Jitterbug Perfume is Tom Robbins' fourth novel, published in 1984. The major themes of the book include the striving for immortality, the meaning behind the sense of smell, individual expression, self-reliance, sex, love, and religion. Beets and the god Pan figure prominently. The novel is a self-described epic, with four distinct storylines, one set in 8th century Bohemia and three others in modern day New Orleans, Seattle, and Paris. Tom Robbins at a reading of Wild Ducks Flying Backward in San Francisco on September 24, 2005 Thomas Eugene Robbins (born July 22, 1936 in Blowing Rock, North Carolina) is an American author. ... For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... This article is about the literary concept. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... Bantam Books is a major U.S. publishing house owned by Random House and is part of the Bantam Dell Publishing Group. ... See also: 1983 in literature, other events of 1984, 1985 in literature, list of years in literature. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... “ISBN” redirects here. ... Tom Robbins at a reading of Wild Ducks Flying Backward in San Francisco on September 24, 2005 Thomas Eugene Robbins (born July 22, 1936 in Blowing Rock, North Carolina) is an American author. ... This article is about the year. ... A beet (called beetroot in the United Kingdom and its former colonies, as well as table beet, garden beet, blood turnip or red beet) is a plant of the genus Beta of which both the leaves and root are edible. ... Pan (Greek , genitive ) is the Greek god of shepherds and flocks, of mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music: paein means to pasture. ... Flag of Bohemia Bohemia (Czech: ; German: ) is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western and middle thirds of the Czech Republic. ... New Orleans is the largest city in the state of Louisiana, United States of America. ... City nickname Emerald City City bird Great Blue Heron City flower Dahlia City mottos The City of Flowers The City of Goodwill City song Seattle, the Peerless City Mayor Greg Nickels County King County Area   - Total   - Land   - Water   - % water 369. ... This article is about the capital of France. ...

Plot summary

A powerful and righteous 8th century king named Alobar narrowly escapes euthanasia at the hands of his own subjects, as it is their custom to kill the king at the sight of his first grey hair. After fleeing, no longer a king but a simple peasant, he travels through Eurasia, and eventually meets the goat-god Pan, who is slowly losing his powers as the world turns toward Christianity. In India, he bumps into the adult incarnation of a child he used to know, Kudra, who goes on to become his wife. As with most of Robbins' couples, their mutual libido is enormous, and their love quite like something out of a fairy tale. (7th century — 8th century — 9th century — other centuries) Events The Iberian peninsula is taken by Arab and Berber Muslims, thus ending the Visigothic rule, and starting almost 8 centuries of Muslim presence there. ... For mercy killings not performed on humans, see animal euthanasia. ... For other uses, see Eurasia (disambiguation). ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is...

After an encounter with a mysterious group known as "The Bandaloop," Alobar is set down the path towards eternal life (which, according to Robbins, can be attained by a consistent ritual of sex and bathing). Alobar and Kudra, successful in their immortality, prance about Europe until the 18th Century, when they attempt a sort of new transcendental meditation and become separated into different astral planes. For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... // Transcendental Meditation or TM is a trademarked meditation technique introduced in 1958 by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi that involves the mental use of specific sounds, called mantras. ... The astral plane, also called the astral world or desire world, is a plane of existence according to esoteric philosophies, some religious teachings and New Age thought. ...

Meanwhile, in present-day, a "genius waitress" named Priscilla struggles with a difficult job in a low-end Mexican restaurant. Priscilla is an amateur perfumer, and is slowly going crazy trying to locate a base note for her new fragrance, something she believes will be almost magical, a fragrance she discovered in the gift of a thousand-year-old bottle. While dealing with this, she also juggles the unwanted advances of a lesbian co-worker, a brief affair with an eccentric millionaire obsessed with life extension, and a mysterious stranger who keeps delivering beets to her apartment. Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, objects, and living spaces a pleasant smell. ...

In New Orleans, Priscilla's stepmother, the Madame Devalier, is a successful perfumer, and is also working on a fragrance of her own, intent on taking on the big companies of Paris. She also seeks something magical — the ultra-fragrant jasmine from a mysterious man with the helmet of swarming bees, Bingo Pajama. Jasminum. ...

In Paris, the LeFever Parfumaire is concerned about their eccentric leader, Marcel, who equates smell as the most important factor in the forward movement of the evolutionary process. After witnessing an eclipse, he is obsessed with his own scent. This article is about the capital of France. ... This article is about astronomical eclipses. ...

The story lines eventually converge into a climax in New Orleans, with a brief stop in another dimension. The main message is summarized in the cryptic Erleichda, loosely translated as "lighten up".

Trivia

• In the somewhat esoteric final lines of the book, note this: "And then you'll be blue. Bluer than indigo." This is based on an old Chinese proverb by Xun Zi: blue dye is made from indigo colored grass, yet the blue dye's color is much deeper than the color of its origin. In other words, the pupil can exceed the master.

shit Xunzi Xún Zǐ (荀子, or Hsün Tzu c. ...

Release details

• Hardcover – ISBN 0-553-05068-0, published in 1984 by Bantam Books

This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the year. ... Bantam Books is a major U.S. publishing house owned by Random House and is part of the Bantam Dell Publishing Group. ...