Villa Incognito

By: Tom Robbins

Narrated by: Barrett Whitener

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 people, 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.

©2003 Tom Robbins (P)2003 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Robbins...is to words what Uri Geller is to spoons: He bends sentences into playful escapades....Bottom line: Another bedside attraction."—People

"Brilliantly offbeat satire."—Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Ebullient, irreverent, hilarious…Villa Incognito is ribald fairy tale meets…Apocalypse Now.” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch

loved the book, narrator is a no

the print book is one my favorite tom robbins books. i thought i would enjoy it on audible. the preview clip seemed fine but within the first chapter the narrator starts making bad and garbled accents. these are supposed to be japanese i guess. they are just unacceptable. i immediately returned this title.

More excellent Robbins

If you love Tom Robbins, then you will like this book. The narration is fantastic, and the story is compelling. The classic problem is that it is difficult to wrap up so many stories at the end, so he uses an epilogue to finish the book, which was a little bit of a let down. That being said, it has some great characters, storylines and made me laugh out loud.

Decent storytelling, stereotypical accents

I struggled through the terrible, dated, stereotypical Asian accents to appreciate this novel. my wife loves Robbins and knows my interest in stories of yokai, but man, the way that Asian accents are depicted in verbal yellowface was really off-putting.

Very wonderfully strange!

Thanks etc etc thanks again and more Tom Robbins!
What more do you want?
You obviously haven’t read the book!

Relies on weirdness

I read Robbins quite a bit 10 years ago and it captured my imagination more as an early 20 something. Now, he seems to rely on sophistry and strangeness to make up for a lack of real substance. His prejudices are apparent in this one particularly and there is a fair number of new-liberal propaganda and cliches throughout. What is left after attacking politics and religion and tradition is basically sex, drugs, and rock and roll. I was left feeling uniformed and kind of hollow. I will say, he has some good metaphors though. And there are some funny parts in the details

The performance was picture perfect

As with most of Tom Robbins books, the roundabout where you go through the story is just amazing and the performance of the narrator was picture. Perfect. Loved it.

Some great sentences, but an incomplete story

Many people would argue that Robbins never focuses very much on plot or story, but I have found his stream of consciousness adventures to be some of the most fun, clever and engrossing books that I have read.

That being said, Villa Incognito was a bit of a dissapointment. This novel follows the same formula as his other books, and it seems that half way through, he got bored with writing another novel about absurdity, gurus, and wahoo and decided to just end it. This really feels like a story that he just got tired of writing and so he tied it together at the end real quick.

Still, it is Robbins, so you'll find some of the most playful use of English and structure around. I still got a happy fizzy feeling reading this, but with the rapid conclusion of developing plots, the reader is left feeling a bit cheated in the end.

If you like Robbins and have read his other work. You will definitely enjoy this, but I would recommend reading his other titles first.

Incredible narrator

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I mean, Tom Robbins, if you enjoy his books you're obviously going to enjoy this one...but THAT NARRATOR! I feel like he did a wonderful job.

Who was your favorite character and why?

All of them. Madam Ko was badass.

What about Barrett Whitener’s performance did you like?

He was a natural.

If you could take any character from Villa Incognito out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Hmmm...Either Stubblefield or the fox whose name I cannot spell.

Fantasy creatues, smugglers and circus folk

Another fantastic, amusing, clever tale from the master of all things wonderful and profane. While not his best book IMO. Still a wild, fun adventure with clever and interesting characters. Second time through and just as fun.

Tom Robbins is both funny and insightful

Makes me want to run away to Eastern Asia! A mixture between his sardonic humor, quirky philosophy and apocalyptic view of modern American society makes this an , albeit short, instant classic! Loved this title! Can't wait to listen to more! Next is Even Cowgirls Get the Blues! I hope his other titles are added soon!