The Kingdom by the Sea
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About the Author
Paul Theroux was born in Medford, Massachusetts, in 1941, and published his first novel, Waldo, in 1967. His subsequent novels include Picture Palace, winner of the Whitbread Prize for Fiction, The Mosquito Coast, and the hugely acclaimed, Kowloon Tong. His travel books include The Great Railway Bazaar and The Pillars of Hercules.
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Everyone seemed to be going to China that year, or else writing rude things about the Arabs, or being frank about Africa. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Everyone seemed to be going to China that year, or else writing rude things about the Arabs, or being frank about Africa. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Maybe selective, but not inaccurate,
By captain cuttle (Vancouver, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Kingdom by the Sea: A Journey Around the Coast of Great Britain (Mass Market Paperback)
Oh for the ability to see ourselves as others see us!
Kingdom by the Sea seems to have upset many readers. Although, more than just about any other race on the planet, the English are whip-sharp when it comes to poking fun at themselves, like most of us they don't want an outsider doing it for them. Not that Theroux is an outsider by any means. He lived in England for 11 years and married an Englishwoman. So this book doesn't describe the initial impressions of some passer-by. It's an informed, if narrowly-focused, description of parts of the UK and the people who live there, by somebody who has developed a keen ear for the language and a sharp eye for the quirks that make Britain unique. In a more recent travel book, Pillars of Hercules, Theroux recalls this earlier work as follows: "Prejudices in Gibraltar were quite similar to those I had encountered in English seaside resorts, an enjoyable mixture of bluster and wrong-headedness, the Little Englander in full spate." It's that Little Englander who bears the brunt of Theroux's humour, the same person who provided so much material for Monty Python, the same person ridiculed in the film "Shirley Valentine". It's hard to dispute the accuracy of Theroux's descriptions of coastal Britain twenty years ago, if not today. Lines of cars on the prom gazing seaward; scuzzy holiday camps; criminally-overpriced and substandard accommodation; yobos on public transit swearing in loud voices while the other passengers pretend they're not there; cozy, picturesque coves and garish amusement arcades; ubiquitous "shallies", their occupants glued to evening TV. Of course, this is a selective snapshot taken at a particular time (Britain was at war with the Falklands) but no less incisive for that reason. And while Theroux is not slow to adopt a gently mocking style with many of the people he meets, he is ready to admire or sympathize with others. His description of the people of Cape Wrath is particularly touching. Those familiar with his writings will find the style familiar. Whether in Africa, Australia, the Pacific or his own America, he can be acerbic and as wrongheaded as his Little Englanders. He has no intention of reinforcing anybody's view of any country he visits. He takes his own angle and, right or wrong, he's consistent. Bouquets and brickbats are handed around without regard to race, sex or social standing. As he quotes on one book: "No one has ever described the place where I have just arrived." I lived in England for 26 years and traveled extensively through the UK apart from Ireland. Kingdom by the Sea is as realistic an overview of 1980's Britain as you're likely to read, and a superb counter-balance to many of the long-established travel brochure images.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Kingdom by the Sea,
By Demob Happy "jamesewan" (London / Grenoble) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Kingdom by the Sea: A Journey Around the Coast of Great Britain (Mass Market Paperback)
I have to say I'm surprised by some of the customer reviews on this book. Could it be perhaps they hadn't read a Paul Theroux book before and didn't know what to expect? UK fans of Theroux's misanthropic, razor-sharp observations should have no qualms about the author turning his sights on Britain. Yes, 'The Kingdom by the Sea' is full of monstrous characateurs and Philip Larkin-esque mockery but, more importantly, brilliant observational and descriptive writing . Theroux manages (just) to make the rather relentless and tedious exercise of circumnavigating the British coast contstantly engaging and funny. As with (the also often misinterpreted) Larkin there is empathy beneath the cynicism. Theroux has a good eye for character and, for an American, a good ear for Britain's regional vernacular.
If you want travel writing that idealises its destinations then this is clearly not for you. If you want something balanced and objective this is also a poor bet. Paul Theroux's books don't pretend to be such things, although he makes some lofty claims about hoping to understand the British people and culture in the introduction. If you are familiar with his writing you will know that his books say just as much about the author than about his subjects; the writer Graham Greene described as having 'a chip of ice' in his heart. Theroux can be grumpy and brutal, but never less than engaging. Some of the reviewers make it sound like this book has wounded their national pride. I would be surprised if they don't at least recognize the Britain portrayed in these pages. He captures the national mood at a very definitive time: high unemployment and class conflict, the Falklands, British Rail, skin heads and mods. What is most striking about this novel is how much things in many ways have changed in the 15 years since then, and also how much has not.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent reading,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Kingdom by the Sea: A Journey Around the Coast of Great Britain (Mass Market Paperback)
This is an imaginative and humourous book about a trip around Britain. The excellent format, where he goes all around the coast, means that it beats 'Notes From A Small Island' by Bill Bryson, in my opinion. It just drags a bit at the end, where you feel he is struggling for things to say.
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