The Stranger at the Palazzo D'Oro: And Other Stories - Hardcover

Theroux, Paul

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0618265155 ISBN 13: 9780618265152

Publisher: Clarion Books, 2004

Synopsis

"This is my only story. Now that I am sixty I can tell it." He, the narrator, was a twenty-one-year-old art student traveling the world. She was a countess -- apparently cold, haughty, and inaccessible -- traveling with Haroun, her ambiguous companion. When the young man makes their acquaintance at a hotel in Sicily, he finds himself filled with unexpected lust and playing a part in something he doesn't quite understand. Filled with Theroux's typically effortless but devastating descriptions of people and places, The Stranger at the Palazzo d'Oro is a brilliant portrayal of aging and decay, a shocking tale of sensuality in a golden age. The thrill and risk of pursuit and desire mark the accompanying stories of the sexual awakening and rites of passage of a Boston boyhood, the ruin of a writer in Africa, and the bewitchment of a retiree in Hawaii. This is Paul Theroux at his most allusive and wise, writing with a deep understanding of the frailties of men and boys.

About this title

Review:

Supremely moving. A master class in detail and sensuous evocation.The Financial Times of London Yet another stimulating volume in [Theroux's] impressive canon.The San Francisco Chronicle Erotic intrigue is at the heart of these stories, each of which renders familiar territory wonderfully strange.Vogue For armchair adventuring, STRANGER AT THE PALAZZO D'ORO is golden.Boston Herald an accomplished book by an accomplished writer (B+) Denver Rocky Mountain News Therou'x prose is shot through with gentle melancholy, evoking the complexities of matters of the heart with subtlety and grace. (3.5 out of 4 stars) People Magazine Theroux has rarely been in better form.The Los Angeles Times futher proof that Theroux, the evocative prose stylist, remains ever worth reading.The Washington Post Compelling reading.Charlotte Observer Theroux has the ability to capture people and places that are achingly beautiful Pittsburg Post Gazette Theroux uses his precise, realistic style like a scalpel...a marvelous yarn.Providence Journal a satisfying mix of tales...[Theroux's] stories are engrossing and evoke an air of sensuality.The Oregonian Oddly beguiling...dramatically rich.Contra Costa Times

About the Author:

Paul Theroux’s highly acclaimed novels include Blinding Light, Hotel Honolulu, My Other Life, Kowloon Tong, and The Mosquito Coast. His renowned travel books include Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, Dark Star Safari, Riding the Iron Rooster, The Great Railway Bazaar, The Old Patagonian Express, and The Happy Isles of Oceania. He lives in Hawaii and on Cape Cod.

About this edition

• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0618265155
• ISBN 13: 9780618265152
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304