But it needs to be uttered, aloud or in the mind of a reader. Without a consciousness to tickle them into life, those books were dead. Buy a cheap copy of strange bodies book by marcel theroux. Read it now enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to. A blow to the heart, a stranger in the earth, the confessions of mycroft holmes. Buy strange bodies book online at best prices in india on. But i rather enjoyed it, and the occasional deliberate anachronisms. Marcel theroux is the author of several novels, including far north, which was a finalist for the national book award and the arthur c. A dizzying novel of deception and metempsychosis by the author of the national book award finalist far north whatever this is, it started when nicholas slopen came back from the dead. Dick, marcel theroux s strange bodies takes the listener on a dizzying speculative journey that poses questions.
After all, who would have remembered nicolas notovitch and his strange. Strange how it is that men never act crueller than when theyre fighting for the sake of an idea. But it is the kind of science fiction that is a springboard for larger conceits. What begins as a tale of apparent forgery involving unknown letters by the. Those profound questions are at the heart of this expertly crafted novel, a book that is dripping in literary resonance, yet one that also rattles along. Strange bodies is a literary science fiction novel as entertaining as it is thoughtprovoking and disturbing. Marcel therouxs strange bodies eerily updates frankenstein. The ethical quandaries of allowing powerful individuals to appropriate lifechanging technology to enhance themselves into permanent superiority. The heroine of marcel therouxs previous novel, far north, was an intrepid survivor named makepeace who scavenged books from the ruins. Forget your sad vampires and your lonely gods the new book strange bodies by marcel theroux has the saddest version of living forever. Born in kampala, uganda, theroux was brought up in wandsworth, london. Its a strange tale, and since i havent read any other marcel theroux, the style and approach took a little getting used to.
Nicholas slopen, failed husband and impoverished samuel johnson scholar. In marcel theroux s strange bodies, dead people inhabit new bodies and immortality isnt all its cracked up to be. Marcel therouxs eccentric strange bodies the new york. A dizzying novel of deception and metempsychosis by the author of the national book award finalist far northwhatever this is, it started when nicholas slopen came. He wrote a stranger in the earth and the confessions of mycroft holmes. Theroux s lucid, articulate writing makes strange bodies. Slopen has been dead for months, yet nothing can make this man change his story. In an age when our written words are more publicly available than ever, thanks to blogging, social networking, selfpublished e books and internet message boards, marcel theroux s strange bodies presents us with a prospect that seems even more sinister than it otherwise might. Heres a link to an interview about the book on meet the author with james naughtie. I wasnt old enough to read it, but i scrawled my name with upside down e and back to front r on the title page and doted on it until the cover came off. Buy strange bodies book online at low prices in india.
Marcel theroux delivers a work that challenges his readers without entering into the dangerous territory of pretension or overcomplexity. A paper chase, which won a somerset maugham award, and most recently, far north, which is a 2009 national book award finalist. Marcel theroux s new novel, strange bodies, centers on the seeming return to life of two dead men, including samuel johnson. Suffice it to say that theroux harnesses the history of russian utopianism as well as the life of dr johnson to. Marcel therouxs strange bodies is a smart, troubling scifi thriller that poses deep questions about identity. He is the older son of the american travel writer and novelist, paul theroux. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading strange bodies.
Marcel raymond theroux is a british novelist and broadcaster. You drive yourself mad if you take it all personal. All this, and the nature of self, the soul and fulfillment. Marcel raymond theroux born june 1968 is an english novelist and broadcaster. Nicholas slopens death was well documented, but hes never felt more alive. In strange bodies, theroux refers to such a situation, from a sciencefictional perspective. I died on september 28, 2009, crushed in the wheel arch of a lorry. A dizzying novel of deception and metempsychosis by the author of the national book. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. In elizabeth kostovas book the historian she imagines stalin as a vampire, never dying, spreading his evil into all eternity. Whatever this is, it started when nicky slopen came back from the d. Strange bodies, by marcel theroux the new york times. Yes, strange bodies is an astonishingly ambitious work. Marcel theroux takes identity theft to a new level in strange bodies, a literary science fiction novel as entertaining as it is thoughtprovoking and disturbing.
Marcel therouxs new novel, strange bodies, centers on the seeming return to life of two dead men, including samuel johnson. Marcel therouxs eccentric strange bodies the new york times. Theroux tells nprs scott simon, i think that everyone who loves books has. Told from a psychiatric ward, his desperate attempts to explain who he is call into question the nature of identity and reveal a complex conspiracy. His fifth, strange bodies, was published in may 20. Thank you to maxomatic, a brilliant, barcelonabased maestro of collage, for the lovely cover.
His younger brother, louis theroux, is a journalist and television reporter. In this way, it is similar to the novels of margaret atwood and doris lessing in that it is much more interested in philosophical examination than future speculation. Susanna, who opens marcel therouxs ingenious new novel, is both touched and unnerved when her university boyfriend, nicholas slopen, turns. He lives in london, where he also works as a documentary filmmaker and television presenter. I ordered two apparently after a christmas present request, and i didnt return the second. Theroux masterfully braids horror and ontology, nabokovian doppelgangers and orwellian satire into a tragicomic narrative that pulls tight as a noose. Yeah, strange bodies is each of those things, as well as an unlikely love. Strange bodies marcel theroux, gildart jackson, veida dehmlow on. Inspire a love of reading with prime book box for kids discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new books every 1, 2, or 3 months. Marcel theroux s strange bodies takes the reader on a dizzying speculative journey that poses questions about identity, authenticity, and what it means to be truly human.
It started when nicky slopen came back from the dead. Marcel theroux is the author of a blow to the heart, a stranger in the earth, and the confessions of mycroft holmes. Literary science fiction has portrayed walking dead, living dead, undead, and to this mix theroux now adds strange bodies mankurt, in a strange, satisfying novel about possession featuring a literar. Whatever this is, it started when nicholas slopen came back from the dead. Strange bodies takes the reader on a dizzying speculative journey that poses questions about identity, authenticity, and what it.
In a locked ward of a notorious psychiatric hospital sits a man who insists that he is dr. Marcel theroux strange bodies is the most tragic vision of immortality. Marcel theroux s brilliant new novel has been dubbed a literary thriller, which is an apt epithet in more ways than one. Jack in particular begins the book as a frightening figure, but turns out to. The heroine of marcel theroux s previous novel, far north, was an intrepid survivor named makepeace who scavenged books from the ruins. Marcel theroux s strange bodies is a smart, troubling scifi thriller that poses deep questions about identity. After a long gestation, this is my new novel the secret books, which has just been published by faber and faber. Marcel theroux is the author of four previous novels, a blow to the heart, a stranger in the earth, the paperchase, winner of the 2002 somerset maugham award, and far north which was shortlisted for the americas prestigious national book award.