The Lower River

The devastating results of the handout vs. hand-up mentality are on full display in this dark novel of contrasts from Theroux, renowned for the breadth of his work (Dark Star Safari; The Mosquito Coast). Ellis Hock's wife has cut him loose, the family clothing store is obsolete, and his daughter only wants her inheritance. What keeps the 62-year-old sane are his memories of 40 years ago when he taught school in Malawi. A return to Africa might rekindle Ellis's youthful idealism, but the atmosphere is menacing from the moment he arrives; smiling faces hide smoldering resentment, the school he helped build is a shambles, the people are emaciated and guarded. Provided with a hut, Ellis metes out money, bribes for necessities, until solitude and malaria strip him of the strength to fight what feels more like imprisonment than hospitality. Escape is thwarted by a sinister food purveyor and a disturbing encounter with a village of AIDS-ravaged orphans reminiscent of Lord of the Flies.