Villa Incognito
Encyclopedia
Bantam Doubleday Dell and Random House (Australia) published Villa Incognito in April and June 2003, respectively. One of the most quoted lines from the book is the very first, setting the tone for this Tom Robbins
adventure: "It has been reported that Tanuki
fell from the sky using his scrotum as a parachute."
, a raccoon-like
Asian creature with a reputation as a shapeshifter
and trickster with a lust for sake and women. Tanuki is a tanuki; a member of the species named for him. The cast also includes a beautiful young woman who has unconfirmed Tanuki-blood in her veins (but definitely has a chrysanthemum
seed embedded in the roof of her mouth), and three American MIA
s who have chosen to be "lost" in Laos
, long after U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War
ended. Typical Robbins-esque debacles ensue when one of the MIAs is arrested with heroin taped to his body, while dressed as a priest. Meanwhile, two sisters of one of the missing American soldiers are still searching for their lost relative, unfolding bizarre plot twists that paint a caricature of life in a Post-9/11 America.
The work has a flow of metaphors and similies, with phrases like: "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."
tends to compare objects with and emphasize genitalia in all things he writes, but his books are never about sex. More often they show sex as a strange, supernatural force that sweeps up the people (and in this case, demi-gods and woodland beings) mentioned in his novels. Villa Incognito is like Robbins' other works in that it has multiple plot threads woven together in diverse and seemingly unrelated ways.
The author understands that before his reader can truly appreciate the message he wants to deliver, he must align their perceptions, even if only slightly, to that of his characters. Using sex, a common taboo in western cultures, is one way he draws a line of relationship between his fictional characters and his readers. This tactic has been used liberally throughout history by professional authors, the Scriptor tantalized the minds of his readers in his depictions of the excesses of ancient Rome
, while more recently Nathaniel Hawthorne
similarly shocked his readers with sexual themes in his work The Scarlet Letter
.
and Zorba the Greek
". Perhaps the best explanation of the nature of Villa Incognito is in another example of the writing, found in this description of Tanuki's music:
A sense of freedom of movement and being is embodied within the furry confines of the immoral Tanuki, and this pure (and yet lusty) celebration of life and living is what Villa Incognito is about. His characters are aware of their station in life, they understand their circumstances and accept them.
Tom Robbins
Thomas Eugene "Tom" Robbins Thomas Eugene "Tom" Robbins Thomas Eugene "Tom" Robbins (born July 22, 1936 is an American author. His best-selling novels are serio-comic, often wildly poetic stories with a strong social and philosophical undercurrent, an irreverent bent, and scenes extrapolated from...
adventure: "It has been reported that Tanuki
Tanuki
is the common Japanese name for the Japanese raccoon dog . They have been part of Japanese folklore since ancient times...
fell from the sky using his scrotum as a parachute."
Plot introduction
Villa Incognito begins with the story of TanukiTanuki
is the common Japanese name for the Japanese raccoon dog . They have been part of Japanese folklore since ancient times...
, a raccoon-like
Raccoon Dog
The raccoon dog , also known as the magnut or tanuki, is a canid indigenous to east Asia. It is the only extant species in the genus Nyctereutes...
Asian creature with a reputation as a shapeshifter
ShapeShifter
ShapeShifter is an Application Enhancer plugin for Mac OS X developed by Unsanity that allows the user to make system-wide modifications to the appearance of the operating system's graphical interface by applying GUI skins through “injection” into running code and without modifying system files,...
and trickster with a lust for sake and women. Tanuki is a tanuki; a member of the species named for him. The cast also includes a beautiful young woman who has unconfirmed Tanuki-blood in her veins (but definitely has a chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemums, often called mums or chrysanths, are of the genus constituting approximately 30 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Asteraceae which is native to Asia and northeastern Europe.-Etymology:...
seed embedded in the roof of her mouth), and three American MIA
Missing in action
Missing in action is a casualty Category assigned under the Status of Missing to armed services personnel who are reported missing during active service. They may have been killed, wounded, become a prisoner of war, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave can be positively...
s who have chosen to be "lost" in Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, long after U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
ended. Typical Robbins-esque debacles ensue when one of the MIAs is arrested with heroin taped to his body, while dressed as a priest. Meanwhile, two sisters of one of the missing American soldiers are still searching for their lost relative, unfolding bizarre plot twists that paint a caricature of life in a Post-9/11 America.
Writing style
The author expresses his ideals by punching holes into the military, big business and religions. Such ideas as sexual congress are remarkably expressed by his prose regarding the copulation of a grown man and a 16 year-old girl:"For them not to have fucked then and there would have required such a reversal of the laws of nature as to cause Newton to spin in his coffin and NASA to discontinue the space program."
The work has a flow of metaphors and similies, with phrases like: "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."
Interpreting the author's meaning
The extracts show how Robbins depicts events in an individualistic way. The approach might be vulgar, disgusting, absurd, or even offensive to the reader, but it is intentional. The desired effect is a disturbance just large enough to make the reader see it his way, allowing the readers to enjoy an unusual perspective on the event.Sexual themes
Tom RobbinsTom Robbins
Thomas Eugene "Tom" Robbins Thomas Eugene "Tom" Robbins Thomas Eugene "Tom" Robbins (born July 22, 1936 is an American author. His best-selling novels are serio-comic, often wildly poetic stories with a strong social and philosophical undercurrent, an irreverent bent, and scenes extrapolated from...
tends to compare objects with and emphasize genitalia in all things he writes, but his books are never about sex. More often they show sex as a strange, supernatural force that sweeps up the people (and in this case, demi-gods and woodland beings) mentioned in his novels. Villa Incognito is like Robbins' other works in that it has multiple plot threads woven together in diverse and seemingly unrelated ways.
The author understands that before his reader can truly appreciate the message he wants to deliver, he must align their perceptions, even if only slightly, to that of his characters. Using sex, a common taboo in western cultures, is one way he draws a line of relationship between his fictional characters and his readers. This tactic has been used liberally throughout history by professional authors, the Scriptor tantalized the minds of his readers in his depictions of the excesses of ancient Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, while more recently Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, a judge during the Salem Witch Trials...
similarly shocked his readers with sexual themes in his work The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter is an 1850 romantic work of fiction in a historical setting, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is considered to be his magnum opus. Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston during the years 1642 to 1649, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an...
.
The Importance of Tanuki
At 256 pages, Villa Incognito is a self-confessed hedonistic yet gleeful work, with the author himself referring to the central character Tanuki as an "Asian combination of, say, FalstaffFalstaff
Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare. In the two Henry IV plays, he is a companion to Prince Hal, the future King Henry V. A fat, vain, boastful, and cowardly knight, Falstaff leads the apparently wayward Prince Hal into trouble, and is...
and Zorba the Greek
Zorba the Greek
Zorba the Greek is a 1964 film based on the novel Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis. The film was directed by Cypriot Michael Cacoyannis and the title character was played by Anthony Quinn...
". Perhaps the best explanation of the nature of Villa Incognito is in another example of the writing, found in this description of Tanuki's music:
"... the drumming sound, one intuits, that the heart used to make before the heart was domesticated and yoked; the thump of pure appetite, (so pure it is almost holy); the pounding pulse of some sweet and terrible unnamed joy. Pla-bonga pla-bonga pla-bonga."
A sense of freedom of movement and being is embodied within the furry confines of the immoral Tanuki, and this pure (and yet lusty) celebration of life and living is what Villa Incognito is about. His characters are aware of their station in life, they understand their circumstances and accept them.
- For further understanding, WikipediaWikipediaWikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
has a lengthy article discussing the being known as TanukiTanukiis the common Japanese name for the Japanese raccoon dog . They have been part of Japanese folklore since ancient times...
(or tanukiTanukiis the common Japanese name for the Japanese raccoon dog . They have been part of Japanese folklore since ancient times...
) in both fact and fiction.
External links
- AFTRlife - A Tom Robbins playground (fansite)
- A 1984 interview with Tom Robbins
- From Blowing Rock to Windy Cliff: A Tentative Chronology
- A biographical essay
- Basking Robbins Interview