FIGURES IN A LANDSCAPE
People and Places: Essays, 2001-2016

Description
A varied selection of topics that showcase Theroux’s versatility as a writer. Travel essays take us to Ecuador, Zimbabwe and Hawaii, to name a few countries; literary criticism reveals depth in the work of Henry David Thoreau, Graham Greene, Joseph Conrad and Hunter Thompson; and in a series of personal profiles, we take a helicopter ride with Elizabeth Taylor, go surfing with Oliver Sacks, eavesdrop on the day-to-day life of a Manhattan dominatrix and explore New York with Robin Williams. An extended mediation on the craft of writing binds together the collection, along with Theroux’s constant quest for the authentic in a person or in a place.