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My Secret History | 
 enlarge | Author: Paul Theroux
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Category: Book
List Price: $27.00
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $26.99 (100%)
New (19) from $15.45
Avg. Customer Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 488275
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st Ballantine Books trade pbk. ed
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 512
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.1
ISBN: 0449912000
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780449912003
ASIN: 0449912000
Publication Date: September 29, 1996
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Good condition, wear from reading and use. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact and has some creases. The spine has signs of wear and creases. This copy may include "From the library of" labels, stickers or stamps and be an ex-library copy.
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Product Description
Brilliantly written, erotically charged, My Secret History is Paul Theroux's tour de force. It is the story of Andre Parent, a writer, a world traveller, a lover of every kind of woman he chances to meet in a life as varied as a man can lead.It begins with his days as a Massachusetts altar boy, when his first furtive sexual encounter introduces him to the thrills of leading a double life. As a teenaged lifeguard, Andre finds himself caught between the attentions of a beautiful young student and an amorous older woman. Soon he is in Africa, where the local women are numerous, easy, and free. And as the boy becomes a man he turns his attention to writing, which brings him fame, and a wife, who may finally cause him to know himself. But not before he sets up his most dangerous secret life, one that any man might envy, but that could cost Andre Parent the delicate balance that makes him who he is.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 If you like Paul Auster, Graham Greene or Phillip Roth you'll love this book! December 4, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I came late to Paul Theroux. I'd been aware of his travel books (never read them) but assumed a good travel writer does not make a good fiction writer - boy, was I wrong. So, one evening, while browsing the used book store for something to read I picked up "My Secret History." I opened it and read the first paragraph and was intriqued enough to purchase it. Once I got it home I couldn't put it down. "My Secret History" is five extraodinary books seperated into six chapters, the last being the weakest. I went from loving this book to hating it-specifically the main character, for his contradictions and selfishness. Then it(or the author) would redeem itself for it's honesty. Bukowski said to be a great writer one has to expose every miserable and disgusting thing because if you don't the reader will know you're a fake. And Harry Crews also had a similar take when he said you have to put on paper the secrets that make you cringe and embarrassed. Well, Mr. Theroux exposes his racism, arrogance, mysogyny but does so honestly, like few other writers can and in doing so; he's crafted a readable and subtle piece of autobiography disguised as fiction.
The first chapter deals with the books protagonist- Andre Parente's troubled adolescence growing up in the shadow of the Catholic church and trying to be a good and responsible altar boy. Even while slowly waking up to the realization that his church isn't about religion as much as it is about conformity and guilt. After seeing his favorite priest treated shabbily and cruely Andy becomes lost and bewildered. Anyone who's grown up under the heavy hand of religion or authority will instanly relate to this young boys turmoil. Once his faith is lost and his eyes open up to the real world, Andy is left bewildered and angry.
The next chapter picks up with Andy looking for a job as a lifeguard during his summer break from college. He lands a job at a country club where he can barely hide his contempt for it's members. But he soldiers on because he's desperate for the good wages. This part of the book so expertly conveys the alienation and anger that is inherent at this age that it's really comforting to know that someone else felt the same alienation we may have felt at this age. Paul Theroux writes his own "The Catcher in the Rye" in this chapter so well that when the next chapter switches gear and tells of Andy as 21 year old teaching in Africa, its a bit jarring.
This chapter of Andy's life takes place during the 70's with England giving Malawai it's independence. Andy is headmaster at a small school in this tiny country in Africa teaching poor children. He thinks of himself as the great white savior. While at the same time he leads a secret life of a sexual deviant bedding as many Afican woman as possible. There are so many contradictions here and a growing dislike for Andy as a person that I wanted to strangle him and throw the book threw a window. But it'd be a shame if I did because this is where Mr. Theroux really shines. He writes Andy's story so convincingly that the reader takes on the mentallity of Andy in thinking that he is superior in his morals and judgements the same way Andy thinks he's superior to everyone around him in Africa. Only a pro could write something so subtle a turnaround as this. It really reminded me of Graham Greenes style of illustrating the ambiguity of the human condition.
The final chapters find Andy traveling India, living in England and coming to the realization that he's no not so perfect. I'd go into more detail but I wanna leave some mystery to this book which conveys the arrogance of man through the microcosm of one person's life. There are books just for entetainment and then there are books like "My Secret History" that leave me feeling like I learned something about myself.
 Traveling the Inner Landscape September 4, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Paul Theroux is best known for his bestselling nonfiction tomes about travel around the world, be that China, England, or the South Pacific. This book, however, is a thinly veiled novel about the author's dangerous secret life...a tale of two women (one his wife, one his mistress). There is some exotic setting (Africa) and some sexually charged scenes. It lays bare the writer's own flaws as a man and his release as a writer (which to him feels like "home").
What I found most interesting in the book, however, was the way in which the main character (Andy Parent, a name with a Freudian reference?) helps the reader understand and appreciate each woman for her own unique character and what she has to offer the main character. It's a story that perfectly captures why men don't leave their wives when they have an affair. The writing here is top notch as usual, but the subject matter explores a different country altogether.
Although some may find this a strange departure from Theroux's normal fare, it also demonstrates the depth of his writing chops. His skill as a writer can be applied to any genre. That he has chosen to reveal much of his own inner landscape is a special gift to his longtime fans. While Theroux's readers may favor his lifetime's work on traveling the globe, this portrait of his inner journey can be just as interesting.
 Borrowing From the Master. October 20, 2006
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
What a fantasy life both lived, the master and the copyroom boy who wanted to be what he wasn't, thus creating a secret history which was all based on made-up events from an old book he just couldn't turn loose of -- and other fiction he could use as his own. Prompted by those who could use this unassuming-looking young man to be a front for their hypocrisy and money to manufacture a history which didn't exist. Rudyard Kipling was the master of deception back in 1899 with books like KIM and other pieces of fiction. There is a followup a century later with someone calling himself Neely. First, he self-published a book of news columns purportedly by him but now he is giving credit to others as follows: #1 was Knoxville's Secret History by Jack Neely, Aaron Jay, and Lisa Horstman (Paperback - Nov 1, 1995), #2 was Secret History II: Stories About Knoxville, Tennessee by Jack Neely, Ed Richardson, and Lisa Horstman (Paperback - Nov 20, 1998). Lisa Horstman must be the maiden name of Karen, but who is Ed Richardson. That's a new one on me.
What was supposedly history of old happenings in this town he admits to me is pure fiction based on the book, Sutree. Sordid and scandalous events which never happened except in his imagination. He is no Kipling but "borrowed" Paul Theroux's Secret History book as the title of the tabloid columns since 1995. He has created a sordid and scathing "past" which didn't happen. He has been on a sex craze from times gone by also which didn't happen as he wrote. He even promoted a fictional account of a prominent person who helped to write Harbrace Handbook for English. He is merely the office boy and others do the writing for which he gets credit. When he tries to talk to literary groups, he hems and haws and never says anything substantial. He tricked me, as he has tricked the newcomers to this sordid town. It is turning into a drug culture in the downtown area. One of them (actually two counting the wife) are now in prison for marjuiana sales and the properties they managed to pull over the officials as legitimate. People like them have ruined this town. And they have used the services of one Neely who is a pretender for old men who pull the wool over the eyes of unknowing foreigners.
 Not My Favorite August 30, 2005
1 out of 13 found this review helpful
I've said before on here that I am not a Paul Theroux fan even though I think he is a talented writer. Having read a few of his books I've learned he is not the author for me. While "Hotel Honolulu" was OK, this book did nothing for me.
A Multi-Faceted Masterpiece February 6, 2003
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
The prequal to his acclaimed *My Other Life*, *My Secret History* is also a masterful work of narrative and characterization, imbued with grace, humor, and humanity. It demonstrates a young man's coming-of-age stuggles more astutely than any book I've read, and while it's easier to read than the later book, it's just as poignant: we often rather smugly hide behind our baggage and consider younger people frivolous because of inexperience, or somehow incapable of love. Theroux shows that they *do* feel love, of romance, friendship, respect--and these emotions form the measuring sticks by which all our subsequent experiences will be measured. Moreover, the book itself is an act of love--of writing and of living. It has made me value my own life more fully, through pages that made me relate, reflect, laugh, and read until dawn, and then, the better for it, get up and start writing, myself. And living. Just read the tender, blunt and beautiful first section, and I seriously doubt you'll stop.
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