Villa Incognito [Paperback]

Tom Robbins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 27, 2004

Imagine there are American MIAs who chose to remain missing after the Vietnam War. Imagine a family in which four generations of strong, alluring women share a mysterious connection to an outlandish figure from Japanese folklore. Imagine them part of a novel that only Tom Robbins could create—a magically crafted work as timeless as myth yet as topical as the latest international threat. But no matter how hard you try, you’ll never imagine what you’ll find inside the Villa Incognito: a tilt-a-whirl of identity, masquerade, and disguise that dares to pull off “the false mustache of the world” and reveal the even greater mystery underneath. For neither the mists of Laos nor the Bangkok smog, neither the overcast of Seattle nor the fog of San Francisco, neither the murk of the intelligence community nor the mummery of the circus can obscure the pure linguistic phosphor that illuminates every page of one of America’s most consistently surprising and inventive writers.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Donald Barthelme once said, "Those who never attempt the absurd never achieve the impossible." Robbins (Still Life with Woodpecker; Jitterbug Perfume; etc.) has made a career of attempting and achieving both, and in this, his eighth novel, he pulls it off again. Here we have weirdness personified, a quirky, outrageous concoction that is a joy to the imagination. The novel begins with the story of Tanuki, a badgerlike Asian creature with a reputation as a changeling and trickster and a fondness for sake. Also part of the cast is a beautiful young woman who may or may not have Tanuki's blood in her veins (but definitely does have a chrysanthemum seed embedded in the roof of her mouth), and three American MIAs who have chosen to remain in Laos long after the Vietnam War. Events are set in motion when one of the MIAs, dressed as a priest, is arrested with a cache of heroin taped to his body. In vintage Robbins style, the plot whirls every which way, as the author, writing with unrestrained glee, takes potshots at societal pillars: the military, big business and religions of all ilks. The language is eccentric, electrifying and true to the mark. A few examples: "The afternoon passed more slowly than a walnut-sized kidney stone"; "He crooned the way a can of cheap dog food might croon if a can of cheap dog food had a voice"; "Dickie's heart felt suddenly like an iron piano with barbwire strings and scorpions for keys." While the ending is a bit of a letdown, this is delectable farce, full of tantalizing secrets and bizarre disguises.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Robbins opens with a folkloric tale, set in Japan, of a tanuki--a raccoonlike wild dog with enormous testicles and a thirst for sake--who marries a woman and sires a daughter before angry gods break up the union. Jumping to the present, the arrest of a drug-smuggling priest in Guam--actually an MIA American who disappeared on a bombing run over Vietnam--threatens to blow the cover of his flight crew, who chose to remain incognito in Laos after the war had ended. The two stories are linked by a circus performer who may be the descendant of the original interspecies romance. While the flyers are featured players, the supporting cast includes an earthy military intelligence officer, a cold-blooded CIA spook, and a woman with a sexual attraction to clowns. The largest theme centers on the nature of identity, but there's a lot swirling around the kitchen sink, including a fleeting incorporation of the events of 9/11. It's a fun read, although the things about Robbins that his fans love--clever wordplay, nudging asides, and political and philosophical digressions--are the same things that infuriate the nonbelievers, and for them, this short work may seem slow. He remains something of a poor man's Vonnegut, lacking the careful measure necessary to bake his notions into a cake that won't fall. Keir Graff
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (April 27, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553382195
• ISBN-13: 978-0553382198
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (104 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #310,190 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 5 for Wordplay, 4 for Plot, 3 for Resolution, April 29, 2003

By 

Karl Miller "kemspeaks" (Phoenixville, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Villa Incognito (Hardcover)

Tom Robbins is a great American treasure. His novels have entertained (and confounded) his ardent fan base for nearly 30 years, and his style of writing is as original as it gets.
"Villa Incognito", his 8th (and, along with the classic "Still Life", one of his shortest) novels opens in typical Robbins fashion - parallel stories seperated by generations, farcical characters and an alluring female whom you somehow know is going to tie the entire story together. The action in "VI" is primarily set in Asia (which gives Robbins a chance to focus on herion as the drug of reference in this novel), where 3 Vietnam (thought to be) MIA's have established their own Walden. Meanwhile, the possible offspring of a Tanuki (don't ask, just trust me that only Robbins could make such a mythical character work SO WELL) and her circus comrades worms her way into the story, creating the mischief that Robbins works so well with his female creations (think Amanda from "Another Roadside Attraction", or the exotic dancer from "Skinny Legs and All" ).
As always, Robbins words simply sparkle. His ability to fashion similes remains unchallenged in modern writing. And the "modern time" sections of the story allow Tom (and his fans) the pleasure of Bush-bashing, 9/11 ruminating, and general "religion-government-organized society is failing us" rambling.
Unfortunately, the story runs into serious trouble after about 150 pages. You see where he wants to go, but lately Robbins has had a bad habit of letting his strong talents get in the way of a solid finish. It's not as bad as "Fierce Invalids" (which crumbled under its own weight), but then again, at only 230 or so pages, there isn't as much room to fail here.
One really has small reason to complain whenever there is some fresh TR on the market - no other wirter makes a reader simply giggle quite like Tom. And he isn't afraid to poke fun at sacred icons. This book reinforces everything I love about Robbin's writings - and reminds me why critics seem to dislike him so much.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Maybe Robbins' weakest effort?, June 16, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Villa Incognito (Hardcover)

I've read every Tom Robbins book (some multiple times), and I was thrilled to see this book released so quickly after "Fierce Invalids", but unfortunatley, I was kind of disappointed.

The first 100 pages or so, are just great - but the second half of the book kind of lays an egg in my opinion. I believe the reason this happens is because when one of the major characters - Mars Albert Stubblefied - is introduced, my energy and enthusiasm left this story. This character is just not up to par with the many great characters of wisdom and charm as in his other books, and I feel the overall story suffers a bit for this reason. He is just not a very likeable character and is portrayed to be a smart/ground breaking thinker, but most of his views make little sense, and have even less relevance to the world - even in their defiance of normal society - and this is very 'odd' for Robbins, as most of his stories thrive off of argumentive energy - that is difficult to debate. Stubblefied's theories didn't even lead me to attentive thought to be honest - which is always my favorite part of Robbins' work.

That being said, it is still worth the read, because one always learns great things when reading Robbins, and the worlds that he creates conjure journeys that all people should take once in a while in their life to escape this world for a brief moment. I still consider him the best writer of our time.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "It is what it is", September 21, 2003

By 

M. Tenenbaum (Berkeley, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Villa Incognito (Hardcover)

To reiterate what many reviewers have written, if you have never read Tom Robbins before, please don't start with "Villa Incognito." If you are an established Robbins fan, please read it with an open mind.

My main qualm is that, in the absence of a central main character (who IS the protagonist anyway -- Dickie Goldwire? Tanuki Himself?), we get a great deal of the author's voice instead. In fact, the book comes across as a thinly-veiled excuse for Tom Robbins to expound his political and philisophical views. Fortuntately, I happen to agree with many of said views, however I'm not sure that a novel is the appropriate vehicle for such a venture, and it at times verges on, well no, crosses over into preachiness, which often distracted me from the world of the story.

That being said, while I don't think this novel is quite up to the literary standards set by "Jitterbug Perfume" and others, I thoroughly enjoyed it once I accepted it for what it was -- among other things, an exploration of the relevance and pervasiveness of Myth in our modern age. Robbins' inspired prose continues to astound me (even if after nine novels, a few of his requisite metaphors come out a little forced), and I don't think I have yet to meet a Robbins character that I didn't want to know more about, although it must be said that the brevity of this novel does, with a few exceptions, leave you a bit dissatified where character development is concerned.

All in all, I feel extremely lucky to be around at a time when Tom Robbins is a living, working author and there is always the next wacky novel to look forward to.