Rating: 
Summary: A Spiritual Fable with Vivid Epigrams
Review: "East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet." Mr. Robbins has taken that premise as a challenge to his ingenuity and he crafts a memorable tale to show the collision of mindsets. I particularly admired his willingness to contrast ancient religious beliefs like animism with the major established creeds. As a result, the story becomes secondary to his educational purpose . . . and that makes the book a weak one from many perspectives. If you don't want to learn about eastern philosophies, then you will hate this book. It's taking you somewhere where you don't want to go. If you already know a lot about eastern philosophies, you will find this book is much too superficial to be interesting. If you are looking for a good story that keeps moving from page to page, you will probably be disappointed in the slow pace of describing synchronicity . . . which seems to be the author's purpose. If you want to study how to display philosophical issues in a novel, then the book is of average interest to writers and critics. I would suggest looking to Atlas Shrugged as a better way to get the point across . . . by giving the story a driving force and memorable characters. The story develops from several perspectives, beginning with the spiritual messenger, Tanuki, embodied on earth as a tanuki, an East Asian species of wild dog with a large scrotum. Tanuki begets a child with a human woman, and impresses a seed into the child's palate. The descendant of that child becomes a circus performer who trains, what else, tanukis. From the United States, three aviators find themselves shot down and left behind in Laos. Eventually forgotten, they escape and decide to live the simple life in a mountainous region that evokes memories of James Hilton's Shangri-La in Lost Horizon. Needing to trade for the luxuries they crave, they find ways of turning the local raw materials into wealth. In the course of doing this, they find themselves ethically challenged. The circus comes to their mountain to escape the Communist purges and they meet Tanuki's descendent. Their lives intertwine in synchronous ways that suggest a Divine hand. Then the existence of the aviators is discovered by the United States. What will the authorities do? To me the best part of the book comes in the beautiful metaphor of the cable strung across the gorge that tightrope walkers use to cross. This thin strand is the physical connection between the Villa Incognito and the "real world." Crossing the gap is safe and even entertaining when east and west combine, but can be fatal when either one takes the trip alone or in the dark. As I finished the book, I found myself wondering why the author thought that you have to go to the East to experience it daily. Can't you simply use meditation and a changed perspective to bring the East with you in the West? He thinks not . . . but is that right?
Rating: 
Summary: Tom, Grow UP!
Review: Or at least, just GROW! You've been writing the same stuff since Roadside Attraction. At least, in the past, you've appeared to make an effort. But Villa, Tom, Tom, Tom! It's like you never even intended to finish the book. Being outrageous is not the same as being original. Take some time off, reflect on what you've become (yourself thirty years ago), and try again. In the meantime, I recommend to you dear offended review reader, to try some of the newer crop of "outrageous" authors out there. Christopher Moore, for example (though not Fluke, that was a let down), try Lamb.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic Jambalaya of Pure, Wise Pleasure...
Review: I just finished re-reading "Villa Incognito." I understand some fans' reactions that it is not the same book as Tom's prior epistles. Why in heck would it be? "It is what it is. You are what you it. There are no mistakes." I will re-read this one, as I have read and re-read every one of Tom's novels, until the next one comes along. There is nobody else on the planet writing anything close to this blend of Taoist, Tantric, Fantastic Jambalaya of pure wise pleasure. God bless you, Tom.
Rating: 
Summary: "It is what it is"
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Maybe Robbins' weakest effort?
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A bit lightweight, but thoroughly entertaining nonetheless.
Review: Tom Robbins has moved through his career from the "small" novel (Another Roadside Attraction, Even Cowgirls get the Blues, Still Life with Woodpecker) to the "epic" novel (Jitterbug Perfume, Skinny Legs and All, Fierce Invalids) and has now returned to the "small" novel. Apparently, judging from previous reviews, there's a body of folks out there who see this as a regression, a sellout or whatever. I don't see it that way. Villa Incognito has all the trade marks of a Robbins "small" novel. The wordplay here is more pronounced and whimsical than is usually the case in the "epic" novels-though every now and then one senses that Tom's trying a bit too hard on that score in this book. The book has a choppier, more fragmented feel to it than is traditionally the case in the "epic". And-what may be the real rub with many who criticize the book-the "message" here is more overtly political (and liberal) than philosophical than tends to be the case with the "epic' format. Having said all that, this is a typical Robbins novel-recognizing that such a concept is basically an oxymoron, as Robbins worldview and writing style render the notion of "typical" meaningless. The Robbins trademarks are all here: Wacky yet somehow tangible characters, mystical happenings, philosophical rambling, a fair amount of sexual innuendo, a highly energetic, nearly stream of consciousness writing style rendered with flair and gusto. Robbins also has an uncanny knack for rendering a sense of place for exotic locales which is on full display here. His descriptions of post Vietnam War Laos and Thailand make these places seem more real than the vast majority of historical treatises or travelogues one could read. This isn't a top notch Robbins book. However, run-of -the-mill Robbins is a heck of a lot better than most of the garbage that graces the best sellers lists, and this ends up being a thoroughly entertaining read.
Rating:
Summary: Different, but good
Review: While this novel is different from Tom Robbin's former works, it is a thoroughly enjoyable and thought-provoking piece. Yes, he does deal with some politics in it. No, it's not always clear who the protagonist actually is. But take it as it is, with an open mind. I prefer an author who experiments over time, and Mr. Robbins appears to be doing that with this book. It may not be for everybody, but I loved it.
Rating:
Summary: pla-bonga!
Review: Tom Robbins is the kind of writer that manages to get under your skin and ferment there until he becomes a way of life. I'm not sure that he'd appreciate that (who knows what he's really like, it's dangerous to assume anything from the books). But because of this, his readers appear to take his books personally. I'm no exception here. "Jitterbug Perfume" introduced me to his work at the exact point in my life that I needed to become aware of him, and "Fierce Invalids" also hit me at a spookily coincidental time. Lucky me. "Villa Incognito" is a bit different - it's another rollercoaster ride, but like most rides you get the feeling that you really need to go round once more to get what you paid for. Not that "Villa" isn't another great Tom Robbins novel - it is - but it doesn't quite seem to have a momentous *something* underpinning the brilliant wordplay and characterisation. Like the characters, the plot is hiding. Like all his books, it makes you think. As I said at the start, it's hard to remove the writer from his work and the work from your own innards, and he shouldn't be expected to perform repeat performances of the same shows over and again. "Villa" feels like a stopgap - and why not (at least it's better than "Half-Asleep in Frog Pajamas" which truly disappointed in the end). I'm rambling here - Tom gives you diarrhoea but it's purely the pleasureable sort. As usual, I'm overly expectent for the next rush.
Rating:
Summary: Worst effort from a once good writer
Review: Hopefully this book is an anomaly for Robbins. I have read all of his previous books and generally liked all of them. However, this book was painful to read and overall really bad (there is no other way to put it - it is a stinker). If you want to read something from Robbins, try one of his earlier books, like Jitterbug Perfume. Even some of his more recent books, like Fierce Invalids or Frog Pajamas are worth reading. Just avoid this one or you will be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: A Big Disappointment
Review: I wanted to like this book, but it was a bit too much of a stretch. The characters did not really interest me. To be honest, I didn't finish it.
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