Figures in a Landscape: People and Places

Figures In a Landscape

Cover, 1st edition, US
Author	Paul Theroux
Language	English
Subject	Collection of essays
Publisher	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date	May 8, 2018
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print, hardback
Pages	386
ISBN	978-0-544-87030-7

Figures in a Landscape, subtitled: People and Places; Essays: 2001-2016, is a collection of thirty essays, profiles, articles and book introductions all by Paul Theroux.^[1] The thirty pieces cover a wide variety of topics including authors, artists, celebrities, Africa, travel experiences, reading and the craft of writing.

This 2018 volume is a companion to earlier published collections of Theroux's essays and articles including Sunrise with Seamonsters (1985) and Fresh Air Fiend (2000).

Contents

#	Title [1]	Topic(s)	Previously appeared [1]
1	My Drug Tour: Searching for Ayahuasca	Trip to Ecuador in search of a psychoactive plant	as "Honey, the Shaman Shrunk My Head", Men's Journal
2	Thoreau in the Wilderness	Henry David Thoreau, author	Introduction to The Maine Woods (Princeton University Press)
3	Liz in Neverland	Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Jackson, celebrities and close friends	Talk magazine (defunct)
4	Greeneland	Graham Greene, author	New York Times and introductions to the Penguin editions of Greene's Journey Without Maps and The Comedians
5	Hunter in the Kingdom of Fear	Hunter S. Thompson, author and gonzo journalist	The Guardian, newspaper
6	Conrad at Sea	Joseph Conrad, author	Introduction to Typhoon and Other Tales (Folio Society)
7	Simenon's World	Georges Simenon, author	Introduction to The Widow (New York Review Books Classics)
8	Dr. Sacks, the Healer	Oliver Sacks, neurologist, naturalist and author	as "My Friend the Doctor", Prospect (February 20, 1999)
9	Nurse Wolf, the Hurter	A professional dominatrix in New York	The New Yorker (June 7, 1998)
10	Robin Williams: "Who’s He When He’s at Home?"	Robin Williams, comedian and actor	Talk magazine
11	Tea with Muriel Spark	Muriel Spark, Scottish author	Talk magazine
12	Mrs. Robinson Revisited	Older women, younger men	Harper's Bazaar (March, 2002)
13	Talismans for Our Dreams	Collecting objects in travels	Departures (March 30, 2010)
14	The Rock Star's Burden	Bono, Africa, charity & harm done	New York Times (December 15, 2005)
15	Living with Geese	Raising geese, anthropomorphism and E.B. White	Smithsonian (December 2006)
16	Trespassing in Africa	A harrowing experience of Theroux as a young man in Africa	Granta
17	The Seizures in Zimbabwe	Zimbabwe commercial farmers chased from their farms by local gangs and politicians	Epilogue to the paperback edition of Dark Star Safari
18	Stanley: The Ultimate African Explorer	Review of biography of Henry Morton Stanley by Tim Jeal	New York Times book review (September 30, 2007)
19	Paul Bowles: Not a Tourist	Paul Bowles	Introduction to The Sheltering Sky (Penguin)
20	Maugham: Up and Down in Asia	W. Somerset Maugham	Introduction to The Gentleman in the Parlour (Vintage Classics)
21	English Hours: Nothing Personal	Memories as an expatriate living in England in 1970s and ‘80s	Granta #114 (February 10, 2011)
22	Traveling Beyond Google	Traveling to places despite receiving warnings to stay away	as "Why We Travel", New York Times (April 1, 2011)
23	Hawaii: Islands upon Islands	Hawaii; reflections on the author's adopted home of 22 years	as "One Man's Islands", Smithsonian magazine (May 2012)
24	Mockingbird in Monroeville	A visit to the Monroeville Alabama home town of Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird	as "Return of the Mockingbird" in Smithsonian magazine (July 2015)
25	Benton's America	Thomas Hart Benton and his work America Today	Smithsonian magazine (December 2014)
26	My Life as a Reader	Author's reading passions	Introduction to On Reading, photographs by Steve McCurry (Phaidon)
27	The Real Me: A Memory	A harrowing experience of Theroux as a college student	n/a
28	Life and the Magazine	Life magazine and meeting Gardner McKay	New York Times Magazine
29	Dear Old Dad: Memories of My Father	The author's father	Granta #98 (July 2, 2007)
30	The Trouble with Autobiography	The genre of autobiography	Smithsonian magazine (January 2011)

Reception

In the Irish Times Dervla Murphy found favor with "a superb set of musings on Graham Greene’s life and works."^[2]

In the New York Times Tom Zoellner said "What emerges [instead] is a portrait of an optimist with curiosity and affection for humanity in all its forms, as well as a ravenous appetite for the literary efforts of others."^[3]

Kirkus Review called it "A masterfully simple and satisfying collection."^[4]

In the Guardian Robert McCrum said "There are several highly entertaining essays here, and some quotably arresting lines, but the voice is elusive, unfixed and dissonant – an echo of the divisions within."^[5]

References

1. Theroux, Paul. Figures in a Landscape. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
2. Murphy, Dervla (19 May 2018). "Figures in a Landscape: People and Places by Paul Theroux". The Irish Times. Retrieved 21 Dec 2019.
3. Zoellner, Tom (1 Jun 2018). "Paul Theroux's New Book Ranges From Literature to Landscapes, With Surprising Cheer". New York Times. Retrieved 21 Dec 2019.
4. "FIGURES IN A LANDSCAPE". Kirkus Review. No. March 15th, 2018. Retrieved 21 Dec 2019.
5. McCrum, Robert (24 Jun 2018). "Figures in a Landscape by Paul Theroux review – a writer driven by divided loyalties". the Guardian. Retrieved 21 Dec 2019.