The Lower River by Paul Theroux #BookReview

The Lower River 
by Paul Theroux 
(First Mariner Books 2013)

Have you ever looked at your life and wondered what you are doing? In that process, do you think back to an earlier time when you recall being happy, perhaps even remembering a sweetheart in such a period?

What do you think it would be like to return at a later stage of your life? Would it be as you remembered? Better or worse? Could you find new life?

Hock spent two years in Malawi. He enjoyed the people, became an expert snake handler, and thirsted with love for an unrequited sweetheart, Gala.

Upon the death of his father, he returned to Boston to take over the family mens’ clothing store. He married and had a daughter. Ultimately, the business failed, his wife wanted a divorce after discovering messages with other women on Hock’s cell phone that she insisted he use (never consummated, just discussion), and in the divorce his daughter insisted on her “cut” of his estate in case he married again. Hock was divorced from his family and life.

He returned to Malawi and the village of his memory, Malabo, in the Lower River country. His bag contained his life, clothes, money, and what not. He meets Gala again, an old woman by then. A tall thin “twig”, Zizi, is assigned to care for him. She is granddaughter of Gala

Of course everything has changed. In the end, Hock finds his own redemption.

The story line in The Lower River is a trip through depression and an effort to find meaning in a soured life. Zizi loves and adores him. She would do anything for him. She is a virgin, placed on a pedestal in the Malabo. Can she bring Hock happiness? At what cost?

In the end . . . well, you need to read this lovely story. I found myself thinking through my own life. There are many parallels. It is such a joy to read a story that triggers emotions of life in the reader. This is a great read. It cries out for discussion in a book club gathering.

Warms, Cym

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