Archetypal Theroux

Sublime collection covering his own life & that of many other authors as well as a ragtag collection of public figures. Insightful, often pithy & deliciously curated, this is a magnificent addition to any bookshelf.

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A surprise favourite

I'm a big fan of Paul Theroux. He consistently 'tells it as it is', so his observations come across as both genuine and original - without being muddled up with the author's ego.

This book has escaped my attention until recently. The collection of anecdotes about people famous and less famous who have crossed paths with Theroux are really easy listening. They also offer a quite remarkable insight into some characters that you may already think you know from the press.

Personally, I found the chapters about Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Jackson - and their close, confident relationship - really fascinating, despite not being especially drawn to celebrity biographies.

A great book from start to finish, so a solid recommendation.

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Great variety of topics.... mostly very interesting

I pedantically removed one star for the narrator’s performance for his embarrassing pronunciation of “Tsvangirai” in one of the chapters about Zimbabwe, and one other place where an attemped accent jarred a little but it was otherwise very well narrated.

Paul Theroux’s book covering a wide variety of topics, reminiscences and opinions was excellent. Some chapters were scholarly and sounded so, others were light and entertaining, some regarding for example his hitch-hike to Amherst was very well told and had a number of nice twists. The chapter about his family and his father was very interesting and despite the light touch, carried a lot of emotional power. That’s what I thought anyway. I have read many of Mr. Theroux’s books, often like he says of his days in Malawi, serendipitously finding then in second hand shops or leave one-take one bookshelves in a café in Maputo, feeling they were left there, sent there for me. Once I left one almost finished on the bus from Blantyre to Harare. Mr. Theroux’s talk of Africa rings true (I arrived twenty years after he did) and his opinions and insights on literature are engrossing and thought-provoking. I was very glad I bought it.

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4 people found this helpful