The Vanishing Point

Illuminating … A collection of wryly observed short stories from the octogenarian writer shines a light on the process of ageing … time hasn’t whittled away Theroux’s ability to amuse and provoke … These literary snapshots — a rowdy boyhood summer camp, a visit to a carnival stripper, an elegiac chess game — are poignant and well honed * Financial Times *
A master of the short story … Unexpected endings and frequent insight make for a high strike rate, but perhaps best of all are those where Theroux reassumes the biographical mantle of Andre Parent he previously employed for his 1989 novel My Secret History … If this is the last round–up from a grand old man of letters, his final words are good and true ones * The Irish Times *
A live-wire read * Sunday Telegraph *
One of the best-known travel writers of our times … The title is not just that of a single story, but is the theme of all the tales here, in which characters find themselves at a crucial junction in their lives * The Herald *
Theroux has a way of slipping profound truths into his prose, the type that diligent readers copy into notebooks … His writing gives fiction life. He describes the things we all see but don’t mention in polite conversation, and he shines a light on thoughts we actively avoid * Electric Lit *

Paul Theroux was born in Medford, Massachusetts, in 1941, and published his first novel, Waldo, in 1967. He wrote his next three novels, Fong and the Indians, Girls at Play and Jungle Lovers, after a five-year stay in Africa. He subsequently taught at the University of Singapore, and during his three years there produced a collection of short stories, Sinning with Annie, and highly praised novel Saint Jack. His other publications include The Black House (1974), a novel; The Great Railway Bazaar- By Train Through Asia (1975), an account of his journey by train from London to Tokyo and back; The Family Arsenal (1976); The Consul’s File (1977); Picture Palace (1978; winnner of the Whitread Literary Award); A Christmans Card (1978; The Old Patagonian Express (1979); World’s End and Other Stories (1980); London Snow (1980); The Mosquito Coats, which was the Yorkshire Post Novel of the Year for 1981 and the joint winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize; The London Embassy (1982); The Kingdom by the Sea (1983); Doctor Slaughter (1985); Sunrise with Seamonsters (1985); The Imperial Way (1985); O-Zone (1986); Riding the Iron Rooster (1988); My Secret History (1989) and Chicago Loop (1990).

Paul Theroux is married with two children and divides his time between London and Cape Cod.

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