The Family Arsenal (Paperback)

by Paul Theroux (Author) "Seated on a cushion at the upstairs window of the tall house..." (more)
Key Phrases: black raincoat, dog track, Lady Arrow, Peter Pan, Albacore Crescent (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Hood, a renegade American diplomat, envisions a new urban order through the opium fog of his room. His sometimes bedmate, Mayo, has stolen a Flemish painting and is negotiating for publicity with "The Times". Murf the bomb-maker leaves his mark in red whilst his girlfriend Brodie bombs Euston.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (April 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140044655
• ISBN-13: 978-0140044652
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,519,815 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From the dark side of life..., April 13, 1998

By	[e-mail] (Orlando) - See all my reviews

Theroux has always been an unflinching narrator on human nature. With a novel like Mosquito Coast he gave you a look at the mind of a genius and his estrangement to materialism. With The Family Arsenal, Theroux gives you a look at the close knit troubles of family life in the slums of London, and the frightening results of sudden violence that can arrupt at any moment. A haunting portrait of a society on the downward trend towards hell on earth.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping Tale of London's Poor Laced With Violence, March 13, 2003

By	John Kwok (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Without question, Paul Theroux has been among our most astute observers of human nature writing in the English language. In "The Family Arsenal", a terse, compelling look at crime in London's slums, Paul Theroux takes an unflinching, often brutal, look at the interplay between adverse poverty and crime. Furthermore he adds to this compelling mixture an intriguing look at IRA terrorism being waged on the streets of London. All of this is told through vivid, well-crafted prose. Fans of Paul Theroux's work will not be disappointed with his latest fictional excursion into an abyss of contemporary Western society.