Villa Incognito
 First edition (hardcover) | |
| Author | Tom Robbins |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Bantam Books |
Publication date | 2003 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 241 pp |
| ISBN | 0-553-80332-8 |
| OCLC | 51478089 |
| 813/.54 21 | |
| LC Class | PS3568.O233 V55 2003 |
Villa Incognito is a novel by Tom Robbins published in 2003. The author opens the novel with the line, "It has been reported that Tanuki fell from the sky using his scrotum as a parachute.", as the reader is introduced to a Japanese ancestor spirit, named Tanuki, that is similar in appearance to a badger.[1]
Characters
Villa Incognito begins with the story of Tanuki, an ancient Japanese badger-like creature who possesses the ability to shapeshift and a penchant for sake and women. Tanuki is a "semi-god" with an unusually large scrotum and is portrayed alongside a beautiful young female character, who continues Tanuki's lineage with the use of a chrysanthemum seed embedded in the roof of her mouth, three American MIAs who deliberately remain in Laos long after the United States (US)' involvement in the Vietnam War has ended, and two sisters, who are related to one of the missing American soldiers.
Plot
Following the arrest of one of the MIAs, for trafficking drugs while dressed as a priest, the novel depicts American life in a post-9/11 context through the involvement of the two sisters.
References
- ↑ Jim Fingal (2008). "Would You Like Mayonnaise With Your Genitalia? Tom Robbins's phantasmagoria of modern things". The Harvard Book Review. Harvard College. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
External links
- AFTRlife - A Tom Robbins playground (fansite)
- Oral history interview with Tom Robbins, 1984 Mar. 3, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
- From Blowing Rock to Windy Cliff: A Tentative Chronology
- A biographical essay
- Basking Robbins: An interview with Tom Robbins, 1985