Rating: 
Summary: The lights are on but nobody is home in this villa.
Review: This contents of this book have much in common with the house of the title when originally found - the structure is there but it is empty. There are no great characters in this book which makes it easy to put down.As with others I eagerly awaited the release of this book after enjoying his last book "Fierce Invalids ...". Unfortunately I was left very disappointed. For those new to Robbins do not read this first you will miss out on some very fine novels - just go back in time.
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: Villa Inconsequential
Review: Tom Robbins latest and slightest of novels opens with a wacky Japanese myth about a randy, big-balled badger with a taste for sex and sake. Fast forward a few hundred years and we pick up the story of circus performers, government agents, drug smugglers and fringe dwellers of all shapes and sizes. Robbins tends to write about nothing and everything simultaneously and sometimes within the same sentence. At times Robbins get carried away with his thinly veiled PC 101 pontificating - bursting with bumper sticker philosophies and similies galore. Yet at other times his prose is as light and airy as meringue. These empty literary calories do taste good going down but unfortunately they melt away as quickly as they are ingested and provide nothing of substance or value. A fun but fogettable little diversion. What was that title again?
Rating:
Summary: Worst Robbins So Far
Review: This is Tom Robbins' worst book yet. I have read all of his books and this one isn't even complete. There are unexplored characters and no real plot to follow. Usually the plot of his books start to reveal itself late in the book, which makes me believe that this book was never really finished. Throw this book away, its trash. Pick up any of his other books and you will be much happier.
Rating:
Summary: racial stereotyping is not funny
Review: My issue is not with anything Tom Robbins wrote, but with narrator Barret Whitener: a white male who opts to read all the dialogue from Japanese characters in a bad, generic "Asian" accent. It's unbearable to listen to. In addition, Whitener can't even pronounce the simplest of Japanese words, like "sake." How many more years must transpire before an Asian person can have a voice without being mocked?
Rating: 
Summary: Offbeat and fun
Review: "Villa Incognito" provides all the elements that a Tom Robbins fan looks for: philosophy, mysticism, religion, mythology, and craziness. Add to that a raccoon-dog from Japanese legend, some MIA deserters, several generations of unusual interspecies women, the culture and color of Southeast Asia, the circus, and a chrysanthemum seed. The result is an offbeat and fun story that somehow makes perfect sense. This is not Robbins' best novel, but in my opinion it is one of the better ones. It is quite short, but what it lacks in quantity is compensated for in quality. I won't bother recounting the basic story, not only because other reviewers have already done so, but because describing the plot of a Robbins novel is... well, ineffective. You have to be there to appreciate it. The cast of characters is imaginative, colorful, and sometimes downright hilarious. The writing style is playful and witty, with galloping metaphors and word play in abundance. The social, religious and political satire is biting. The theme of identity and deception permeates the story on both a personal and national level. If you are a fan of Robbins, dive into this book. If you have never read his work before, start with "Still Life With Woodpecker" or "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" instead.
Rating:
Summary: Stupid & Not Funny
Review: Let me get this straight... this guy has a fanatical cultlike following of readers? Writing this crap? Sixty pages in and I don't care what happens to anybody in this book. The next time I want witty and wacky, I'm going to reread some Douglas Adams.
Rating:
Summary: He could have done better
Review: I think Tom needed money when he cranked this baby out. He doesn't really get you attached to any of the characters. If you are catching an airplane to japan its better then most of the stuff out there. But not his best work, not even close really.
Rating:
Summary: A Weak Effort
Review: Tom Robbins usually commands and holds my attention with a masterful use of the language and tremendous sense of humor. This book seems to have beeen written in a hurry, and lacks the qualities that make him stand out as an author.
It was unsatisfying on most levels; but, thankfully, it was short.
I can reccomend ALL of his other works; but not this one.
Try one of his others if you are a novice Robbins fan. This might put you off him, and that would be a mistake!
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