Robin Anderson Author Reviews

Never a "CRAFT" Moment

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

"Define ‘Abattoir’ – easy, a slaughterhouse. Define ‘Craft’ –
you’ll never get the word past ‘vulgar word watchdogs’"
Grady Harp - Amazon

Robin Anderson has penned 29 books and this reader has read almost all of them – with glee! As a matter
of fact, Robin Anderson seems to gain such glee in writing his novels that teeter back and forth between
farce, eroticism and adventure that picking up a new story by him is always an expected pleasure. One
thing you can always depend on in the novels of Robin Anderson is to be shocked, at times embarrassed,
and all the while entertained with some of the most audacious ideas and situations and characters ever
created. Anderson is naughty to the extreme and gets away with it because he writes so well. Anderson
has polished his recipe for entertainment to a fare-thee-well. The language is purple indeed and the
encounters are so varied and so 'can't-top-this-one' that the reader will be left breathless from laughter
by books weird ending. Climb on board, if you've a mind to, and go for another outrageous Robin Anderson ride.

This time ‘round Robin opens with his relating a stroke (CVA) and rapid recovery, and that bit of information opens the windows for his inimitable and dazzling memory cum imagination that makes that book one of this finest. As is his bent his synopsis on the back of his book defines the contents better than any reviewer: ‘A sumptuous feast of savoury and unsavoury delights. A menu of magical memoirs and acerbic abattoirs accompanied by a cocktail of acidic pollutants and a frank “behind the scenes” look at the so-called glamorous world of interior design. Ingredients include a pinch of Sellers (Peter); a soupçon of Price (Vincent); a whisper of Warhol (Andy); a touch of spice with a Duchess and a Headless Man; a healthy dollop of Colman’s mustard (Benedict James); a twist of Trump (Ivana); a kiss of Kismet (Dolores Gray); a French dish not quite Ooh La La!; portions of Peerage; a “sachet” of Diamond Lil; lashings of Lee (Christopher); a Browne sauce (Coral); recipes from Italy, India, Mexico and South America; a trace of Toulouse-Lautrec; a quota of queens and more: much more. An “Out of Africa” experience but with a difference.’

Open the covers of this ‘memoir’ and spend a warmly hilarious evening with the inimitable Robin Anderson. His writing is risqué, full of parodies and putdowns, brimming over with naughty situations that never approach pornography. He is an apt storyteller, but in so many ways the story is not as important as the zany characters he creates to unfold his bizarre ventures. Reflections this time? Yes, but never remembered by another author so tantalizingly well. At times his writing seems like a Dr. Seuss tale written for adults with human characters instead of Seuss characters: if Horton Hears a Who then Robinson hears a Hoot!

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"A Memoir"
Amos Lassen

Robin Anderson is the most prolific author I know and his tongue-in-cheek writings have kept me entertained during the 12 years I have been reviewing. Because he is such a versatile writer, it is hard to classify when he writes. It is satirical, erotic, shocking, sometimes blasphemous, adventurous and always funny; Anderson’s sense of humor is constant. I believe that he has as much fun writing them as I do reading his stories. What I really love about Robin Anderson is his the way he builds his characters. Both his plots and his characters border on the near obscene and I mean that positively. It is one think to write erotica in trash English and it is something else completely to write literary smut. Robin Anderson writes literary smut and he can do so because his use of language who is so excellent. I believe the only way to describe what he writes is outrageous.

Now in his memoir, it is difficult to know what is memory and what is imagination. Actually it makes no difference since this is a fun read.
I really have no idea how to summarize the plot and even if I tried I would not do it justice. While it is not written in the stream of consciousness, it is written to take you to places you have never been before and probably never even heard of. Robin Anderson himself describes this book as a “sumptuous feast of savoury and unsavoury [the British spelling] delights” and a phrase like that shows why he is a writer and I am not. The characters that you will meet here are unlike any you have ever met and they are part of a read unlike any you have ever read before. Do as I do—float in, turn on and enjoy. More than that you do not need to do but if you feel you do want to delve deeper, that is also a possibility.

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"Goodness gracious how audacious!"
Vanessa de Lisle
Former Fashion Editor - VOGUE and HARPERS & QUEEN MAGAZINE.