Paul Theroux 172064 222083067 2008-06-27T13:59:03Z RussBot 279219 Robot-assisted fix [[WP:DPL|links to disambiguation page]] Spanish '''Paul Edward Theroux''' (born [[April 10]], [[1941]]) is an [[United States|American]] [[travel writer]] and [[novelist]], whose best known work is ''[[The Great Railway Bazaar]]'' (1975), a travelogue about a trip he made by train from [[Great Britain]] through Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, through South Asia, then South-East Asia, up through East Asia, as far east as [[Japan]], and then back across Russia to his point of origin. Although perhaps best known as a travel writer, Theroux has also published numerous works of fiction, some of which were made into feature films. He was awarded the 1981 [[James Tait Black Memorial Prize]] for his novel ''[[The Mosquito Coast]]''. ==Biography== Theroux was born in [[Medford, Massachusetts|Medford]], [[Massachusetts]], the son of [[Roman Catholic|Catholic]] parents, a [[French-Canadian]] father and an [[Italy|Italian]] mother. His French last name originates from the region around [[Sarthe]] and [[Yonne]] in France. It is quite common in Francophone countries and is originally spelled Théroux. After he finished his university education at the [[University of Massachusetts Amherst]], he joined the [[Peace Corps]] and taught in [[Malawi]] from 1963 to 1965. While working there, he helped a political opponent of [[Hastings Banda]] escape to [[Uganda]], for which he was expelled from Malawi and thrown out of the Peace Corps. He then moved to Uganda to teach at [[Makerere University]]. During his tenure at Makerere University, Theroux began his three-decade friendship with novelist [[V. S. Naipaul]], then a visiting scholar at the university. During his time in Uganda, an angry mob at a demonstration threatened to overturn the car in which his pregnant wife was riding. The incident made Theroux decide to leave Africa. He moved again to [[Singapore]]. After two years of teaching at the [[University of Singapore]], he settled in [[England]], first in [[Dorset]], and then in south [[London]] with his wife and two young children. Theroux currently lives in [[Hawaii]]. He is currently married to Sheila Donnelly (since [[November 18]], [[1995]]). He was married to Anne Castle from 1967 to 1993. He has two sons with his first wife – [[Marcel Theroux]] and [[Louis Theroux]] – both of whom are writers and television presenters. In his books Theroux frequently alludes to his ability to speak [[Italian language|Italian]], [[French language|French]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]] and [[Chinese language|Chinese]]. ==Literary work== His first [[novel]], ''[[Waldo (1967 novel)|Waldo]]'', was published during his time in Uganda and was moderately successful. He published several more novels over the next few years, including ''Fong and the Indians'' and ''Jungle Lovers''. On his return to Malawi many years later, he found that this latter novel, which was set in that country, was still banned, a story told in his book ''Dark Star Safari''. He moved to London in 1972, before setting off on an epic journey by train from [[Great Britain]] to [[Japan]] and back again. His account of this journey was published as ''[[The Great Railway Bazaar]]'', his first major success as a travel writer, and which has since become a classic in the genre.<ref>[http://www.travelliterature.org/reviews/bazaar.shtml Travelliterature.org]</ref> <ref>[http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=2-9780618658947-0 Powells.com ]</ref> He has since written a number of other travel books, including descriptions of traveling by train from [[Boston]] to [[Argentina]] (''[[The Old Patagonian Express]]''), walking around the United Kingdom (the poorly-received ''[[The Kingdom By The Sea]]''), visiting China (''[[Riding the Iron Rooster]]''), and traveling from Cairo to Cape Town (''[[Dark Star Safari]]''). As a traveler he is noted for his rich descriptions of people and places, laced with a heavy streak of irony often mistaken for [[misanthropy]]. Other non-fiction by Theroux includes ''Sir Vidia's Shadow'', an account of his personal and professional friendship with Nobel laureate V. S. Naipaul that ended abruptly after thirty years. ==Controversy== By including versions of himself, his family, and acquaintances in some of his fiction, Theroux has occasionally disconcerted his readers. "A. Burgess, Slightly Foxed: Fact and Fiction", a story originally published in ''[[The New Yorker]]'' magazine (August 7, 1995), describes a dinner at the narrator's home with author [[Anthony Burgess]] and a book-hoarding philistine lawyer who nags the narrator for an introduction to the great writer. “Burgess” arrives drunk and cruelly mocks the lawyer, who introduces himself as “a fan”. The narrator’s wife, like Theroux’s then-wife, is named Anne and she shrewishly refuses to help with the dinner. The magazine later published a letter from Anne Theroux denying that Burgess was ever a guest in her home and expressing admiration for him, having once interviewed the real Burgess for the BBC: “I was dismayed to read in your August 7th edition a story … by Paul Theroux, in which a very unpleasant character with my name said and did things that I have never said or done.” When the story was incorporated into Theroux’s novel, ''My Other Life'' (1996), the wife character is renamed Alison and reference to her work at the BBC is excised. Theroux's sometimes caustic portrait of Nobel Laureate [[V.S. Naipaul]] in his memoir ''Sir Vidia's Shadow'' (1998) is at considerable odds with his earlier, gushing portrait of the same author in ''V.S. Naipaul, an Introduction to His Work'' (1972). On December 15, 2005 the ''[[New York Times]]'' published an op-ed piece by Theroux called "The Rock Star's Burden" criticizing [[Bono]], [[Brad Pitt]], and [[Angelina Jolie]] as "mythomaniacs, people who wish to convince the world of their worth." Theroux, who lived in Africa as a [[Peace Corps]] Volunteer and a university teacher, adds that "the impression that Africa is fatally troubled and can be saved only by outside help - not to mention celebrities and charity concerts - is a destructive and misleading conceit." [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/15/opinion/15theroux.html]. However, in 2002, on publication of his Africa travelogue ''[[Dark Star Safari]]'', reviewer John Ryle of the London [[Guardian]] contradicted Theroux's views on international aid, accusing him of ignorance. "I'm not an aid worker, but I was working in Kenya myself at about the time Theroux passed through ... It's not that Theroux is wrong to criticise the empire of aid. In some ways the situation is even worse than he says ... The problem is that Theroux knows next to nothing about it. Aid is a failure, he says, because 'the only people dishing up the food and doling out the money are foreigners. No Africans are involved'. But the majority of employees of international aid agencies in Africa, at almost all levels, are Africans. In some African countries it is international aid agencies that provide the most consistent source of employment ... The problem is not, as Theroux says, that Africans are not involved; it is, if anything, the opposite. How come he didn't notice this? Because, despite his hissy fits about white people in white cars who won't give him lifts, he never actually visits an aid project or the office of an aid organisation." [http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084,823582,00.html] ==Film adaptations== ''[[Saint Jack]]'', Theroux's 1973 novel about an affable American panderer operating in Singapore during the Vietnam War, was filmed by director [[Peter Bogdanovich]] (1979). His novel ''[[Doctor Slaughter]]'' was made into a film, ''[[Half Moon Street]]'' (1986). His novel ''[[The Mosquito Coast]]'' was also made into a film of the same name (1986). ''Chinese Box'' (1997), a film about the [[British Empire|British]] handover of [[Hong Kong]] to the [[People's Republic of China]], credits Theroux as a source for the story, based on themes he explores in his 1997 novel ''Kowloon Tong''. ==Upcoming projects== Theroux is working on a travel book in which he will revisit the settings of ''[[The Great Railway Bazaar]]''. Also forthcoming is a novel entitled ''Mother''. ==Novels and short story collections== {| | *[[Waldo (1967 novel)|Waldo]] (1967) *[[Fong And The Indians]] (1968) *[[Murder In Mount Holly]] (1969) *[[Girls At Play]] (1971) *[[Jungle Lovers]] *[[Sinning With Annie]] (1972) *[[Saint Jack]] (1973) *[[The Black House]] (1974) *[[The Family Arsenal]] (1976) *[[The Consul's File]] *[[Picture Palace]] (1978) *[[A Christmas Card]] *[[London Snow]] *[[World's End (Theroux novel)|World's End]] (1980) *[[The Mosquito Coast]] (1981) |&nbsp;&nbsp;|| *[[The London Embassy]] (short stories, 1982) *[[Half Moon Street]] (1984) *[[Doctor Slaughter]] (1984) *[[O-Zone (novel)|O-Zone]] (1986) *[[The White Man's Burden (Theroux novel)|The White Man's Burden]] *[[My Secret History]] (1989) *[[Chicago Loop (novel)|Chicago Loop]] (1990) *[[Millroy The Magician]] (1993) *[[The Greenest Island]] (1995) *[[My Other Life]] (1996) *[[Kowloon Tong (novel)|Kowloon Tong]] *[[Hotel Honolulu]] *[[Stranger At The Palazzo D'Oro]] (short stories) *[[Blinding Light]] (2006) *[[The Elephanta Suite]] (three novellas, 2007) |} ==Non-fiction== *V.S. Naipaul, an Introduction to His Work (1972) *[[The Great Railway Bazaar]] (1975) *[[The Old Patagonian Express]] (1979) *[[The Kingdom By The Sea]] (1983) *Sailing Through China (1984) *Sunrise With Seamonsters (1985) *The Imperial Way (1985) *Riding The Iron Rooster (1988) *To The Ends Of The Earth (1990) *The Happy Isles Of Oceania (1992) *[[The Pillars Of Hercules]] (1995) *Sir Vidia's Shadow (1998) *Fresh Air Fiend (2000) *Nurse Wolf And Dr. Sacks (2001) *[[Dark Star Safari]] (2002) ==Other writings== *{{cite news | first=Paul | last=Theroux | coauthors= | title=Mr. Bones | date=[[2007-09-17]] | publisher= | url =http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2007/09/17/070917fi_fiction_theroux | work= The New Yorker | pages= | accessdate= | language= }} *{{cite news | first=Paul | last=Theroux | coauthors= | title=Into the lion's den | date=[[2001-09-01]] | publisher= | url =http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/generalfiction/0,,544848,00.html | work=Guardian Unlimited | pages= | accessdate=2007-02-03 | language= }} (Review of Naipaul's "Half a Life") *{{Harvard reference | Surname=Theroux | Given=Paul | Authorlink=Paul Theroux | Title=Living With Geese | Journal=Smithsonian | URL=http://smithsonianmag.com/issues/2006/december/geese.php?page=1 | Year=December, 2006}}. *{{cite news | first=Paul | last=Theroux | coauthors= | title=America the Overfull | date=[[2006-12-31]] | publisher= | url=http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0102-63.htm | work =The New York Times | pages = | accessdate = 2007-02-03 | language = }} ==Notes and References== <references/> * "[http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.whatispc.notable.artsandlit Notable Former Volunteers / Arts and Literature]". Peace Corps official site. Accessed [[5 January]] [[2007]]. ==External links== {{wikiquote}} * [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PaulTheroux/ Paul Theroux Discussion Group] * [http://www.paultheroux.com/ Fan site for Paul Theroux] * [http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/catalog/authordetail.cfm?authorID=1043 Houghton Mifflin (publisher) - official site for Paul Theroux] * [http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/467/2021015.html Peace Corps biography of Paul Theroux] * [http://wiredforbooks.org/paultheroux/ Audio Interviews with Paul Theroux by Don Swaim of CBS Radio - RealAudio at Wired for Books.org] * [http://bu.univ-angers.fr/EXTRANET/AnthonyBURGESS/NL2Theroux.htm ''Burgess as Fictional Character in Theroux and Byatt,'' John J. Stinson (Université d'Angers, 2000)] {{DEFAULTSORT:Theroux, Paul}} [[Category:1941 births]] [[Category:American novelists]] [[Category:American travel writers]] [[Category:Americans of French Canadian descent]] [[Category:Italian-Americans]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Members of The American Academy of Arts and Letters]] [[Category:Peace Corps volunteers]] [[Category:Roman Catholic writers]] [[Category:University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni]] [[ca:Paul Theroux]] [[de:Paul Theroux]] [[es:Paul Theroux]] [[fr:Paul Theroux]] [[it:Paul Theroux]] [[nl:Paul Theroux]] [[pl:Paul Theroux]] [[ru:Теру, Пол]] [[fi:Paul Theroux]] [[sv:Paul Theroux]]