Theresa Sjoquist's Reviews > The Stranger At The Palazzo D'oro

The Stranger At The Palazzo D'Oro

Paul Theroux

Hamish Hamilton Books

Paul Theroux creates highly evocative ambience in each of the six tales in his collection, The Stranger at the Palazzo D'Oro. In the title story, about bored wealthy tourists in an Italian seaside resort of the early sixties, we follow an older man revisiting his past, comprehending finally the events of forty years earlier. The tale's end alleviated my discomfort, but be ready for the S&M slant.

The ensuing set of three tales falls under the umbrella title of Boyhood Secrets, and explores young American boys unravelling the world through their emerging and untried sexuality. Mr Theroux's precise ear and accurate eye combined with his ability to portray the images and sounds these senses bring him, convey worlds we have long forgotten.

In An African Story, Prinsloo, the white farmer and writer, is an older man tricked into marriage and out of his massive properties. Or is he? And the final tale, wherein a wealthy retired lawyer, understanding both sides of the legal equation when it comes to activities in which he considers indulging, has a marvellous little twist.

Paul Theroux manages to express in his clever stories every hue from the most delicate pastel to the intensely garish. The Stranger at the Palazzo D'Oro is intriguing. Definitely recommended.

First published in Good Reading Magazine