The Vanishing Point: From the bestselling novelist and travel writer comes a brilliant new collection of short stories

by Paul Theroux

From the bestselling novelist, travel writer, and “master of the short story” (NPR) comes a brilliant new collection.

The stories in The Vanishing Point are both exotic and domestic, their settings ranging from Hawaii to Africa and New England. Each focuses on life’s vanishing points—a moment when seemingly all lines running through one’s life converge, and one can see no farther, yet must deal with the implications. With the insight, subtlety, and empathy that has long characterized his work, Theroux has written deeply moving stories about memory, longing, and the passing of time, reclaiming his status, once again, as a master of the form.

‘The most gifted, most prodigal writer of his generation’ Jonathan Raban

‘The most exciting contemporary practitioner of a literary tradition honed to elegantly crafted terseness by Somerset Maugham and Graham Greene. A terrific teller of tales and conjurer of exotic locales’ Sunday Times

316 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 13, 2025

About the author

Paul 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.

Reviews

[Silver Screen Videos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first encountered Paul Theroux in the early 1970s when I read some of his stories in popular magazines. I was impressed by the quality of his writing and developed a mental image of him as a middle-aged man. Surely, it would have taken him years to travel the world and gain the experience and maturity to pen these tales. My opinion was occasionally reinforced when I encountered novels like “The Mosquito Coast” or some of his travel writing. So, I was surprised when I had the opportunity to read “The Vanishing Point,” his latest short story collection through NetGalley. I first thought this had to be a posthumous collection because the Paul Theroux I envisioned would have been a centenarian by now. Instead, Theroux is very much alive and, at 83, hasn’t missed a step in terms of writing quality. “The Vanishing Point” reflects the same experiences and worldview I first encountered a half-century earlier, tempered by the growing awareness of advancing age.

“The Vanishing Point” comprises 18 stories, all appearing to have been written recently. Some were published previously online or in other collections, others appeared online, and others were new here. The author sets some of them in the exotic locales he’s visited in his lifetime in Asia, Africa, and semi-exotic Hawaii. Only one story is told from a female point of view, and that’s one of the weakest in the collection. The other protagonists are men, usually of advancing years, reflecting on the decisions they’ve made (that often haven’t turned out well). Some stories resemble Shakespearean tragedies, and none of them are what I would consider light reading. The storylines are sometimes familiar, but the author puts a unique spin on them.

The best story in the collection is one of the longest, “A Charmed Life.” Felix, the narrator, discovered at a young age that people he encountered who did ugly or evil things soon met terrible fates. You can probably guess that a power like his could come back to haunt him, but it takes decades for him to learn exactly how. During that time, he mostly led a quiet life as a teacher in third-world countries, mainly keeping to himself until he returned to Hawaii to retire. I can easily picture Stephen King writing a story based on this same plotline, but Theroux turns Felix’s eventual fate into a byproduct of Eastern mysticism and spirituality.

The protagonist of “Love Doll” is younger, but burdened by a life of poor decisions. Blanton is a teacher in Honolulu trapped in an unhappy marriage with a wife and baby. To make ends meet, Blanton teaches English as a second language to a night class of international students. He’s infatuated with one attractive Vietnamese student and follows her to learn more about what she does after class. This story also has elements of classic tragedy.

Not all the stories in “The Vanishing Point” are gloomy. “Navigational Hazard” is a tale of righteous revenge as the captain of a luxury yacht based in Singapore works for years based on a handshake agreement with the boat’s owner that the yacht would one day be his. Everyone knows what a handshake agreement is worth, as the captain learns to his dismay. Turnabout is fair play, however, as readers eventually understand the meaning of the story’s title. “Father X” is one of the few genuinely uplifting stories in the collection. When his father dies, a middle-aged man learns that the father’s birth certificate is fake, and there is no record of his birth anywhere. Dad had an unusual occupation, ghost-writing Catholic sermons for priests whose Biblical, literary, and oratorical skills weren’t the world’s best. He also published columns in local newspapers under the byline of Father X. The son realizes he had no idea who his father was. His quest leads to an unusual discovery.

Some stories deal with the perils of academic life. “Home Cooking” is about a failed author who has a knack as a chef. He started a catering business in the college town where he lives, which soon became quite popular. He wants to keep the menus and recipes simple. Still, his customers make increasing demands on his time and eventually turn his business into something entirely different (and far less satisfying) from what he originally envisioned. “Ghost Fest” also has some supernatural elements and occurs at the same fictional Willard College where “Home Cooking” was set. The narrator, Andy Parent, is an aging writer who attends the annual Ghost Fest at the college. (Parent also narrates five other stories in the collection.) The event is a gathering of students and others who related “real” paranormal encounters. Before attending Ghost Fest, however, Parent attended a scarier, real-life meeting with a former colleague now confined to a nursing home for those with dementia. The author merges the real-life grimness of aging with a different type of encounter.

About two-thirds of the stories in “The Vanishing Point” are excellent. None are poorly written, but a few seem pointless. I was especially disappointed in “Camp Echo,” the first story narrated by Andy Parent. It takes place in the 1950s, where a pre-teen Andy attends a summer camp where he is assigned a cabin with the other boys whose names begin with P. There, he learns about racial, religious, and anti-gay prejudice as well as generalized bullying. These lessons may have been new to a sheltered 1950s Boy Scout, but not to modern-day readers, and I felt the story lacked the immediacy that the best coming-of-age stories have. Still, I can picture this as the basis for a movie if someone punches up the script a bit.

Again, let me repeat. There are no bad stories in “The Vanishing Point.” Some don’t quite meet the standards of the best in the collection. Those are worth a second or third reading to pick up on the nuances. Reading “The Vanishing Point” made me extremely happy that Paul Theroux hasn’t yet vanished from the literary scene.

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.

[Matthew Gibb · Rating 4 out of 5]

As other reviewers have said,not every story is fantastic,but these are short stories and the author has written a great deal. This book will appeal to older readers and retirees. The unifying thread is philisophical. A mythical,unseen point in the distance,which represents our personal departure from this life. For the young such a place is inconceivable,but as we age it's normal to glance at the rearview mirror and it's even better to feel the wind in your hair presently and to deny our own immortality. Paul has chosen many settings based on his recent perigrinations and even though this is fiction as Paul would say, it's also autobiographical. The themes of youthful exuberance,Hawaiian life and Mexican culture all coalesce into a patchwork of what readers have come to expect from a master travel writer.

[Chandrashekar Gangaraju · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best collections of short stories that I have read. My first book by Paul Theroux and a good range of themes. The final 4 are related to old age, frailty, legacyand death and also about authors who are becoming less relevant - perhaps from author's own life experience. The fall, Adobo, Hawaii sugar, Navigational hazard, Father X, Home cooking, A couple of bottles of moxie & The silent woman were really good.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with any collection of short stories, there's variation in this batch (is Theroux suggesting his final batch?), but the one constant is the quality of the writing. Rarely, if ever, is one left wondering 'where's he going with this?', and even if sometimes the finale of a story can come across as flat, the lead up to it makes you want to get there, if that makes sense.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 30th book I've read by Theroux. I normally avoid his novels, preferring his travelogues and short stories. This collection has a half dozen really captivating tales that make up for a few duds. At this point, after 40 years of reading his books, each new one is like a letter from an old friend.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Vanishing Point itself was an enjoyable read but the others not so much. I couldn’t help but notice the ‘woman as object’ theme that ran through some of them but I guess it’s just an indication of Theroux’s age and inclination.

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed quality