Malawi RPCV Paul Theroux includes short stories about Africa in newest collection
It should come as no surprise to the familiar that the title story of Paul Theroux's collection, "The Stranger at the Palazzo D'Oro," is not lacking in erotic description or mood. Returning to a hotel in Sicily, a 60-year-old Gilford Mariner recalls the time he met up with a German countess ("the Grafin") and her companion, Haroun. He mistakes them for husband and wife but soon discovers Haroun is the Grafin's doctor and consort. It isn't long before Haroun talks Mariner into an S&M-laden liaison with the older woman.
When recounted, the affair often sounds more like a battle of wills rather than an agreeable tryst. And although Theroux ("Hotel Honolulu," "Dark Star Safari") does a more than adequate job of recounting the physical details, the psychological complexity of this relationship feels largely unexplored, leaving one titillated yet unfulfilled - rather like a one-nighter.
Other stories in the collection also delve into the kinky side of human sexuality: In a four-part story set in 1940s Boston, "A Judas Memoir," young Andy meets Evelyn Frisch, a girl who talks him into some games; in a latter section of this four-part tale, a Catholic Priest's pedophile nature comes to light.
In "An African Story," the protagonist is once again involved with a mate who is interested in S&M. And finally, in "The Disheveled Nymphs," a retired lawyer becomes obsessed with a mother and daughter who clean his house.
Clearly, Theroux has experienced conflict in his relations with the opposite sex. And those feelings have made for some stories that are wild and lascivious, but they lack the psychological depth of those written by say, Doris Lessing.
Perhaps what is really needed is a collaboration on an erotic novel between these two fine writers: Theroux could provide the meaty prose while Lessing spices things up with some spot-on insights into the wild goings-on.
In the meantime, I fear most readers who pick up these erotically charged collections will walk away from them feeling a bit, er, um ... unsatisfied.
Dorman T. Shindler, a freelancer from Missouri, is a regular contributor to Pages, Publishers Weekly and several other publications.
