Tom Robbins's first novel, Another Roadside Attraction, was published in 1971.

Although the hardcover release was not a great success, the book became a cult classic. In fact, one of Elvis Presley's close associates claimed Elvis had been reading it at the time of his death. This novel is the story of two young hippies and their encounters with the more mainstream American culture around them, a contrast revisited in Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates. Similar elements include experimentation with drugs and the irreverent subplot involving the Roman Catholic Church, only the irreverence in Another Roadside Attraction involves a botched Second Coming and a corpse at a roadside zoo.

Robbins's second novel, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, published in 1976, is best known for its 1994 film adaptation by director Gus Van Sant. Actress Uma Thurman stars as Sissy Hankshaw, who is born in a small town with...