to get involved in saving the planet. After much begging, her parents allow her to travel to an environmental conference in Hawaii, with Gulietta serving as her chaperone. Here she meets Bernard Mickey Wrangle, an anarchist bomber known as "The Woodpecker," who it turns out has plans to blow up the conference. After despising him briefly, she falls in love with him, and has to wrestle with the conflict of her feelings for him vs. the moral obligation to turn him in.
Eventually Wrangle is apprehended, and has to spend time in prison. The Princess cloisters herself in her attic, attempting to duplicate the conditions her imprisoned lover is experiencing. In her solitary state, with nothing more to read than a pack of camels, she develops a world view centered around the imagery on the cigarette pack involving pyramids, redheads (both she and Wrangle have fiery red hair), and alien races. Unfortunately, the press catches wind of her self-confinement, and when word gets back to Wrangle about what she has done, he gets the wrong idea about her motives and dumps her.
Don't worry, I haven't divulged the entire story. Besides, with Robbins' writing, getting there is half the fun. The story is full of humor, psychedelic imagery, odd-ball philosophy and solopsistic interludes where he discusses his love/hate relationship with his new Remington SL3 electric typewriter, which he is using to compose the story. It also discusses the purpose of the moon, and explores how to make love stay.
All-in-all, I thought it was a fun read, albeit a little dated (it was published in 1980). Maybe if I'd read it when I bought it, I wouldn't have had to make that complaint.
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