The Vanishing Point
Stories

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ½ Genre: Literary Fiction + Short Stories The Vanishing Point is a collection of stories exploring aging, memory, and identity through reflective narratives. Several stories have blurring lines between real life and imagination, highlighted in the personal experiences of these characters.......more

I’ve long enjoyed Theroux’s travel writing – wild, exotic, insightful, and often hilarious – but I’ve often struggled with his fiction, which I’ve tended to find wacky and sometimes almost impenetrable. Here, he’s gathered together a good number of short pieces, some of which are new and others whic......more

I received this as an advanced reader copy for NetGalley. I was very disappointed in the short stories. They all seemed to be about men making very poor decisions regarding finances, lust, and love. The theme of a vanishing point is very clear throughout the book.......more

Until recently, I never noticed NetGalley had a "Novellas & Short Stories" category. I really like reading short stories, but often don't like the contemporary ones I read. Many I find totally unreadable. All the ones in this collection by Paul Theroux were readable, although I did stop reading two......more

I’ve been reading Theroux’s fiction and nonfiction for over thirty years, and his stories never fail to engage. This collection, set in Hawaii, New England and Africa, is reflective and often humorous, with the author looking back on his adventurous carefree years. A couple of the later stories also......more