Tibetan Peach Pie: A True Account of an Imaginative Life

Tibetan Peach Pie: A True Account of an Imaginative Life by Tom Robbins (2014) Though he passed away recently, this was Tom Robbins’ last (published) book (I’m not saying he has unpublished stuff, out there, or in here, or wherever—I don’t know, of course—I’m just assuming. He was a writer, after all). As it’s subtitled “A True Account of an Imaginative Life” one might assume it’s an autobiography, or memoir, though he famously proclaimed it an “un-memoir”—which brings up the question, why not use that as a subtitle? Or have one at all. Tibetan Peach Pie, by itself, is as good a title as one could come up with—for anything—including pie. He mentions that the origin of that title is in one of his books (which I forgot) or, if you want, you can write to him and ask—though now he’s in a realm the mail-person can’t find, I guess—or maybe the place where all the lost mail goes. Anyway, even though he seems to hate the idea of “a memoir,” he gets right to it, telling stories about his early life through his later life, including his career as a writer. If he makes a point of allowing that some of this might be embellished, that’s just being honest because, as with all such books, you can’t necessarily believe it all, and the important thing is that it’s entertaining, inspiring, and funny—and this book is all of those. I listened to an audiobook read by Keith Szarabajka, who is excellent—eventually, I was convinced it was Robbins himself (though I have no idea if he sounds like him) because he’s so convincing! Tommy also mentions that he never kept a journal—he doesn’t say why, but explains that, in some cases, what he’s describing might not exactly line up with what others remember. Ha!

10.6.26