'It has been reported that Tanuki fell from the sky using his scrotum as a parachute,' taunts the first line. Despite being very well prepared, I commenced to plunge in, as they say in AA, 'doing the same thing expecting different results.' And plunge in one must, for there is no gentle way to enter Villa Incognito.įrom its very first paragraph Robbins seems to dare the reader to keep reading. It would have been a surprise to find anything but the same gurulike figures spewing whimsical advice, having great sex, and living comfortably off the grid. Villa Incognito (Bantam, $27.50), Robbins' newest effort, is indeed rife with the expected themes: the government's blatant misuse of power, the taboo yet compelling allure of young women, and the draw of enlightenment above all other temptations. At the end of a Robbins book, it's easy to feel like one has received a special spiritual care package with that unique Robbins recipe for making us wiser, kinder, and more thoughtful about the big mysteries of life. Robbins manages to wrap surprising slices of truth inside tightly wrought plots. I admit that, just like the adoring hordes who crowd his readings, I am drawn to Tom Robbins by a force I can't fully comprehend. In the cult of Tom Robbins, it seems there are two main sects of readers: Those who adore him despite his often absurd literary gyrations and those who think him a verbose show-off. 'Villa Incognito' out-Robbins Tom Robbins Meet Me in Cognito: That trademark Robbinsian flair and flamboyance is on parade in his new novel.

Villa incognito