Villa Incognito by Tom Robbins

I have loved many a Tom Robbins book, but Villa Incognito just didn't do it for me. Mostly I felt cheated at the end, that things did not wrap up in a satisfying way, for me at least. The rest of it was just as wacky as usual, but with no deeper meaning. And the nagging feeling that illegal drugs of some sort might have been required to find it.

A few years back, I read a quote from an article on Tom Robbins (originally posted at the Writers Guild of America website, but no longer there). The quote explains a lot about his writing, and, in a funny way, gives Villa Incognito the satisfying ending that I crave. Now that I know how he wrote it, it all makes sense.

"Finally, Tom briefly explained how he wrote his books. He treats writing like a nine-to-five job, writing eight hours a day, Monday through Friday. No writing allowed on weekends. He gets up in the morning, makes himself breakfast, lights a cigar, and sits at his typewriter.

When he starts a novel, it works like this. First he writes a sentence. Then he rewrites it again and again, examining each word, making sure of its perfection, finely honing each phrase until it reverberates with the subtle texture of the infinite. Sometimes it takes hours. Sometimes an entire day is devoted to one sentence, which gets marked on and expanded upon in every possible direction until he is satisfied. Then, and only then, does he add a period.

Next, he rereads the first sentence and starts writing a second, rewriting it again and again until it shimmers. Then, and only then, does he add a period. While working on each sentence, he has no idea what the next sentence is going to be, much less the next chapter or the end of the book. All thoughts of where he is going or where he has been are banished. Each sentence is a Zen universe unto itself, and while working on it, nothing exists but the sentence. He keeps writing in such a manner until he eventually reaches a sentence which he works on like all the others. He adds a period and the book is done. No editing or revising in any way. When you read a Tom Robbins book, you are experiencing the words not only in the exact order that he wrote them but almost in the exact order that he thought them.

But wait a minute, I interrupted. The first sentence of your first book, Another Roadside Attraction, is 'the magician's underwear has just been found in a cardboard suitcase floating in a stagnant pond on the outskirts of Miami'. Are you telling me you wrote that sentence having absolutely no idea where it was leading?

'Yes,' he said. 'I knew I could explain it later. I like painting myself in corners and seeing if I can get out.'"

Villa Incogito by Tom Robbins

Tags: books writing Tom+Robbins