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The Collected Stories
"A devastating fine collection of Theroux's short fiction that should establish him among the contemporary masters of the form". -- New York NewsdayWritten over a period of twenty-five years, the more than sixty stories in this volume are funny and sardonic, sensuous and evocative, streaked with terror and cruelty. Richly varied in tone and subject -- ghost story, murder mystery, sexual farce, political satire, culture-clash parable -- all glow with Paul Theroux's intelligence, elegance, and ironic wit; with his marvelous sense of place; with his ear for dialogue; and with his tragicomic vision.
Theroux's canvas stretches from London to Southeast Asia, Boston to Paris, Africa to Eastern Europe, Moscow to the tropics. He portrays colonials, emigres, diplomats, students, would-be writers, academics, and children. Many are trapped in alien situations or loveless relationships, or are overwhelmed by larger cultural tremors. Full of suspense and the unexpected, this first major retrospective of Theroux's short fiction is "a welcomed second chance to read some of his best work" and confirms his reputation as "an irresistible storyteller"
Content:
World's end
Zombies
The imperial icehouse
Yard sale
Algebra
The English adventure
After the war
Words are deeds
White lies
Clapham junction
The odd-job man
Portrait of a lady
The prison diary of Jack Faust
A real Russian ikon
A political romance
Sinning with Annie
A love knot
What have you done to our Leo?
Memories of a curfew
Biographical notes for four American poets
Hayseed
A deed without a name
You make me mad
Dog days
A burial at Surabaya
Polvo
Low tide
Jungle bells
Warm dogs
The consul's file
Dependent wife
White Christmas
Pretend I'm not here
Loser wins
The flower of Malaya
The autumn dog
Dengué Fever
The South Malaysia pineapple growers' association
The butterfly of the Laruts
The tennis court
Reggie Woo
Conspirators
The Johore murders
The tiger's suit
Coconut gatherer
The last colonial
Triad
Diplomatic relations
Dear William
Volunteer speaker
Reception
Namesake
An English unofficial rose
Children
Charlie Hogle's earring
The exile
Tomb with a view
The man on the Clapham omnibus
Sex and its substitutes
The honorary Siberian
Gone west
A little flame
Fury
Neighbors
Fighting talk
The Winfield wallpaper
Dancing on the radio
Memo.
Theroux's canvas stretches from London to Southeast Asia, Boston to Paris, Africa to Eastern Europe, Moscow to the tropics. He portrays colonials, emigres, diplomats, students, would-be writers, academics, and children. Many are trapped in alien situations or loveless relationships, or are overwhelmed by larger cultural tremors. Full of suspense and the unexpected, this first major retrospective of Theroux's short fiction is "a welcomed second chance to read some of his best work" and confirms his reputation as "an irresistible storyteller"
Content:
World's end
Zombies
The imperial icehouse
Yard sale
Algebra
The English adventure
After the war
Words are deeds
White lies
Clapham junction
The odd-job man
Portrait of a lady
The prison diary of Jack Faust
A real Russian ikon
A political romance
Sinning with Annie
A love knot
What have you done to our Leo?
Memories of a curfew
Biographical notes for four American poets
Hayseed
A deed without a name
You make me mad
Dog days
A burial at Surabaya
Polvo
Low tide
Jungle bells
Warm dogs
The consul's file
Dependent wife
White Christmas
Pretend I'm not here
Loser wins
The flower of Malaya
The autumn dog
Dengué Fever
The South Malaysia pineapple growers' association
The butterfly of the Laruts
The tennis court
Reggie Woo
Conspirators
The Johore murders
The tiger's suit
Coconut gatherer
The last colonial
Triad
Diplomatic relations
Dear William
Volunteer speaker
Reception
Namesake
An English unofficial rose
Children
Charlie Hogle's earring
The exile
Tomb with a view
The man on the Clapham omnibus
Sex and its substitutes
The honorary Siberian
Gone west
A little flame
Fury
Neighbors
Fighting talk
The Winfield wallpaper
Dancing on the radio
Memo.
660 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1997
16 people are currently reading
291 people want to read
About the author
Paul Theroux
238 books2,606 followersPaul Edward Theroux is an 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 travelogue 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.
He is the father of Marcel and Louis Theroux, and the brother of Alexander and Peter. Justin Theroux is his nephew.
He is the father of Marcel and Louis Theroux, and the brother of Alexander and Peter. Justin Theroux is his nephew.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
October 1, 2023
People who think of Theroux as a venomous old git should try his collected stories. More than The Great Railway Bazaar, more than The Mosquito Coast, they give you the best of the man: observant, varied and not a stranger to compassion.
The best pieces are from the World's End collection and sensibly reprinted first. The story 'Zombies' is about a woman novelist not unlike Jean Rhys. 'World's End' is about a loving father and describes happiness with conviction. 'White Lies' (first printed in Playboy) is my enduring favourite: a revenge tale with a twist that uses the African locale and its insects superbly.
Theroux is weakest on America, perhaps needing an outsider's view to sharpen his pen.
The best pieces are from the World's End collection and sensibly reprinted first. The story 'Zombies' is about a woman novelist not unlike Jean Rhys. 'World's End' is about a loving father and describes happiness with conviction. 'White Lies' (first printed in Playboy) is my enduring favourite: a revenge tale with a twist that uses the African locale and its insects superbly.
Theroux is weakest on America, perhaps needing an outsider's view to sharpen his pen.
October 27, 2007
"Life was so simple, and marriage only a complication. Marriage also implied a place: You were married and lived in a particular house; unmarried, yhou lived in the world, and there were no answers required of you.
Ah, Paul. You speak so well.
Ah, Paul. You speak so well.
September 15, 2013
For a while now, I've been stuck inside my cocoon of Indian writing and travelogues, except for occasional forays. My biggest peeve was that I couldn't identify with international fiction. And Paul Theroux, with this book, just laughed. :)
The book has 5 parts, the last 2 with an obvious connection, but the remaining stories spans geographies, contexts and webs that humans create with their emotions and relationships. The first three have troubled marriages, stagnant relationships, death, deception, love and separation, set everywhere from Russia to Africa to Asia. Some of them poignant, and some of them seemingly mundane. There's even a story that seems to be set in the future - Warm Dogs, quite chilling, actually. My favourite from all these sections is 'Algebra', a wonderfully simplistic study in human relationships. The characters are people who I could easily identify with, not just because of the ways in which they have been etched, but also the excellent prose that made me 'feel' the settings they were in. Places and events are so well described that it's easy to imagine the foreign locales that one has never seen. There are subtle twists, ones which require you to pay attention - ones that 'reward' you for it. :)
The next two sections are based on the postings of a fictional Foreign Service office, first in Ayer Hitam, a boondocks in Malaysia and then in London. The characters overlap in stories, even as new ones are brought to the fore and stories written about them. The Ayer Hitam section felt like a mashup of English August and Malgudi Days, if you can somehow imagine that. :) Over stories, the characters become familiar to you, and it's almost as though you were there in the offices, the bungalows and houses and at the parties - a fly on the wall.
London, though more 'civilised', and full of potential, paled a bit in comparison (for me) to the earlier section. However, the office politics and the constant realignment of relationships (including the narrator's own) kept me engaged right till the very end. In a way, the first and last stories are about coming full circle.
I like an author's story collections, because it gives me a feel of the author - the breadth and depth, and I'm immensely happy to have discovered one, whom I feel will be a favourite. Someone who reminded me that in the end, a good story is essentially all about the human condition. The book goes straight into my favourites. :)
The book has 5 parts, the last 2 with an obvious connection, but the remaining stories spans geographies, contexts and webs that humans create with their emotions and relationships. The first three have troubled marriages, stagnant relationships, death, deception, love and separation, set everywhere from Russia to Africa to Asia. Some of them poignant, and some of them seemingly mundane. There's even a story that seems to be set in the future - Warm Dogs, quite chilling, actually. My favourite from all these sections is 'Algebra', a wonderfully simplistic study in human relationships. The characters are people who I could easily identify with, not just because of the ways in which they have been etched, but also the excellent prose that made me 'feel' the settings they were in. Places and events are so well described that it's easy to imagine the foreign locales that one has never seen. There are subtle twists, ones which require you to pay attention - ones that 'reward' you for it. :)
The next two sections are based on the postings of a fictional Foreign Service office, first in Ayer Hitam, a boondocks in Malaysia and then in London. The characters overlap in stories, even as new ones are brought to the fore and stories written about them. The Ayer Hitam section felt like a mashup of English August and Malgudi Days, if you can somehow imagine that. :) Over stories, the characters become familiar to you, and it's almost as though you were there in the offices, the bungalows and houses and at the parties - a fly on the wall.
London, though more 'civilised', and full of potential, paled a bit in comparison (for me) to the earlier section. However, the office politics and the constant realignment of relationships (including the narrator's own) kept me engaged right till the very end. In a way, the first and last stories are about coming full circle.
I like an author's story collections, because it gives me a feel of the author - the breadth and depth, and I'm immensely happy to have discovered one, whom I feel will be a favourite. Someone who reminded me that in the end, a good story is essentially all about the human condition. The book goes straight into my favourites. :)
July 23, 2020
I tried to finish this and white knuckled my way to page four-hundred, but I just couldn’t manage it.
The stories are inconsequential, petty little people talking about a minor problem. This can work and be funny, or sad, I’ve read and loved many stories about storms in teacups.
One story was about a young child using the wrong terminology on a boat (it’s not a rope, it’s a line) and how terrible this error was. It sounds like a comedy but Theroux seems to sincerely believe these minor fusses are life and death matters.
The female characters are introduced tits first, with a detailed description of their breasts. After a few stories I felt like a dirty old man.
Whenever other countries and races came up, racism became apparent. At first I didn’t mind as this could have been the characters individual personality. However when Theroux wrote an Indian character, it was blatant. The Indian character talked about his own religion, but somehow seemed to only have a tourists understanding and described himself as a primitive. Theroux doesn’t try to inhabit and understand his characters, he simply writes thinly veiled versions of himself.
The overall tone of the book is, an American tourist who would rather eat at McDonalds than try the local cuisine.
A chore to read.
The stories are inconsequential, petty little people talking about a minor problem. This can work and be funny, or sad, I’ve read and loved many stories about storms in teacups.
One story was about a young child using the wrong terminology on a boat (it’s not a rope, it’s a line) and how terrible this error was. It sounds like a comedy but Theroux seems to sincerely believe these minor fusses are life and death matters.
The female characters are introduced tits first, with a detailed description of their breasts. After a few stories I felt like a dirty old man.
Whenever other countries and races came up, racism became apparent. At first I didn’t mind as this could have been the characters individual personality. However when Theroux wrote an Indian character, it was blatant. The Indian character talked about his own religion, but somehow seemed to only have a tourists understanding and described himself as a primitive. Theroux doesn’t try to inhabit and understand his characters, he simply writes thinly veiled versions of himself.
The overall tone of the book is, an American tourist who would rather eat at McDonalds than try the local cuisine.
A chore to read.
March 2, 2011
I haven't really read this whole book. I have been picking it up lately. I love it, but it's really varied and also long. Sometimes there is a dull part about being a diplomat, but more often there is a very interesting part that may or may not be about being a diplomat. Mostly it's excellent to read and delves deeply into several genres. The regular short story style short stories in the beginning are my favorites-- "Algebra" makes me do The Running Man and The Cabbage Patch at the same time. If I could do The Worm, I would do it in appreciation of this short story about dinner parties. I would also do some Greek dancing, if I knew how, in celebration of the upstairs neighbor character "Mr. Momma."
May 8, 2009
Strange if interesting book. The first half of the book contains poignant stories of relationships (usually sundered) and relationships that are near cloying but not enough to make one sick. And then there are stories that end abruptly without point - like they are a Sinfeldian account of what happened in someone's life on a given day - any day.
The second half of the book is quite funny in that it is set in two diplomatic outposts where the main character is stationed (Malaysia and London). The characters are well teased out and the storyline is well limned and quite the fast read. Nice!!
The second half of the book is quite funny in that it is set in two diplomatic outposts where the main character is stationed (Malaysia and London). The characters are well teased out and the storyline is well limned and quite the fast read. Nice!!
January 1, 2012
A collection of short stories. I listened to about half of them on cassette. I lost interest thereafter.
December 30, 2014
What a romp.
December 31, 2020
2.5 Stars. Sorta interesting stories that takes you into a subculture of Beta-male soyboys. A whiny professor whose personal angst and drama that lead to nowhere (some loser PHD who never got laid) and other stories about expats living in africa). Somewhat interesting to read about their life abroad, not much more or anythnig interesting happeneing. The last story is another beta-male soyboy US Embassy Diplomat who also never got laid and he finally gets some sex and whines about his yearning for the first woman he bedded (probably the 2nd in his whole life). He has angst about her bc he can't quite have her. Lots of describing how he met her, the wall paper at the party etc (that have nothing to do with the storyline - but it's tolerable as this superfluous poo takes you into his boring Diplomat world, sorta). I'm giving better descriptions than what the stories actually are. My review makes these stories seem more interesting than they are. Anyway, his unobtainable desire turns out to be a commie agitator but he wants her anyway and the story just stops.
All the stories have no conclusions - endings - resolutions - denounments. None. 0. It's sometimes a thing for many short stories to just stop. The story stops in the middle of something it seems with no conclusion leaving you hanging leaving the reader thinking "that's all? what happens now? wut?" That is an accepted short story writing technique that is common that it's acceptable and almost standard. It's fine but the reader should be aware of this technique and not expect anything more. Probably done bc the writer has no idea where to go and has to end the story sometime. Short stories have different structures than novels and the ending, with no real ending, is more standard than not. Theroux's stories all end this way. They don't even take you off a cliff or to a cliff. They stop miles away on the way to the cliff. It's fine, the reader just needs to accept this. If you want conclusive stories with rising plots - you won't find it here. These stories are better than OK - 2.5 stars.
All the stories have no conclusions - endings - resolutions - denounments. None. 0. It's sometimes a thing for many short stories to just stop. The story stops in the middle of something it seems with no conclusion leaving you hanging leaving the reader thinking "that's all? what happens now? wut?" That is an accepted short story writing technique that is common that it's acceptable and almost standard. It's fine but the reader should be aware of this technique and not expect anything more. Probably done bc the writer has no idea where to go and has to end the story sometime. Short stories have different structures than novels and the ending, with no real ending, is more standard than not. Theroux's stories all end this way. They don't even take you off a cliff or to a cliff. They stop miles away on the way to the cliff. It's fine, the reader just needs to accept this. If you want conclusive stories with rising plots - you won't find it here. These stories are better than OK - 2.5 stars.
July 21, 2018
There's a lot here!
The last 2/3 is basically a novel of the diplomatic service in episode form. Involving characters, a firm sense of "not around here." I'd like to have a friend that did the same thing look at it.
The last 2/3 is basically a novel of the diplomatic service in episode form. Involving characters, a firm sense of "not around here." I'd like to have a friend that did the same thing look at it.
September 28, 2024
Listening to audio only finished 3%. the first story is about poets whose names I recognize but I'm not really interested in their eating pizza conversation..... Maybe i will try a physical book so I can skip to the next story...something the audio book's "table of contents" does not show oddly.
March 30, 2023
4.5. Intricately stories. Beautiful writing. Theroux is a master craftsman.
July 11, 2009
There are some pretty ugly characterizations, though - the author, like many of his generation, is skilled at molding his own prejudice into a character. Particularly the self-loathing East Indian. Still, I enjoyed this collection as markers of a particular time. They are beautifully written, and of course not everything has changed since.
August 1, 2007
waktu itu lagi pengen nulis buku ttg buildings and places, and my sister recommended that I read Paul Theroux's books. Berhubung bukunya tebel-tebel, jadi aku pinjem yang collected stories. Sempet baca beberapa cerita pertama. Kind of liked it. Tapi ga habis...
April 21, 2008
Only got through the first 1/4 of the book, but I loved it! Will pick it back up some time soon. Pending library fees :)
February 23, 2016
I do not always like short stories but these were wonderful
October 17, 2016
Mostly good. Some quite gripping, with surprise endings. Some utterly boring. I enjoyed the Consul's Files series of stories the most out of all of them.
October 31, 2009
Piced it up in Cambridge Mass. Excellent intro to te breadth of his fiction.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews