Paul Theroux is a travel writer as well as a writer of fiction, and knows his locations from personal experience, not just research. In this novel his main character, Andrew Hock, is the owner of a gents outfitters in the town of Medford, Massachusetts. He's a solitary man locked in a loveless marriage, with a daughter who appears to think of him only in terms of what he should give her.
Shopping patterns are changing and Andrew recognises that his business is gradually dying. He dreams of retiring and returning to the place where he was once happy - they Lower River in Malawi, Africa - when he spent some time in the Peace Corps. He's built up his memories into a kind of talisman, and sees them as not just a beautiful past experience but a dream of a happy future.
But memories can deceive. When Andrew arrives at the Lower River he finds that everything has changed and even his memories aren't what he believed they were. What follows is a story of deception, failure and even violence until Andrew is reduced to the status of prisoner and desperate man.
I found myself constantly on edge whilst reading this novel, eager for Andrew to wrest success from failure and find a way to repair the damage of which he became a victim. The end of the story disappointed me somewhat, in that it was so sudden, and over so quickly, that it was a total contrast with the slow build up of tension throughout the story. I'd have liked to see a little bit more of Andrew's tale and what happened in the following days. Still, perhaps that's just me wanting to tidy up the loose ends!
The Lower River is published by Penguin, ISBN 978-0-241-95774-5
No comments:
Post a Comment