Post by Bartwald on Mar 29, 2004 2:17:33 GMT -5
Paul Theroux [shadow=red,left,300]Waldo[/shadow] (1967) ***
When V.S. Naipaul first met Paul Theroux and saw some pages of this very book he said, 'You're a writer, Paul'. Paul was about 25 years old then and not a writer at all: 'Waldo' was his first attempt at writing a novel; therefore, such words from an older and already acclaimed writer were very encouraging. And Naipaul was right, of course: in fact, the financial success Theroux achieved some years later became a bone of contention between the two authors and lead to a sad ending of their close friendship. In 'Waldo' it's easy to see the first signs of Theroux's genius: the scene at the zoo (where they let the visitors to shoot some animals as the last attraction) is a biting grotesque, and the final pictures of the 'writing process as a reality show' will tell you what sort of sense of humour you can expect from Theroux in his next novels.
But it's only three stars that I gave, right? Yeah, 'Waldo' shows traces of genius but is not a genius book yet. Probably too much chaos at the beginning (the scenes in the prison are sometimes illegible and a bit too confusing for the novel's own good) and several boring and pointless bits in the middle (the 'party scene' being the peak of them all) don't let me proclaim 'Waldo' a totally coherent and gripping book. But it's worth a read, of course: thankfully the not-so-good parts are usually introduction to something truly hilarious and unforgettable.
When V.S. Naipaul first met Paul Theroux and saw some pages of this very book he said, 'You're a writer, Paul'. Paul was about 25 years old then and not a writer at all: 'Waldo' was his first attempt at writing a novel; therefore, such words from an older and already acclaimed writer were very encouraging. And Naipaul was right, of course: in fact, the financial success Theroux achieved some years later became a bone of contention between the two authors and lead to a sad ending of their close friendship. In 'Waldo' it's easy to see the first signs of Theroux's genius: the scene at the zoo (where they let the visitors to shoot some animals as the last attraction) is a biting grotesque, and the final pictures of the 'writing process as a reality show' will tell you what sort of sense of humour you can expect from Theroux in his next novels.
But it's only three stars that I gave, right? Yeah, 'Waldo' shows traces of genius but is not a genius book yet. Probably too much chaos at the beginning (the scenes in the prison are sometimes illegible and a bit too confusing for the novel's own good) and several boring and pointless bits in the middle (the 'party scene' being the peak of them all) don't let me proclaim 'Waldo' a totally coherent and gripping book. But it's worth a read, of course: thankfully the not-so-good parts are usually introduction to something truly hilarious and unforgettable.
