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Villa Incognito by Tom Robbins
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Villa Incognito

by Tom Robbins

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1,298172,824 (3.56)21
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Showing 1-5 of 17 (next | show all)
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  mulliner | Oct 17, 2009 |
I enjoyed this book muchmore than I expected. Typically I don't go for fantasy/magical realism or humor, but Robbins blended in just enough cynical political commentary and erudite references to make this a very fun book on many levels. I love the over-the-top vocabulary and bizarre analogies used to discuss things that would otherwise be riduclous or coarse. I didn't love the nice neat packaging at the end-- I thought is was kind of a sell-out and didn't blend well with the vague and mysterious nature of the rest of the book. But overall, a great quick read-- I think Robbins will have a place in my library as respite between more demanding reads (I can't read Tolstoy and Dickens all the time or my head might explode). ( )
  technodiabla | May 7, 2009 |
My heavens to Betsy, this is fanciful stuff! The (mostly) human part of the narrative deals with three ex-pat Americans in Laos who supply heroin to hospices as a charitable enterprise. Along the way, we have erudition, particularly in areas of faith. The book is chock-full of thought-provoking insights in this area. We are steeped in the regional lore of Southeast Asia, and that brings us to the tanuki, the wild Japanese racoon dog.

In "Incognito," the tanuki seek out human females to mate with, and when they succeed, it ruins the woman for any other relationship. When the tanuki and the woman conceive, another human female is born, and becomes a teacher to pass on certain aspects of the regional lore. My efforts so far to meld this plot line into the overall theme of faith and charity as it is illicitly pursued in Laos - I've come a cropper.

Highly diverting work. I love the erudition, and the offbeat sensuality, especially in the heart and mind of the tanuki. Plotwise, this is a very straightforward book; don't come for the plot only, come for the fun! ( )
  LukeS | Mar 18, 2009 |
I almost bogged down a few dozen pages in (I actually got bored for a while - a Robbins first for me!) but persevered, and fortunately got the pay-off: for me the book got better as it approached the end.

Highly fragmented and non-linear, the various micronarratives actually came together at the end, though any plot seems to have been simply a vehicle for Stubblefields (Robbins?) pontifications.

The expected Robbins irreverent humor and crazy wisdom persisted throughout. ( )
  mbattenberg | Jan 14, 2009 |
My second Tom Robbins book . I have a lot more to read from him and I'm looking forward to it! Witty, entertaining, out-right weird and funny. My best guess, typical Tom Robbins. ( )
  Sean191 | Nov 21, 2008 |
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It has been reported that Tanuki fell from the sky using his scrotum as a parachute.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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File:Villa incognito cover photo.jpg

Villa Incognito

Book description

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0553382195, Paperback)

Imagine that there are American MIAs who chose to remain missing after the Vietnam War.

Imagine that there is a family in which four generations of strong, alluring women have shared a mysterious connection to an outlandish figure from Japanese folklore.

Imagine just those things (don’t even try to imagine the love story) and you’ll have a foretaste of Tom Robbins’s eighth and perhaps most beautifully crafted novel--a work as timeless as myth yet as topical as the latest international threat.

On one level, this is a book about identity, masquerade and disguise--about “the false mustache of the world”--but neither the mists of Laos nor the smog of Bangkok, 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 linguistic phosphor that illuminates the pages of Villa Incognito.

A female fan once wrote to Tom Robbins:
“Your books make me think, they make me laugh, they make me horny and they make me aware of the wonder of everything in life.”

Villa Incognito will surely arouse a similar response in many readers, for in its lusty, amusing way it both celebrates existence and challenges our ideas about it.

To say much more about a novel as fresh and surprising as Villa Incognito would run the risk of diluting the sheer fun of reading it. As his dedicated readers worldwide know full well, it’s best to climb aboard the Tom Robbins tilt-a-whirl, kiss preconceptions and sacred cows goodbye and simply enjoy the ride.


From the Hardcover edition.

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:57:54 -0400)

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