Author Biography | Interview | Books by this Author | Read-Alikes
How to pronounce Paul Theroux: Thor-ew (which, incidentally, is different to Henry Thoreau which is pronounced like 'thorough')
Paul Theroux ('The world's most perceptive travel writer'--Daily Mail) is the author of many highly acclaimed works of fiction and nonfiction, including The Great Railway Bazaar (1975), The Mosquito Coast (1981) Riding the Iron Rooster (1983), and Mr. Bones: Twenty Stories (2014). In 2015, Paul Theroux was awarded a Royal Medal from the Royal Geographical Society for "the encouragement of geographical discovery through travel writing." This award, approved by the Queen, is the highest award attainable for a traveler, and Theroux joins the ranks of recipients including Sir Edmund Hillary, Admiral Richard Byrd and Dr. Thor Heyerdahl. His other awards include the American Academy and Institute of Arts & Letters Award for literature; the Whitbread Prize for his novel, Picture Palace; and the James Tait Black Award for The Mosquito Coast. His travelogue, The Old Patagonian Express: By Train through the Americas, and The Mosquito Coast were both nominated for the American Book Award. His novels Saint Jack, The Mosquito Coast, Doctor Slaughter and Half Moon Street have been made into films and his short-story collection London Embassy was adapted for a British mini-series in 1987. Theroux holds honorary doctorates from three American universities and remains a highly sought-after speaker nationwide.
In The New York Times Book Review, Francine Prose called his story collection Mr. Bones "a series of characteristically dark and sharply focused snapshots from the world that Theroux has observed–and invented." Theroux's book Deep South: Four Seasons on Back Roads (2015), was described by Kirkus Reviews in a starred review as "an epically compelling travel memoir," and a Publishers Weekly starred review called it "Theroux's best outing in years." In a starred review, Publishers Weekly describes the essay collection Figures in a Landscape (2018) as "a magisterial grouping of intimate remembrances, globe-trotting adventures, and incisive literary critiques."
In 2016, the Huntington Library in Pasadena, Calif. acquired Paul Theroux's papers for its collection, covering the period from 1965 to 2015. The Theroux Archive at the Huntington Library includes notebooks, autograph drafts, unpublished texts, and corrected typescript drafts for nearly all of Theroux's 51 books, as well as extensive and significant correspondence from the Nobel Prize-winning novelist V.S. Naipaul and many other writers, including Graham Greene, S.J. Perelman, Nadine Gordimer, Margaret Drabble, Iris Murdoch, Stephen Spender, Gore Vidal, Laurens van der Post, Jan Morris, William Styron, and Bruce Chatwin. "One of the most accomplished and worldly-wise writers of his generation" (The Times, London). Paul Theroux lives in Hawaii and on Cape Cod.
Paul Theroux's website
This bio was last updated on 09/27/2019. In a perfect world, we would like to keep all of BookBrowse's biographies up to date, but with many thousands of lives to keep track of it's simply impossible to do. So, if the date of this bio is not recent, you may wish to do an internet search for a more current source, such as the author's website or social media presence. If you are the author or publisher and would like us to update this biography, send the complete text and we will replace the old with the new.
You taught in Africa in the early 1960s. Why did you decide to return after
almost 40 years?
Since leaving Africa in October 1968 I thought of the places I had worked,
the people I had known, and the hope we all had. I constantly thought: What
happened? I longed to return, and I thought I would do it in the year I turned
60. My book represents one man’s road. Another person could take the same
trip and would have different experiences. That’s a truism, of course. This
trip was special to me—because the road was in part Memory Lane—and
because I loved the challenges. There is nothing in the world more vitalizing
to me that traveling in the African bush.
It is wonderful for a teacher to meet a former student and see that he or
she is gainfully employed—perhaps as a teacher; and is a responsible parent
and homeowner. This happened to me in Malawi and Uganda—wonderful memories.
My old friend Apolo Nsibambi—we used to drink and argue in the 1960s—is
now Prime Minister of Uganda. I loved seeing him after 30 years. The passage
of time is more dramatic in Africa—amazing to witness its effects, for I
first set foot there in 1963, which was another age altogether.
...
Anna Badkhen has spent much of her life in the Global South. Her immersive investigations of the world's iniquities have yielded six books of nonfiction, most recently The World Is a Carpet: Four Seasons in an Afghan Village ... (more)
If you enjoyed:
Dark Star Safari
Try:
Fisherman's Blues
by Anna Badkhen
reg Behrman is the founder, CEO, and editor-in-chief of NationSwell. NationSwell is a digital media company focused on American renewal. The team identifies the new American innovators and pioneers who are doing the most ... (more)
If you enjoyed:
Dark Star Safari
Try:
The Invisible People
by Greg Behrman
We recommend 15 similar authors
All You Have to Do Is Call
by Kerri Maher
An inspiring novel based on the true story of the Jane Collective and the brave women who fought for our right to choose.
The Wren, the Wren
by Anne Enright
An incandescent novel about the inheritance of trauma, wonder, and love across three generations of women.
25 Copies to Give Away!
A daring CIA operation threatens chaos in the Kremlin. But can Langley trust the Russian at its center?
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
