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Mr. Bones: Twenty Stories Hardcover – September 30, 2014

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Paul Theroux (Author)
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Paul Theroux (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars 61 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; First Edition edition (September 30, 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0544324021
  • ISBN-13: 978-0544324022
  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.4 x 9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #617,191 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 starsBrilliantly Repulsive
By Roger Brunyate TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE VOICE on September 9, 2014
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
Nobody can say Paul Theroux isn't good. If he hadn't been, it would be easier to read these stories, or easier to put them down, whichever. But he has the skill to draw you into his world, his dark, twisted, over-the-top world, so that you read on despite yourself. I found the first story in the collection, "Minor Watt," so repulsive that I almost threw the book away then and there. But I made myself a deal: I would read the first six stories, plus the longest, "Siamese Nights" (at 50 pages, almost a novella), and call it a day. Having now finished almost half the book, I can now say I am more in tune with Theroux' dark vision and less easily shocked. But I do not like the infection that has taken hold of me, and have no wish for further contact.

Minor Watt is a fabulously rich real estate developer and collector of artistic rarities from all over the world. Near the beginning of the story, in a negotiation with his almost-ex wife, he does something that at first I took to be an accident. But as the story went on, and this one event became multiplied a hundred times, I came to regard him with the same repugnance as if he strangled kittens for pleasure. The story took a trajectory that would become frequent in this collection: something either bizarre or repulsive repeated obsessively, beyond the bounds of normal reason, to the point where one becomes almost desensitized.

Although often unrealistic, it is never entirely surreal. Minor Watt's monstrous behavior also makes a point about the art world -- a milieu to which Theroux returns in a later story, "Mrs. Everest." Besides, he gets something of a comeuppance at the end. The protagonist of the title story, "Mr.Read more ›
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3.0 out of 5 starsDark, Unsettling Collection of Stories
By CL on December 2, 2014
Format: Hardcover
The stories collected here are dark and unsettling in many ways, something that usually draws me in as a reader, but only a handful of them really worked for me. A prolific writer, Paul Theroux knows what he's doing, but some of the stories just didn't hold my interest. That being said, I'll highlight a few that did.

In the opening story, a rich art collector stumbles upon the joys of destroying valuable, irreplaceable art; he takes his destruction the to the extreme, inspiring awe and fear in those around him. It's a wickedly dark tale with a perfect ending.

'Rip It Up' follows two schoolboys who don't quite fit in and find themselves the targets of bullying and teasing from both their classmates and teachers. When they start building and exploding small bombs and planning their revenge, you get an idea of where the story is heading - only to be surprised by how it concludes.

'Siamese Nights' deals with a man on the verge of retiring who's working in Thailand. Theroux has a talent for giving you a real sense of what it's like to be in a foreign country with very different customs. In the story, the narrator has an affair with a local Thai woman he meets at a bar, only to slowly discover she isn't exactly what she seems. He begins imagining staying on in Thailand and living out his days with his new lover, but things take a grim turn after the two have a misunderstanding. The ending really took me by surprise. It's possibly my favorite of the bunch.

Overall, I enjoyed many of these stories, but once I finished, I didn't feel the desire to go out and read everything else the author has ever written. I can always tell how much I like a book by how much I want to read other work by the writer.
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5.0 out of 5 stars20 excellent short stories, not a dull clunker in the bumch
By A. M. Turner on December 30, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
Theroux is one of my favorite writers, perceptive about people and the inner workings of their hearts and minds but with a goodly streak of the macabre mixed in. My favorite of these stories was "Rip It Up" which perfectly what it was like being a 14 year old Junior High (now known as "Middle School") boy and in an oblique way it presents an explanatory way of understanding school shooters like Columbine's Dylan and Kleybold and the many since.
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5.0 out of 5 starsA Wonderful Reminder about Why I Loved his Books
By Bryan Newman VINE VOICE on July 29, 2014
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
I was led to Paul Theroux twenty some years ago when my college fascination with Africa brought me to Fong and the Indians and Jungle Love. Later I was whisked away by an anachronistic image of him in polyester leisure suits and seventies sideburns as he traveled the world by train in his travel writings. But then we lost ways and it wasn't until last year's "The Last Train to Zona Verde" that I reconnected with him. It was like meeting an idolized uncle, suddenly in his seventies with his adventurous days behind him. This book was like an evening with him, spinning yarns based on his travels and experiences. It was wonderful to sit back with him and remember the way he could cast characters and turn a phrase, and with a hint of nostalgia, I feel that he has never been diminished.

The stories have a lot of the his signature traits to them. The characters are wonderfully developed but often falling into madness. The settings are varied from Boston to the Amazon. And there is an string of art and culture entwined in almost all of the stories. Also, much like his career, the styles jump. I can't say how astonished I was to read O-Zone, a sudden foray into science fiction. Similarly, the short story forms jump around in this book. I was especially taken by "Long Story Short," which is a collection of vignettes of life stories, each a jewel in itself. I also appreciated throw backs like "Incident in the Oriente" which again reads almost more like a character sketch, but has a manly Hearts of Darkness feel to it. It feels a lot like the earliest things I read from Theroux.

Much like my own uncles who seemed like giants of men but are now falling, I have treasured this book as time to remember what I loved about Theroux and his writing. Not to write a premature eulogy for him as a man and a writer, but it has given me the time to appreciate what he has given me. I hope there are suitcases of stories like these yet to come.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 starsMr. Cringe

Over the years I have really enjoyed the work of author Paul Theroux, both his novels and his travel books. Somehow I missed his 2014 “Mr. Read more

Published 29 days ago by Robert James Vandevoort (Ahwatukee, Arizona)
3.0 out of 5 starsNot a travel book

Not the usual Theroux travel story. It was short stories that were mostly slightly depressing, and very "film noir". I finished it, but didn't love it.

Published 2 months ago by Jonesy
4.0 out of 5 starsGolden

I will read more of this author because this was an incredible introduction to his work! The 20 stories are so varied and rich it was surprising because so many story collections... Read more

Published 3 months ago by Crazy88Line Cook
5.0 out of 5 starsMost of these would be best described as Horror Stories

Most of these would be best described as Horror Stories. I love Theroux' writing, but am unsure of how to describe my feelings on having read this collection. Read more

Published 6 months ago by John Emm
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

one of my all time favorite authors

Published 6 months ago by No Name
4.0 out of 5 starsWell-written, Well Done, Just Lacking Something

Paul Theroux' s Mr. Bones is a collection of dark, and sometimes disturbing, stories. Although I can appreciate Theroux's talent and artistry, the characters and stories were at... Read more

Published 8 months ago by Elizabeth Hendry
4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars

Good but odd little snippets of stories.

Published 9 months ago by Beth
4.0 out of 5 starsHe's one of the best contemporary writers around--always interesting

I'll read anything by Paul Theroux. He's one of the best contemporary writers around--always interesting, thoughtful. Read more

Published 10 months ago by Alice P. Shafran
4.0 out of 5 starsTheroux Draws You In

Not usually a fan of short stories, I found Theroux's irresistible. Not many are uplifting; however, the unpredictability is so interesting that one keeps reading. Read more

Published 11 months ago by bkj
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

I loved it!

Published 11 months ago by Cameron Graham

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