Stranger At The Palazzo Doro (Paperback)

The theme of the title story is sort of retold in a different framework in a second one. Neither to me are satisfying. With the Palazzo story I get the feeling that it SHOULD HAVE BEEN a novel but that there really was only a limited story to tell. Sex without conversation gets dull even for an author. The "readalike" seemed to be another way to try and draw out the same story. Neither worked for me.

The stories that are grouped together under the "Judas" theme posed an even more difficult issue for me. They seemed like doodles. By that I mean - Theroux wanted the characters in them to do something but couldn't settle on one thing. So he tried in different ways, and lacking the ability to develop them (they really aren't interesting people) gave us all the attempts in this short story collection. To me they were barebones, or sketches if you will, of an idea.

Recently I saw a drawing show of Parmagianino's work at the Frick Museum in NYC. There were many sheets of what my friend calls "doodles" which is how he defines sketches and studies for "real" drawings or paintings. I asked myself why I loved looking at the art studies but resented reading what I thought were literary studies. I think the reason is that an artist's thought process is interesting for comparison to what he finally achieves. A writer's studies are not interesting in the same way unless there is a final definitive version.

Also, the artist - Parmagianino for example - never expected his studies (doodles) to be seen. In contrast, Theroux has assembled his and published them as a final product.

This is not satisfying to me. But I'm sure I am in the minority. Moral: I should stick to novels.

The title novella takes place in Taomina, Sicily in 1962. The protagonist/narrator is Gilford Mariner, a twenty-one year old painter who has traveled to Taomina hoping to find something of inspiration. What he finds is the Palazzo d'Oro (now a hotel) and its strange inhabitants, a young Iraqi doctor named Haroun and an older, sophisticated woman simply called "the Graefin" (which is "Countess" is German). Mariner enters into a strange relationship with the Graefin, a relationship from which he will only be released once he learns the Graefin's "secret." I don't want to give away anything of the plot, so let's just say that the Graefin's secret was pretty transparent, yet it took Mariner most of the novella to discover just what it was. Oh, well, he was only twenty-one...I can, and will, make an allowance for that.

The novella, "The Stranger at the Palazzo d'Oro" is told in a frame when Mariner has reached his sixtieth birthday and has "returned to the scene of the crime." Although he terms it his "only story," it is probably just the one that is the most bizarre. Though it could be termed a story of sexual awakening, I think "a sexual nightmare" describes it far more aptly. The characters were impossible to like or empathize with, nevertheless, I liked it. I liked its exoticism and decadence and it certainly has an abundance of both.

The other novella in THE STRANGER AT THE PALAZZO D'ORO is titled "A Judas Memoir" and is told in four parts. In this novella, we move away from sunburnt, exotic Sicily to New England, something I was definitely sorry to see happen. From the book's title, I had rashly assumed that all of the novellas/stories would take place in either Italy or Sicily and I was sorry they didn't.

The protagonist of "A Judas Memoir," is a young boy named Andy. Andy's story, set in New England is, in its own way, a "younger" version of Mariner's bizarre sojourn in Sicily. In the four parts of the novella, we learn of four episodes in Andy's young life that represent his own sexual awakening. These episodes are strange and harrowing, to say the least, and like Mariner's experiences they represent corruption and the loss of innocence. I didn't like this novella at all and it was my least favorite story in the entire collection. Still, it was not without merit.

The first story, "An African Story," takes place in the Transvaal. The protagonist is Lourens Prinsloo, writer, farmer, husband and the father of two grown sons. When Prinsloo falls in love with Noloyiso, a black teacher, he must decide whether or not to forfeit all he has spent years building...his marriage, his farm, his wealth, his respectability...for what he hopes might turn the tide in his life to something he wants even more. The ending of this story is an ironic one and I liked it. I thought it was quite fitting and very satisfying.

The final story, "Disheveled Nymphs," was more subtle than the other three. It revolves around an eccentric art collector, Leland Wevill (very strange name), who has retired to a Hawaiian paradise where he amuses himself by pointing out his guests ignorance of the most prized paintings in his collection. When Wevill becomes enamoured with the daughter of his Hawaiian housekeeper, he, too, will have to pay a price for his indescretion. I thought this story was very nuanced and subtle and I liked it, though it did lack the energy of the one that preceeded it. Still, a lack of energy is associated with decadence and I thought it quite fitting.

Although some readers may think lust is what Theroux is showcasing is these novellas and stories, I think it is something else. I think it's the price we pay for lust, i.e., expulsion from paradise. Each of the characters loses, rather than gains, from his experiences with lust and the book is thus more focused on decadence and ennui than it is on wisdom.

Theroux's writing throughout the book, but especially in the title novella, is beautiful...lovely and gracefully nuanced...but it lacks energy and passion. I think this was a good choice, given the extreme decadence of the stories, but it (along with the bizarre quality of stories) makes it very difficult to feel any empathy with the characters. We aren't participants in their lives, we're not emotionally engaged, we're simply observers.

The sexual details in THE STRANGER AT THE PALAZZO D'ORO range from out-of-the-ordinary to downright bizarre, something else that will no doubt distance some readers from the characters and cause a failure of sympathy for them. Theroux's descriptions of some of the sexual acts is as bizarre as are the acts themselves, which was, at least for me, a little off-putting.

I am a Paul Theroux fan and I sometimes like edgy, bizarre fiction, so I rather liked most of this collection, but I'll be the first to admit that this book is certainly not for everyone. And, it certainly doesn't represent Theroux at his finest, as he was in THE MOSQUITO COAST. Still, THE STRANGER AT THE PALAZZO D'ORO is a fascinating look at ennui and decadence and one Theroux fans will no doubt appreciate.