My Secret History [Mass Market Paperback]

Paul Theroux (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 28, 1990

"Theroux's best novel in years."

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

MY SECRET HISTORY is Paul Theroux's tour de force. It is the story of Andre Parent, a writer, a world traveler, a lover of every kind of woman he chances to meet in a life as varied as a man can lead. From his days as an altar boy, to his job as a teenaged lifeguard, and then as a youth caught between the attentions of a beautiful young student and an amorous older woman. And as the boy becomes a man he turns his attention to writing, which brings him fame, and a wife, who may finally bring him to know himself. But not before he sets up his most dangerous secret life, one that any man might envy, but that could cost Andre Parent the delicate balance that makes him who he is....

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This "witty and wise portrait of a writer as he travels the globe searching for self-understanding" introduces Andrew Parent, a narcissist with secrets and hidden emotions. "In his exploration of the ambiguities of love and art, Theroux has created a character so humorous and vital that we forgive his flaws," observed PW. Author tour.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

From an early adolescence torn between a call to the priesthood and the call of the flesh, through late-adolescent sexual initiation and a young adult's escapades as a teacher in Africa, to a grown man's crisis in marriage, Theroux recounts the "secret history" of Andy Parent, a writer suspiciously resembling Theroux himself. That the purpose is to show a man "writing for his life," his fragmented self so healed by making "something new of his experience" that his work is seen metaphorically as "going home," is not apparent until the final pages, and though these pages dazzle they hardly seem novelistic. For the reader, Andy's impulse to write is buried in the unending description of his numerous liaisons--there is enough sexual endeavor here to bore the most prurient among us. Indeed, his comment, "My being inarticulate was probably the reason I had become a writer," serves to highlight Theroux's own failure to articulate the connections between Andy's early life and later self-discovery as a writer. A tantalizing novel whose occasional power suggests how much better it could have been.
- Barbara Hoffert, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Ivy Books (February 28, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804105146
• ISBN-13: 978-0804105149
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,019,751 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More 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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tour De Force, June 27, 2002

By 

therosen "therosen" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: My Secret History (Paperback)

Outstanding biographical work by Theroux, couched as fiction to allow for creative license. The book takes you through the world of Andre Parent, a writer who travels Africa and Europe, living the surface life of an upstanding individual, concealing the secret life of an energized sexually charged vagabond.

Chapter 1 (Altar Boy) is about Andre's coming of age, and outgrowing his parents expectations.

Chapter 2 (Whale Steaks) covers his oscilation between his love of a slightly older girlfriend, and his fascination with someone from his parent's generation.

Chapter 3 (African Girls) talks about his adventures in the peace corps, largely oriented around sleeping with the local girls.

Chapter 4 (Bush Baby) is the continuing story of his adventures, including some encounters with a V.S. Naipul lookalike. (Interesting as Naipul was a major influence on Theroux's career)

Chapter 5 (Leaving Siberia) has a double meaning. It is about Parent physically leaving Siberia on a travel writing trip, and an emotional exit from Siberia after learning of his wife's infidelity.

Chapter 6 (Two of Everything) is about the double life that Parent lives - one with his wife, and another with his mistress. It chronicles an identical trip through India with both women. This is an example of him becoming what he had previously abhored.

The book is well written on several levels. It vividly takes you into the peace corps, and through Africa. It also has a lot of subtly, as the character first repeats his own mistakes, and then repeats the mistakes he dislikes in others. The disappointment with his eventual success (be careful what you ask for as you might get it) on both the large and small levels are told with a straight face, adding to the believability of the character.

The book is 500 pages of a quick energizing read. Well worth the time invested.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars On my all time top ten list, September 25, 2001

By 

John McGraw (Irvine, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Secret History (Paperback)

This is my favorite book written by Paul Theroux, one of the finest novelists of our time. The book is based on Theroux's life and you're not sure how much of it is his personal history and how much of it is fiction. It is an epic journey following him from his Irish, Catholic upbringing in Boston to his years in Africa and then in London. With thirty plus years of avid reading behind me, this book is definitely on my all time 10 best list, and towards the top of the list.

Another Paul Theroux book that you should not miss is Milroy the Magician. Fantastic!

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Rich characters, weak character, January 12, 2000

By 

Blaze "yovovi" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Secret History (Mass Market Paperback)

As a former Peace Corps volunteer in Africa (and a Catholic) I found myself identifying with this author. He writes vividly and at times so richly describes landscapes I have encountered I felt I was visiting them again. His male Peace Corps Volunteer was dead-on (not much has changed from the 60's to the 90's in that respect) - many American men I knew in Africa behaved similarly, but with Theroux I was disappointed in his character. I kept wondering - how much of this is real and how much fiction.

I was angry with his dismissive attitude of women - "anything I want" - and later, his too soon forgiving wife. Women seemed ornaments to him - as were many characters and even locations in this novel - richly described, but only in terms of their utility to him. When no longer needed, the strongest of women looked weak - particulary Eve. In the end, I felt sorry for Andre, but I wanted to read more. Theroux is a gifted writer, despite Andre's (or was it Paul's) treatment of women. I found this book very hard to put down.