Robin Anderson Author Reviews

Pillow Squawk

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

"A Gleefully Addictive Five Star Read By Robin Anderson!"

Pumped up, jumped up but so much more than just an attention-grabber Anderson pitches a literary grenade
and Pillow Squawk proves another fabulous page-turner!

Full-on from the outset, Anderson lunges for our collective viscera and never lets go till the very last page and
like all good satirists, he knows that too much realism will weaken his effect. He lets us know from the opening
chapter that he’s written a comedy. A comedy that embraces over-the-top exuberance and intricate character
development whilst being impassioned and visually inventive.

Anderson will never be an author known for understatement or subtlety. From the banter to the grisly violence, as in The Omnipotent, there’s a real literary prowess at play here as he pushes the boundaries of political correctness to get his effect.

That’s one of the things readers should value about him because novels should first and foremost offer escapism from the humdrum of life and Pillow Squawk gives us this in spades with believable characters and motivations, rather than just repositories for clever dialogue. And we want his characters (sinister serial killer William Barlow Junior is simply capital) to live, talk, deceive and scheme for hours and hours!

Bringing his tongue-in-cheek storytelling together with exquisite craft and killer characters (literally and metaphorically) Pillow Squawk is very much a trademark Anderson novel where genuine emotion one minute collides with the unapologetically silly in the next. Defying anyone with red blood in their veins not to respond to the crazy virtuoso of Pillow Squawk’s plot and not be lifted by the moment-by-moment enjoyment it delivers.

A gleefully addictive read the transgressive thrill of reading Pillow Squawk is mesmerizingly assured as we once again find Anderson at his very best. A five star read it is unreservedly recommended!

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★ ★ ★ ★ ★

"I’ve got a little list – of society offenders who might well be
underground…"
Grady Harp

For those who may think they have read the epitome book by the potent scribe Robin Anderson, open the first page of PILLOW SQUAWK and discover that there is no limit to this man’s gifts! Anderson has polished his recipe for entertainment to a fare-thee-well. He creates impossibly ludicrous characters who happen to bounce off each other in the most unexpected way, fills his stories with incidents that can only fall into the 'naughty range', and yet his manner of writing is so sophisticated and solid that about one third of the way
through his books the reader realizes the farce is meant as good-humored fun and should not be taken too seriously or dissected or analyzed because the author is always just around the corner (or on the next page) with another guffaw to top all previous ones.

This time ‘round Anderson surprises us with a jolly, entertaining opening of kids discussing body parts – genitalia and propinquities – in an hilarious manner and an open door to the grand story that follows. He knows how to sculpt characters that are ‘over the top’ and make them so credible that we enter their bizarre lives and discover their flaws – and assets – all the while laughing out way through the story.

Anderson provides a terse synopsis that explains this deftly woven plot’s content: ‘Notwithstanding the predictions of crumpled fortune cookie messages, questionable fortune tellers and paranormal horror scopes (pun intended) the future remains stubbornly unpredictable: fortunate for some and less fortunate for others. For the ambitious young Millie Carter, Susan Turner and Tamara Aldwych, two out of the three are lucky. For ambitious young Italians Alberto Pontevecchio and Carlos Berio; Frenchman Michel Coulon, South African Piet Van Der Merwe and American Nat Levinson: three out of five are favoured. Enter a sinister serial killer with a penchant for Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado whose anatomisation of Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner, sees his “little list” of the chosen few embracing their so-called “executions” across continents. Will Millie, with aspirations of becoming a top lawyer achieve her goal? Likewise, will Susan become a respected veterinary surgeon-cum-writer and Tamara an adored, international super star? Will Alberto achieve his ambition becoming international super star and super stud while Carlos seeks fame and fortune in America? Will Michel achieve his ambition of restoring the family fortune and will Piet achieve his goal as a successful academic-cum-vintner? Last, but certainly not least, what exactly does Nat eventually achieve? All seems well and should end well until William Barlow Junior - aka Ko-Ko the Lord High Executioner - enters their lives: aided and abetted by Dingbat, his loyal, four-legged sidekick.’

Said before, say again, Make sense? Of course not, because that is one of the zillions of gifts Robin Anderson brings to his novels: merry and fabulous confusion that he generously and eloquently sorts out for us. Robin is one of a kind, and thank goodness he keeps us so beautifully entertained. Highly recommended.