by Paul Theroux. (Find the Book)Ellis Hock runs a men's clothing store in Massachusetts. A dutiful husband, father, and boss, he's spent his life going through the motions. The only time he felt truly alive was as a Peace Corps volunteer in Malawi. When his marriage and the store both fail, Hock returns to the small village of Malabo on the Lower River with a bag of cash and the hope of starting again. But he finds the villagers don't want to rebuild the schoolhouse, they want his money. Caught between their need and his naivete, Hock soon finds himself trapped in a slow-moving nightmare. There is striking resonance here with Dark Star Safari (2003), in which Theroux recounts his own return to Africa (he taught in Malawi in the 1960s) and his discovery that, despite decades of well-intentioned foreign aid, most countries are even poorer than before. In this hypnotically compelling fiction, he wrestles with questions of good intentions and harsh reality, addressing what may be the central conundrum of Africa: our own influence is the very thing that makes it impossible for us to save it. And what does saving it mean, anyway? A gripping and vital novel that reads like Conrad or Greene in short, a classic. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Publisher plans for considerable publicity to accompany the release of Theroux's new book reflect his status as a major international writer. --Booklist
