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The Paperchase
Damien March hasn't thought of his eccentric uncle for almost twenty years when he receives a terse message by telegram. "Patrick dead. Father." Damien, a journalist for the BBC in London, is even more shocked to learn that he has inherited his uncle's ramshackle house on Ionia, an isolated island off the coast of Cape Cod. Offered the choice between his own humdrum life and the strange isolation of his uncle's, he decides to make the swap.
It soon turns out, however, that Damien's step into a new future means moving circuitously into his family's past. Once settled, he begins rummaging through his uncle's possessions, uncovering letters and writings that provide scattered clues to Patrick's solitary life. When he discovers a fragment of an unpublished novel, The Confessions of Mycroft Holmes, the stakes in this paper chase are suddenly higher.
Mycroft Holmes, the older brother of Sherlock, is one of literature's most intriguing absences. A neglected genius who lives in obscurity, he bears a striking resemblance to Patrick himself. The parallels quickly grow more disconcerting, and a sinister tale of murder and deception takes on new meaning.
It soon turns out, however, that Damien's step into a new future means moving circuitously into his family's past. Once settled, he begins rummaging through his uncle's possessions, uncovering letters and writings that provide scattered clues to Patrick's solitary life. When he discovers a fragment of an unpublished novel, The Confessions of Mycroft Holmes, the stakes in this paper chase are suddenly higher.
Mycroft Holmes, the older brother of Sherlock, is one of literature's most intriguing absences. A neglected genius who lives in obscurity, he bears a striking resemblance to Patrick himself. The parallels quickly grow more disconcerting, and a sinister tale of murder and deception takes on new meaning.
219 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
8 people are currently reading
339 people want to read
About the author
Marcel Theroux
13 books171 followersMarcel (Raymond) Theroux is a British novelist and broadcaster. He is the older son of the American travel writer and novelist, Paul Theroux. His younger brother, Louis Theroux, is a journalist and television reporter.
Born in Kampala, Uganda, Theroux was brought up in Wandsworth, London. After attending a state primary school he boarded at Westminster School. He went on to study English at Clare College of the University of Cambridge and international relations at Yale University. Currently he lives in London and is married. 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. His paternal grandfather was French Canadian.
He wrote The Stranger in The Earth and The Confessions of Mycroft Holmes: a paper chase for which he won the Somerset Maugham Award in 2002. His third novel, A Blow to the Heart, was published by Faber in 2006. His fourth, Far North, a future epic set in the Siberian taiga, was published in June 2009. He worked in television news in New York and Boston.
In 2004 he presented The End of the World as We Know It part of the War on Terra television series about climate change on Channel 4, for which he was chosen as presenter precisely because he initially knew nothing about the subject. He even had a preconception about environmentalists being spoilsports opposed to progress. But during his research he became convinced that we face a global problem, on a scale so serious that an expansion of nuclear energy is probably the best solution (choosing the lesser evil). He reached this conclusion partly via the subjects of several interviews, amongst them Gerhard Bertz of insurance agency Munich Re, who indicated that in the past 20 years payments for natural disasters have increased by 500 percent. During another, with Royal Dutch Shell chairman Lord Ron Oxburgh, a PR assistant intervened to curtail the conversation, apparently because Oxburgh's negative views on the consequences of current oil consumption were considered detrimental to the corporation's image.
In March 2006 Theroux presented Death of a Nation on More4, as part of the The State of Russia series. In the program he explored the country's post-Soviet problems including population decline, the growing AIDS epidemic and the persecution of the Meskhetian Turks.
On 28 September 2008 he presented Oligart: The Great Russian Art Boom on Channel 4 about how Russia's rich are keeping Russia's art history alive by buying, and exhibiting domestic art.
On 16 March 2009, Marcel Theroux presented In Search of Wabi-sabi on BBC Four as part of the channel's Hidden Japan season of programming. Marcel travelled throughout Japan trying to understand the aesthetic tastes of Japan and its people.
Born in Kampala, Uganda, Theroux was brought up in Wandsworth, London. After attending a state primary school he boarded at Westminster School. He went on to study English at Clare College of the University of Cambridge and international relations at Yale University. Currently he lives in London and is married. 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. His paternal grandfather was French Canadian.
He wrote The Stranger in The Earth and The Confessions of Mycroft Holmes: a paper chase for which he won the Somerset Maugham Award in 2002. His third novel, A Blow to the Heart, was published by Faber in 2006. His fourth, Far North, a future epic set in the Siberian taiga, was published in June 2009. He worked in television news in New York and Boston.
In 2004 he presented The End of the World as We Know It part of the War on Terra television series about climate change on Channel 4, for which he was chosen as presenter precisely because he initially knew nothing about the subject. He even had a preconception about environmentalists being spoilsports opposed to progress. But during his research he became convinced that we face a global problem, on a scale so serious that an expansion of nuclear energy is probably the best solution (choosing the lesser evil). He reached this conclusion partly via the subjects of several interviews, amongst them Gerhard Bertz of insurance agency Munich Re, who indicated that in the past 20 years payments for natural disasters have increased by 500 percent. During another, with Royal Dutch Shell chairman Lord Ron Oxburgh, a PR assistant intervened to curtail the conversation, apparently because Oxburgh's negative views on the consequences of current oil consumption were considered detrimental to the corporation's image.
In March 2006 Theroux presented Death of a Nation on More4, as part of the The State of Russia series. In the program he explored the country's post-Soviet problems including population decline, the growing AIDS epidemic and the persecution of the Meskhetian Turks.
On 28 September 2008 he presented Oligart: The Great Russian Art Boom on Channel 4 about how Russia's rich are keeping Russia's art history alive by buying, and exhibiting domestic art.
On 16 March 2009, Marcel Theroux presented In Search of Wabi-sabi on BBC Four as part of the channel's Hidden Japan season of programming. Marcel travelled throughout Japan trying to understand the aesthetic tastes of Japan and its people.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
January 25, 2010
Damien March, a bored BBC journalist on the night shift, suddenly inherits a house on an island off the coast of Cape Cod from his long-lost uncle Patrick. There is a condition, however - he must preserve the house exactly as it is. Given that his uncle was somewhat eccentric, and the house is littered with bric-a-brac (e.g. a collection of ice-cream scoops), this is not as easy as it sounds.
In trying to settle into the house, Damien comes across letters and old manuscripts that reveal more about his uncle than he perhaps wanted to know. One of the stories is about Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock's little-known brother, carrying out a vigilante-style murder of a man who is abusing his deaf wife and children. When he meets a deaf woman on the island whose abusive husband died in mysterious circumstances, he begins to wonder if the story is more than just fiction.
I enjoyed the exploration of Patrick's stories and what they revealed about his life, whether literally or in the subtext: "As I surrendered to the story, I had the odd feeling that I was entering my uncle's dream life." I also liked that the unexpected conclusion was hinted at through Patrick's fiction, some of which is reproduced in the middle of the book. "Paperchase" is an appropriate title, because Damien does come to know his uncle, and in the process to understand more about his family and himself, almost entirely through the paper that Patrick has left behind. Patrick had cut himself off from the family and the rest of the world for many years, so the stories were all that was left.
This was a quick read, and a surprisingly rewarding one. I say "surprisingly" because in the early parts of the book I was not really impressed - I didn't care about the characters, and the writing was not lively enough to sustain my interest. But it grew on me as the action shifted to the island and the story of Mycroft Holmes, and the ending was handled really well. So by the end, I had a really positive view of the book. Itdidn't sear itself into my memory as great books do, but it was certainly a worthwhile and ultimately thought-provoking read.
In trying to settle into the house, Damien comes across letters and old manuscripts that reveal more about his uncle than he perhaps wanted to know. One of the stories is about Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock's little-known brother, carrying out a vigilante-style murder of a man who is abusing his deaf wife and children. When he meets a deaf woman on the island whose abusive husband died in mysterious circumstances, he begins to wonder if the story is more than just fiction.
I enjoyed the exploration of Patrick's stories and what they revealed about his life, whether literally or in the subtext: "As I surrendered to the story, I had the odd feeling that I was entering my uncle's dream life." I also liked that the unexpected conclusion was hinted at through Patrick's fiction, some of which is reproduced in the middle of the book. "Paperchase" is an appropriate title, because Damien does come to know his uncle, and in the process to understand more about his family and himself, almost entirely through the paper that Patrick has left behind. Patrick had cut himself off from the family and the rest of the world for many years, so the stories were all that was left.
This was a quick read, and a surprisingly rewarding one. I say "surprisingly" because in the early parts of the book I was not really impressed - I didn't care about the characters, and the writing was not lively enough to sustain my interest. But it grew on me as the action shifted to the island and the story of Mycroft Holmes, and the ending was handled really well. So by the end, I had a really positive view of the book. Itdidn't sear itself into my memory as great books do, but it was certainly a worthwhile and ultimately thought-provoking read.
June 4, 2012
Marcel Theroux is an easy writer to read, I love his British accent, snarky humor and subtle details. His illustrative descriptions make a modern-day BBC job, a hoarder's house on Cape Cod, and a London boxing gym in the 1800s all come to life.
This story is about under-performing Damian March and his Hollywood successful brother Vivian, 2 yrs his junior; and their over-achieving father and his prone-to-giving-up-on-things brother Patrick, also 2 yrs apart. They are separated geographically by continents, and emotionally by all kinds of baggage. When Patrick dies, Damian discovers a manuscript his deceased uncle had written and never published, about Sherlock Holmes's elder, less successful brother Mycroft (parallels everywhere). This book is a mystery, but not a gripping one. I felt as if the last line was meant to be a gasp inducing shocker, but I'd already seen it coming half way through the book. Theroux did slip in other surprises too, and subtly.
This story is about under-performing Damian March and his Hollywood successful brother Vivian, 2 yrs his junior; and their over-achieving father and his prone-to-giving-up-on-things brother Patrick, also 2 yrs apart. They are separated geographically by continents, and emotionally by all kinds of baggage. When Patrick dies, Damian discovers a manuscript his deceased uncle had written and never published, about Sherlock Holmes's elder, less successful brother Mycroft (parallels everywhere). This book is a mystery, but not a gripping one. I felt as if the last line was meant to be a gasp inducing shocker, but I'd already seen it coming half way through the book. Theroux did slip in other surprises too, and subtly.
August 9, 2016
An excruciatingly slow read that limps to an underwhelming ending. I only bothered to finish it because it was so short. As Holmes pastiche, it's a failure - Mycroft isn't even mentioned until 144 pages into this 216-page novel and his actions don't jive at all with my impressions of the canonical character. It's a device that feels shoehorned in.
Mostly, the book's about a guy who's the British equivalent of a pretentious Brooklyn hipster. I got the sense that the main character is a lot like the author himself, and that the target audience for this book is that same kind of person. Which is to say: not me or anyone I like to hang out with.
Mostly, the book's about a guy who's the British equivalent of a pretentious Brooklyn hipster. I got the sense that the main character is a lot like the author himself, and that the target audience for this book is that same kind of person. Which is to say: not me or anyone I like to hang out with.
August 21, 2008
At first,the plot seems intriguing enough- a young man leading a dull and average life, receives an unexpected inheritance from his uncle Patrick. While exploring his big house,he comes across a manuscript of unpublished story which reveals more than he would like to know.
Unfortunately, as the story develops, it gradually loses reader`s interest. I think a good plot needs more development.As a whole,my impression was that the novel was weak.
Unfortunately, as the story develops, it gradually loses reader`s interest. I think a good plot needs more development.As a whole,my impression was that the novel was weak.
February 28, 2010
I got 105 pages in (halfway) and just wasn't compelled to read the rest. And I never found out who the title character is.
Wow. I just realized that this is the same author of Far North which I read last year and loved. This book is not of the same caliber.
Wow. I just realized that this is the same author of Far North which I read last year and loved. This book is not of the same caliber.
January 7, 2014
I really liked the book until the very end. It just ended and the big surprise wasn't that much of a surprise plus it wasn't laid out very clearly. It ended too abruptly.
July 24, 2025
A work of serious literature, with many layers. The Mycroft Holmes angle is at third remove. Seriously disappointing. Not at all the book I wanted to read.
January 8, 2024
Slow to start but great plot, very unexpected twist at the end! Good read 😊
August 19, 2020
Just brilliance
What an experience! My first exposure to Marcel Theroux. I loved his writing style, and especially the humour, found myself laughing out loud and often. I finished the book late last night, gave it 4 stars, turned over and fell off to sleep thinking the ending fell a little flat. Woke up, having done some subconscious processing, initially with a list of questions and then the confronting realisation that the whole thing was just brilliant. Yes, I'd missed bits and my skills of inference were 'off' but was I intentionally left feeling the way I did last night? Perhaps. Regardless, flitting back through pages this morning, frantically re-reading, eyes opening, emotions rising... that's just brilliance... to me anyway.
What an experience! My first exposure to Marcel Theroux. I loved his writing style, and especially the humour, found myself laughing out loud and often. I finished the book late last night, gave it 4 stars, turned over and fell off to sleep thinking the ending fell a little flat. Woke up, having done some subconscious processing, initially with a list of questions and then the confronting realisation that the whole thing was just brilliant. Yes, I'd missed bits and my skills of inference were 'off' but was I intentionally left feeling the way I did last night? Perhaps. Regardless, flitting back through pages this morning, frantically re-reading, eyes opening, emotions rising... that's just brilliance... to me anyway.
February 19, 2016
If you're expecting this to be about the Confessions of Mycroft Holmes, you'll be disappointed. The name of Holmes is used purely as a device to draw readers to the book. In actual fact the story overall would be better without Theroux attempting to shoehorn Mycroft into his narrative. The character of Mycroft is inaccurate and clearly is only meant as a reflection of the narrator's uncle.
I think this would have been a much more enjoyable book if it had simply been about the fragmentation of family and not advertised with the misleading words - 'the tale of murder and deception is taking on a sinister new meaning'.
I think this would have been a much more enjoyable book if it had simply been about the fragmentation of family and not advertised with the misleading words - 'the tale of murder and deception is taking on a sinister new meaning'.
February 18, 2017
What a huge disappointment! This book is 30 chapters long, Mycroft Holmes' "confessions" take up only two chapters. There should be a law that if a book is entitled The Confessions of Mycroft Holmes, then Mycroft Holmes should play a honkin' big part of the book. The remainder is just pretentious crap. There is no mystery, no Holmes -- and no point.
December 5, 2012
Found this book rather boring and dry... Hung in there as long as I could hoping it wood get better but just couldn't hang with it.
November 8, 2014
This book left me confused, disappointed and underwhelmed. The plot was boring and slow moving. The characters felt flat and failed to capture my attention. Glad I only spent a dollar on this book.
June 25, 2016
Made it about 2/3 of the way through and just couldn't see the point of continuing. Very plodding and not very interesting.
May 19, 2017
Damien, a young underachiever working in London inherits a house on an island off the Cape from his uncle Patrick. Leaving his lackluster existence in the UK, he decides to spend a few months in the house, of which he has good childhood memories. The trip to Ionia also becomes a trip down memory lane, as Damien's interactions with the island and the islanders, his uncle's friends and the house itself, including the many strange possessions his uncle had hoarded, make him ruminate more on the strange dysfunctions in his family. His father, a hardworking but somewhat pompous lawyer with a serious (and somewhat silly) anglophile bent, didn't always get along with Patrick, for reasons that don't become clear until the last pages. Damien barely speaks to his brother,also for reasons that are never quite clear.
Rummaging through the mess in Uncle Patrick's house, Damien finds a manuscript, written by Patrick, that is called "The Confessions of Mycroft Holmes". Relating the clues in the manuscript to the islanders he's met, he starts to unravel an old family mystery.
The writing in the book was good, even very good. I enjoyed the descriptions of the Cape, of windswept islands, of awkward family events. I liked the introduction of a family of deaf folks who communicate in their own sign language, which was inspired by the existence of a real life group of deaf people on Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket in the 19th century. All of that was really enjoyable, and I will read more of this writer. Where the book failed a little, and what made it come short of 4 stars for me, was the ultimate big reveal at the end. The family secret just didn't make sense to me. Just. Didn't. Make. Sense. Especially since it involved Damien's mother, who died decades before and is therefore an entirely shadowy figure in the background. The links between Damien's life, the clues in the manuscript, and the big family secret were strained as well.
Rummaging through the mess in Uncle Patrick's house, Damien finds a manuscript, written by Patrick, that is called "The Confessions of Mycroft Holmes". Relating the clues in the manuscript to the islanders he's met, he starts to unravel an old family mystery.
The writing in the book was good, even very good. I enjoyed the descriptions of the Cape, of windswept islands, of awkward family events. I liked the introduction of a family of deaf folks who communicate in their own sign language, which was inspired by the existence of a real life group of deaf people on Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket in the 19th century. All of that was really enjoyable, and I will read more of this writer. Where the book failed a little, and what made it come short of 4 stars for me, was the ultimate big reveal at the end. The family secret just didn't make sense to me. Just. Didn't. Make. Sense. Especially since it involved Damien's mother, who died decades before and is therefore an entirely shadowy figure in the background. The links between Damien's life, the clues in the manuscript, and the big family secret were strained as well.
February 11, 2022
It’s really beautifully written and has a surprisingly m light touch for a book that’s so haunting and sad, but you have to ask some serious questions about what Theroux was thinking about with this. For someone who’s a scion of such a notable family, with famous father and uncles, brother and cousin, you’d most likely avoid the knotty subject matter about those very things which is the centre of this novel. Either Theroux is being incredibly playful or he’s deliberately trying to cause the, if you excuse the phrase, mother of all familial fallouts. It’s either incredibly brave or a work of supreme folly, and most likely a bit of both
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 16, 2020
Marcel Theroux, brother of Louis and son of Paul, has very much his own voice. This is a good read, a story of family relationships set on a fictionalised Martha's Vineyard (Martha's Vineyard sign language gets a look in), and has an autobiographical underpinning (the writer notes of the two brothers in the story that one has the name of a hairdresser, the other that of a private detective). Thought-provoking, enjoyable, well-crafted.
January 15, 2021
This book never quite lives up to its promise. There is an intriguing story-within-a-story which then seems rather tangential to the final stages of the main plot. We find out why Damien March has such a strong and apparently unlikely connection with Patrick, but (without revealing what it is) it turns out to be not a great surprise and something of a dissappointment. I made sure I found out what the conclusion was, but the novel - sadly - didn't leave me feeling very invested in the outcome.
July 13, 2025
It’s clear from the outset that this book is a ‘slow burn’ type of read. I was looking forward to the gentle unfolding of a family mystery but in the end I was disappointed by this novel. I guessed the final twist very early on, and the descriptions of the main character’s stay on Ionia became increasingly laboured. I think the biggest frustration was that the complexities of the main character were never fully explored.
October 3, 2018
I may have missed something when reading this book but it was not what I expected and I don't know for sure if I liked it. While the basic premise was intriguing, the writing seemed to make far too much use of overly involved sentences and multi-syllable words when something simpler would have sufficed. But the book does hold your attention.
January 23, 2021
I love Marcel Theroux’s writing. He is a master with words. That said, I found it difficult to enjoy the story of this book. There is a little revelation at the end but it couldn’t make up for the slow pace and downright boring part beforehand. A short story might have been more effective to tell this. I’m still a big fan of the author and will read anything he publishes.
February 24, 2022
This book felt like a much longer read than it really was. The climb to the climax of the story was slow if steady, with an underwhelming “twist” and rushed resolution that felt somewhat self-serving. The main character was also really unlikeable and unsympathetic. Not the worst book I’ve ever read, certainly, but overall disappointing.
February 18, 2017
So bad I could not bring myself to finish it.
My displeasure with this particular book had little to do with the quality of Theroux's writing technique, rather the very misleading concept that this book should be considered part of Holmes Pastiche whatsoever. The Character of Mycroft Holmes has been squandered on a metaphor loosely trying together a series of dull events at best.
My displeasure with this particular book had little to do with the quality of Theroux's writing technique, rather the very misleading concept that this book should be considered part of Holmes Pastiche whatsoever. The Character of Mycroft Holmes has been squandered on a metaphor loosely trying together a series of dull events at best.
November 12, 2017
This one never got off the ground for me. Nothing like as good as Strange Bodies by the same author
January 24, 2019
Not the first story in a story I have read, forgetting the actual literary term for the moment, forgive me please, and not necessarily a good one either. I picked it up because I love a well done pastiche, but this missed the mark.
September 28, 2020
I find it hard to understand the poor reviews for this book. An extremely well written and beautifully nuanced mystery that quietly holds you till the brilliant end. It's a very quick read but no less satisfying for that.
September 26, 2025
I just loved this little book! It's lucky I found it at all with its strange title making me think it was another book about Sherlock Holmes. Instead, it is a delightful story about a man remembering his childhood and discovering a secret.
June 8, 2017
I quite liked this, not earth-shattering by any means, but the ending seemed a bit abrupt
July 3, 2017
A great little book. I really enjoy reading Marcel Theroux. His book Far North was slightly better. Confessions started a bit slow but the writing picked up. Great ending.
April 25, 2018
Started really slowly, about halfway in it got intriguing and then which fast forward to the ending and no explanation to how he figured things out. Disappointing as the plot was really good.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews