---
product_id: 6787843
title: "Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates"
price: "S/.131"
currency: PEN
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.pe/products/6787843-fierce-invalids-home-from-hot-climates
store_origin: PE
region: Peru
---

# Global multi-continent adventure Bestselling cult classic Witty, thought-provoking prose Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates

**Price:** S/.131
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Summary

> 📖 Dive into the wildest CIA adventure you didn’t know you needed!

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates
- **How much does it cost?** S/.131 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.pe](https://www.desertcart.pe/products/6787843-fierce-invalids-home-from-hot-climates)

## Best For

- Customers looking for quality international products

## Why This Product

- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Key Features

- • **Collector’s Gem:** Used book in good condition—own a piece of literary rebellion and style.
- • **Philosophical Depth:** Explores themes of belief, belonging, and the human condition with a playful edge.
- • **Sharp, Playful Voice:** Tom Robbins’ signature witty, metaphor-rich storytelling keeps you hooked.
- • **Cult Bestseller Status:** Ranked #877 in Fiction Satire, a must-have for literary trendsetters.
- • **Globetrotting Narrative:** Follow a CIA agent’s wild journey across four continents—adventure meets intellect.

## Overview

Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates is a bestselling novel by Tom Robbins blending a fast-paced CIA adventure with sharp wit and philosophical musings. This used copy in good condition offers readers a unique mix of humor, global escapades, and thought-provoking themes, making it a cult favorite among discerning literary adventurers.

## Description

A “deranged and delightful concoction” ( Fortune ) about a CIA agent with uniquely peculiar proclivities, from the New York Times bestselling author of Still Life with Woodpecker “Clever, creative, and witty, Robbins tosses off impassioned observations like handfuls of flower petals.”— The San Diego Union-Tribune Switters is a contradiction for all seasons: an anarchist who works for the government; a pacifist who carries a gun; a vegetarian who sops up ham gravy; a cyberwhiz who hates computers; a man who, though obsessed with the preservation of innocence, is aching to deflower his high-school-age stepsister (only to become equally enamored of a nun ten years his senior). Yet there is nothing remotely wishy-washy about Switters. He doesn’t merely pack a pistol. He is a pistol. And as we dog Switters’s strangely elevated heels across four continents, in and out of love and danger, discovering in the process the “true” Third Secret of Fatima, we experience Tom Robbins—that fearless storyteller, spiritual renegade, and verbal break dancer—at the top of his game. On one level this is a fast-paced CIA adventure story with comic overtones; on another it’s a serious novel of ideas that brings the Big Picture into unexpected focus; but perhaps more than anything else, Fierce Invalids is a sexy celebration of language and life.

Review: Enjoy this book - This is one of the funniest and most entertaining books I've ever read. And it has the most quotable quotes. Here's a sample: "The two things they all had in common were a cynical suspicion of politico-economic systems and a disdain for what passed for "patriotism" in the numbed noodles of the manipulated masses." "The old 'for reasons of national security' alibi. Heh! I'm a loyal American of long standing, but that doesn't mean I'm so flag-addled I can't recognize our favorite euphemism for 'governmental hanky-panky swept under the rug.'" "It had to be good because all around it, in every direction, as far as his eyes could see, the world was as empty and dry as a dummy's condom." "And what is your faith, exactly, Mr. Switters? What do you believe in?" "Umm. Well. I try not to" "You try not to believe?" "That's right. I'm on the run for the Killer B's." "Pardon? What have killer bees to do with?..." "B for Belief. B for Belonging. The B's that lead to most of the killing in the world. If you don't Belong among us, then you're our inferior, or our enemy, or both; and you can't Belong with us unless you Believe what we Believe. Maybe not even then, but it certainly helps. Our religion, our party, our tribe, our town, our school, our race, our nation. Believe. Belong. Behave. Or Be damned." "Man," said Switters, "that's a nasty-looking crowd of clouds over there, all rough and raggedy-assed and milling about, like a herd of white-trash shoppers just crawled out of shacks and sheds and trailer homes for the end-of-winter sale at Wal-Mart." "Switters, are you ever, on you own, inclined toward prayer?" He barely hesitated. "When I feel I'm in need of shark repellent, I try to pray. When I feel I'm in need of smelling salts, I try to meditate. I'm not saying that one's necessarily superior to the other -- both are capable of being reduced to a kind of metaphysical panhandling -- but if more people smelled the salts and woke the hell up, they'd find they wouldn't need to be fretting about sharks all the time." "Although he seemed highly intelligent, Switters could detect that his was an intellect of the shrewd variety, the kind that grasped facts and figures and understood virtually nothing of genuine importance; a well-oiled brain dedicated to the defense, perpetuation, and exploitation of every cliché and superstition in the saddlebags of institutionalized reality."
Review: Plot - 4, Characters - 4, Theme - 4, Voice - 4, Setting - 4, Overall - 4 - 1) Plot (4 stars) - An ex-CIA agent is sent by his grandma to release a parrot in South America only to become infected by a strange illness whose cure can only be found in an oasis in the Middle East. It's a typical Robbins wacky ride, so don't expect an especially linear plot. That said, it still definitely has structure, mystery, and builds toward a resolution. 2) Characters (4 stars) - Switters is the cocksure adventurer. Intellectual, bold, spontaneous. He's a great guy to ride along with on a fun journey. However, there didn't seem to be much room for his inner growth. What did he want to become? Or was he already perfect when the novel began? 3) Theme (4 stars) - The central theme seems to be about the power of mindful playfulness ... that joy is wisdom. In addition, there were dozens of other little ideas to keep you pondering--from what makes someone human (humor, imagination, eroticism, spirituality, rebelliousness, and aesthetics, in case you were wondering), to what our inner awareness can show us vs. the awareness brought by ingesting certain plants, to the boundaries and powers of language. Robbins likes his theories, and he sprinkles them liberally in this work. 4) Voice (4 stars) - Robbins likes to enjoy himself, and it comes through in his prose. He doesn't just have a proclivity for metaphor, he turns those metaphors into little anthropomorphized stories that have a life of their own. When not supporting whimsical metaphor, his sentences are jaunty and smooth. A fine fine writer, but sometimes it felt like he might be nervous to convey any of life's sadder side--depression, loss, hopelessness. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I want books filled with the sad stuff, just that it exists and perhaps it should get some page time to make things seem more real. 5) Setting (4 stars) - Robbins' descriptions of the various locales were always vivid and entertaining. However, the observational distance of his writing sometimes left me feeling a little distant from these places. 6) Overall (4 stars) - All 4s equals a 4. I'd recommend it. It was a lively, thought-provoking, zany ride.

## Features

- Used Book in Good Condition

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #129,397 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #877 in Fiction Satire #1,091 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction #4,497 in Literary Fiction (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,074 Reviews |

## Images

![Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/616sGx8KdDL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Enjoy this book
*by C***N on November 30, 2013*

This is one of the funniest and most entertaining books I've ever read. And it has the most quotable quotes. Here's a sample: "The two things they all had in common were a cynical suspicion of politico-economic systems and a disdain for what passed for "patriotism" in the numbed noodles of the manipulated masses." "The old 'for reasons of national security' alibi. Heh! I'm a loyal American of long standing, but that doesn't mean I'm so flag-addled I can't recognize our favorite euphemism for 'governmental hanky-panky swept under the rug.'" "It had to be good because all around it, in every direction, as far as his eyes could see, the world was as empty and dry as a dummy's condom." "And what is your faith, exactly, Mr. Switters? What do you believe in?" "Umm. Well. I try not to" "You try not to believe?" "That's right. I'm on the run for the Killer B's." "Pardon? What have killer bees to do with?..." "B for Belief. B for Belonging. The B's that lead to most of the killing in the world. If you don't Belong among us, then you're our inferior, or our enemy, or both; and you can't Belong with us unless you Believe what we Believe. Maybe not even then, but it certainly helps. Our religion, our party, our tribe, our town, our school, our race, our nation. Believe. Belong. Behave. Or Be damned." "Man," said Switters, "that's a nasty-looking crowd of clouds over there, all rough and raggedy-assed and milling about, like a herd of white-trash shoppers just crawled out of shacks and sheds and trailer homes for the end-of-winter sale at Wal-Mart." "Switters, are you ever, on you own, inclined toward prayer?" He barely hesitated. "When I feel I'm in need of shark repellent, I try to pray. When I feel I'm in need of smelling salts, I try to meditate. I'm not saying that one's necessarily superior to the other -- both are capable of being reduced to a kind of metaphysical panhandling -- but if more people smelled the salts and woke the hell up, they'd find they wouldn't need to be fretting about sharks all the time." "Although he seemed highly intelligent, Switters could detect that his was an intellect of the shrewd variety, the kind that grasped facts and figures and understood virtually nothing of genuine importance; a well-oiled brain dedicated to the defense, perpetuation, and exploitation of every cliché and superstition in the saddlebags of institutionalized reality."

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Plot - 4, Characters - 4, Theme - 4, Voice - 4, Setting - 4, Overall - 4
*by O***N on August 25, 2013*

1) Plot (4 stars) - An ex-CIA agent is sent by his grandma to release a parrot in South America only to become infected by a strange illness whose cure can only be found in an oasis in the Middle East. It's a typical Robbins wacky ride, so don't expect an especially linear plot. That said, it still definitely has structure, mystery, and builds toward a resolution. 2) Characters (4 stars) - Switters is the cocksure adventurer. Intellectual, bold, spontaneous. He's a great guy to ride along with on a fun journey. However, there didn't seem to be much room for his inner growth. What did he want to become? Or was he already perfect when the novel began? 3) Theme (4 stars) - The central theme seems to be about the power of mindful playfulness ... that joy is wisdom. In addition, there were dozens of other little ideas to keep you pondering--from what makes someone human (humor, imagination, eroticism, spirituality, rebelliousness, and aesthetics, in case you were wondering), to what our inner awareness can show us vs. the awareness brought by ingesting certain plants, to the boundaries and powers of language. Robbins likes his theories, and he sprinkles them liberally in this work. 4) Voice (4 stars) - Robbins likes to enjoy himself, and it comes through in his prose. He doesn't just have a proclivity for metaphor, he turns those metaphors into little anthropomorphized stories that have a life of their own. When not supporting whimsical metaphor, his sentences are jaunty and smooth. A fine fine writer, but sometimes it felt like he might be nervous to convey any of life's sadder side--depression, loss, hopelessness. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I want books filled with the sad stuff, just that it exists and perhaps it should get some page time to make things seem more real. 5) Setting (4 stars) - Robbins' descriptions of the various locales were always vivid and entertaining. However, the observational distance of his writing sometimes left me feeling a little distant from these places. 6) Overall (4 stars) - All 4s equals a 4. I'd recommend it. It was a lively, thought-provoking, zany ride.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Shocked
*by V***N on March 20, 2021*

I have been reading Tom Robbins since he first was published in the 1970's. He is a brilliant wordsmith, who can take a completely improbable plot, populate it with curious strangers, throw in some stunning and unexpected descriptors, wrap the whole thing in a tissue of absurdity, and make the whole seemingly disconnected mess gel into an enormously entertaining read. I hadn't read anything by him in many years and discovered "Villa Incognito" on my Kindle. I whipped through that one and am about a third through this novel, but I realized something very troubling. In both of these novels he is building an uncomfortable case in support of pedophilia. In both novels his middle aged male characters spend time in Thailand in the company of teenage prostitutes, and Robbins has made every possible attempt to normalize it. In fact he's painted being a teenage hooker with a pastel, watercolor brush that would have us believe that underage girls having sex with old men for money is a normal, healthy thing that is simply good fun for everyone involved. That, of course, is absolute BS. The kind of BS you hear from every pervert who is trying to get others to buy a ticket on their twisted train to justify their own behavior. It's sick, it's wrong, and it makes me wonder about Robbins' personal life. As in maybe someone with authority should be looking at him real hard. If you wonder why I gave him any stars at all it is because he is a fine writer. Nonetheless, he is possibly a reprehensible human being.

---

## Why Shop on Desertcart?

- 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016
- 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories
- 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price
- 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members)
- 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection
- ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews

**Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.pe/products/6787843-fierce-invalids-home-from-hot-climates](https://www.desertcart.pe/products/6787843-fierce-invalids-home-from-hot-climates)

---

*Product available on Desertcart Peru*
*Store origin: PE*
*Last updated: 2026-08-14*