Theroux’s most honest work of Non-Fiction

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Theroux’s most honest work of Non-Fiction. It was wonderful first hand account of the mentor/mentee relationship and the coming of age of a young author through critical and often pessimistic nurturing, while maintaining a tender friendship, sometimes over great distances and often through the writing of letters. I like how Theroux hones not only his writing but also his relationship (Similar to Van Gogh’s Letters to Theo, Not only did Van Gogh maintain a relationship with his brother, he worked out his ideas through this correspondence). Sir Vidia’s Shadow is gracefully written, funny and often times touching, sometimes seeing in Vidia the derivative for some of Theroux's more colorful future fictional characters. Highly recommended.

[s316]

I recently finished this book and loved it. I've read most of his novels and non-fiction, and this was one of my favorites. It gives the reader the sense a writer's struggles and I appreciated the books honest autobiographical details. I met P.T. a few years ago, and he says that this is among his favorites of all the books he's written.

[Jon D. Evers]