My Other Life

A Novel

De: Paul Theroux

Narrado por: David Dukes

Spanning almost thirty years, My Other Life traces the journey of a fictional Paul Theroux—from young bachelorhood in Africa to his travels between continents, from in and out of marriage through various affairs and multiple means of employment. From his early education at the knee of a highly eccentric uncle until his years as a fledgling novelist in London under the wing of the rapacious Lady Max, this writer of different guises eventually retreats alone to his hometown, where he finds the raw material to begin again. This wry, worldly, erotic, and deeply moving account of one man's first half century is among the strongest works written by Theroux.

©1997 Paul Theroux (P)1997 Phoenix Books, Inc.

Fiction that isn't too far from Paul's true life

This is several short pieces that loosely mirror Paul's life. He did live in Africa, Singapore and England and the characters all hail from these places. The hero is also a teacher and a writer. Paul intended this to make fun of travel writers who often fictionalize characters in their books to make them more interesting. Paul teaches us along the way how to be truly interesting. By pointing out the details and embellishing the mundane characters by casting them in situations that are compelling and gripping. I still feel like Paul's talent is for non fiction. His fictional pieces often broach uncomfortable subjects and aren't as believable as others who write fiction that seems much more plausible. Still a fun listen and I am biased, since I am also a teacher of English in China and an avid fan who has retraced some of his Asian journeys on trains, buses and boats.

Not what I expected

I'm a long time fan of Paul Theroux, and respect David Dukes as a fine actor. BUT, I was sorely disappointed with the narration of this book. I'll just have to read it myself. I will read anything written by Paul Theroux and will watch anything David Dukes acts in. Maybe I just don't get it, although I'm sure others might.

Disappointing

Not one of Theroux's masterpieces, but it would have been fine to listen to in the car and pass time during my daily commute. However, the reader was quite annoying. He mispronounced several words such as "snooker" and "Pepys" and tried unsuccessfully to imitate various accents. My take on these audio books is that the reader is almost everything, and in this case, he killed what was already only an average book.