The Lower River
ABOUT
THE BOOK
When he was a young man, Ellis Hock spent four of the best years of his life with the Peace Corps in Malawi. So when his wife of forty-two years leaves him, he decides to return to the village where he was stationed in search of the happiness he’d been missing since he left. But what he finds is not what he expected. The school he built is a ruin, the church and clinic are gone, and poverty and apathy have set in among the people.
They remember Ellis and welcome him with open arms. Soon, however, their overtures turn menacing; they demand money and refuse to let him leave the village. Is his new life an escape or a trap?
NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS
This extraordinary, yet accessible novel is a suspenseful page turner and a commentary on the misguided nature of philanthropy. Below the surface, Theroux manages to present personal tragedy with a touch of humor and expose the powerful emotion of disillusionment that come when one’s memories do not line up with fact.