Criticism > Contemporary Literary Criticism > Theroux, Alexander (Louis) - BENJAMIN DeMOTT

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BENJAMIN DeMOTT

I remember noticing at intervals as I read [Alexander Theroux's "Three Wogs"] that the author was a dictionary buff—a writer eager to use the precisely correct word even where literary prudence, that wonderfully self-denying sanity, would prefer imprecision to lower the authorial profile. But only at intervals. For most of its length "Three Wogs" was uncluttered with the egotistical sublime, directing the reader's eye toward a social scene at once freestanding and solidly alive. I don't recall an American fictional debut in the 1970's that created a stronger image of the writer as responsive man—lover of the human variousness that's Out There, natural enemy of self-enclosure.

Traces of the gifts that surfaced in "Three Wogs" are visible on some pages of "Darconville's Cat."… (p. 9)

I'm afraid, though, that "Darconville's Cat" will disappoint those whose expectations for this author were shaped by "Three Wogs." The reason is that...

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1. Introduction
2. Diane Johnson
3. The Times Literary Supplement
4. Miles Donald
5. Jack Beatty
6. Eve Ottenberg
7. BENJAMIN DeMOTT
8. John Leonard
9. J. O. Tate
10. Copyright