The Paperchase

This book is filled with delights, not least of which is the light, deft touch the author employs as he deals charmingly with important and weighty issues of family relationships--fathers with sons, and brothers with each other. There's a freshness and gentleness of tone here that might even be cloying were it not for the acerbic, sometimes boisterous, humor which the author uses to leaven his narrative and keep his issues in perspective. Though there is a mystery at the heart of the novel, it's a quiet mystery, more important for the lessons it illuminates than for any thrills it may provide. Damien March, the main character, is an expatriate American living in London and working for the BBC. Although he's had no contact with his uncle Patrick for twenty years, he finds himself the sudden beneficiary of his uncle's estate on Ionia, a fictional island off Cape Cod, an island which resembles the Martha's Vineyard of the past. The only catch is that he must not change the interior of the house, which is packed with bric-a-brac. When he decides to spend six months living in the house, he discovers several unpublished stories by his uncle, all concerning Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock Holmes's mysterious brother, who has committed a terrible crime, but for worthy reasons. The parallels Damien sees between Mycroft Holmes's relationship with Sherlock and his uncle Patrick's relationship with Damien's father lead him to investigate the crime and, ultimately, to come to a new understanding of what family means and what its enduring values may be. It is possible that this fictional story reflects either directly or obliquely on the author's own relationship with his author-father, Paul Theroux, his author-uncle Alexander Theroux, his British TV-host-brother Louis, and the relationship of the elder Theroux brothers with each other. While these overlaps will provide tantalizing and fertile grounds for biographers, they are irrelevant to one's enjoyment of this narrative. Marcel Theroux, however, certainly seems to welcome such speculation by setting of this novel off Cape Cod, where Paul Theroux lives, and by his references to Medford, where the elder Theroux authors grew up. The accurate Cape Cod descriptions, the "Yankee spirit," and the unpretentious lives so well illustrated by the peripheral characters here add immeasurably to the realism of this delightful study of family values. A captivating novel. Mary Whipple

This is the sort of book that is worth reading when you have pockets of time like on the train or bus in the morning or at night when you have a little time to yourself in the tub. It is a wonderful story, which I wouldn't be surprised if some of the elements are factual!!!

A deceptively meaty book in spite of the angel food texture. Quietly disfunctional families come to grips with the past and future. Not much to add to the already positive reviews, here. Just a really good read that got under my skin in a very positive way.

Theroux follows up his gently charming, and well-received debut, A Stranger in the Earth, with another witty and touching slim novel. As in his first book, the story revolves around a man starting a new life in a new place. Here, Damien March is a thirtysomething American who's lived most of his life in England and now works as a nightshift drone for the BBC. His Uncle Patrick, a prize-winning author turned odd recluse, stuns the family by leaving his New England home and its content to Damien, whom he hasn't seen since he was a child. The home sits on the fictional island of Ionia, a kind of Martha's Vineyardish place off of Cape Cod. The bequest is conditional on Damien living in the house, and so he makes the momentous decision to leave his dead-end life in London and head to America to live in the house for the summer.As he gets accustomed to island life, his deaf neighbors, and living in a house filled with random bric-a-brac, he also muses on his upbringing, his family history, and the meaning of family in general. Mostly he ponders the question of who his uncle was and why his writings grew increasingly bizarre, why he sequestered himself on the island, and why Damien's father and Uncle Patrick had an odd relationship. These internal musings are interrupted by various odd occurrences, such as the disappearances of some of Uncle Patrick's files, a later burglary, and the general oddities of life on the island. Then, about 2/3 of the way into the book, Damien discovers a manuscript of his uncle's called "The Confession of Mycroft Holmes." It's a pastiche of sorts, based on Sherlock Holmes's enigmatic elder brother. The story itself is faithfully rendered in faux-Victorian prose, and characters in it appear to parallel some on the island. Damien starts to think there's a connection between the story and his uncle's odd life, and the investigation leads to a surprising (to him, if not to the reader) discovery. The book ends rather disappointingly abruptly after this revelation, but is nonetheless extremely enjoyable. Lightly written in a musing tone, and dolloped with sly wit, Theroux's second book makes the reader anxious for more. In a time when accolades are mainly gathered by sprawlingly undisciplined tomes like The Poisonwood Bible and The Blind Assassin, Theroux's slim work proves that yes, sometimes less is more.

The Confessions of Mycroft Holmes is charming and funny work in a small package. At just over 200 pages, this one won't take you very long to get through, which is a shame because it's such a lovely ride. Damien March, is a sort of British/American amalgamation, as is his family. When his Uncle Patrick dies, and bequests his home, albeit with many limiting strings attached, to Damien, Damien leaves his London life for life on an island in New England, where Patrick's ramshackle home is. Damien comes to the US and gives us many bemused, amusing observations about American culture, given in an amusing fashion from one who sort of belongs in the US anyway. Damien finds an old manuscript of his uncle's, the Confession of Mycroft Holmes. The novel sends Damien on a journey he had technically begun when he left England, a journey which brings Damien a surprising discovery. It's a lovely story, told in charming fashion. Enjoy this one.