The Lower River

This is an engrossing read, a sort of "what if" kind of speculation. The protagonist finds himself in late middle age with a failing business and a failed marriage. Rudderless, he decides to return to the one place he remembers being truly happy, the rural village in Malawi where he taught school in the 60s. What he finds seems at first comforting and then gradually reveals a sinister side. The pace picks up and the writing is descriptive but spare, with beautiful use of metaphor and allusion. So why only three stars? While the story is plausible and believable, the way it plays into Western archetypes of Africa as the dark, threatening continent of the subconscious is disturbing. On the merits of the writing, this book deserves more show more stars, but I just couldn't help but feel Theroux is devoting his formidable skills to retelling a story that has been told many times before by Conrad and others. This is a book about one person's fears and doubts, his struggle with self-image, and how rural Africa presents the last "mirror" in which he can attempt to view himself. show less

This was terrifying. It begins with the banality of a life lived quietly in the Boston suburbs and leads to a nostalgic trip back to the Africa of the narrator's Peace Corp youth. There is first world hubris ..but it is not the entire issue here. Sentimentality also plays a big part in the downturn of events. Did I enjoy the book? No. Did it make me think? Yes. Did it make me squirm? A big yes.

With great clarity, in The Lower River, Paul Theroux achingly depicts a region of Africa that is both dependent and resentful of the aid of NGO’s, celebrities, and former Peace Corps do-gooders like the novel’s protagonist, Ellis Hock. Unfortunately, when independence follows colonization, what remains are cynicism, corruption, and greed – all in the name of self survival. In the end, everyone is the poorer and the Africa of one’s dreams becomes a nightmare. The reader is left wondering if the best policy is to leave the indigenous cultures alone but then that would be adding insult to injury. Such is the paradox as there can be no atoning for the sins of empires.

I tried but I have a snake phobia and there were just too many plot points involving snakes. Made it halfway through.

I felt guilty and I've restarted it....

I did manage to finish it but there were chunks I had to skip past. This was a tough read and I'm not sure if I liked it or not. Ellis Hock is a hard character to figure out, he seems to have an essential kindness about him but also so much passivity. With his life turned upside down late in his life, he tried to return to where he was once happy in Malawi. He seems to know that things will have changed but the extent to which he is unprepared for what happens is hard to fathom. There was alot that reminded me of The Mosquito Coast and how terribly badly things can go. However, my show more creep out factor of the snakes mostly just drove me to finish it as fast as I could, afraid of every page. Not a pleasant experience from an author I usually like. show less

Ellis Hock is a 62 year old American. His marriage is over, his business is failing...he recalls the happiest time of his life, as a young man in the Peace Corps, teaching in Malawi. He longs to return to that optimistic world of improving the life of a remote village...and returns.
But life there is very different now, The people are poor, hungry...and resentful of the white aid agences and their superficial "assistance"...even while makingh full use of what they can get.
Theroux has given a negative portrayal of such organizations in his travel books, and I'm sure he has a valid point.
When you finish this (a fair read, somewhat suspenseful as it draws to an end) you'll never weant to visit Malawi...

The Lower River was Conversati-ohm’s (one of my monthly book clubs) August pick. We had a robust discussion about it even though not everyone liked it. I had mixed feelings about it myself. I didn’t care for most of the characters and that made it hard to like the book overall. Ellis is so selfish and self-righteous that I couldn’t bring myself to have any sympathy for him when his trip to Malawi didn’t go as planned. At one point, he needs a letter delivered and something extremely awful happens to the deliverer. When Ellis goes to see the person who was supposed to deliver the letter after the awful thing happens, all he can ask about is whether the awful thing happened before the letter got to its destination. That scene show more literally made me sick to my stomach.

However, Ellis’s selfishness did make me think a lot about Westerners coming to “help” people in third-world countries. What is the true motivation for helping? Is everyone helping out of the goodness of their hearts or because of the feelings of superiority one might get from helping? Are we giving them the help they need or the help WE THINK they need?

Even though I didn’t really enjoy reading this book, it did end up being a good book for discussion purposes and one that I thought about for a while after I finished it. show less

Taken from PT's experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer the book is a statement about the futility of helping those who won't help themselves and the harm done by those who want to affect poverty in Africa even when understanding local culture on the ground.
The end saved the book. Good descriptive writing but I didn't need anymore humiliation of Hock to get the point. PT obviously has a soft spot for Africa.