Paul Theroux and the “Demon Eel”
Travel Blog • Jim Benning • 12.06.05 | 12:29 AM ET
Our own Frank Bures wasn’t the only one to take issue with some of the erotic writing in Paul Theroux’s latest novel, “Blinding Light.” Theroux’s prose also came up in a recent Los Angeles Times piece about the “Bad Sex in Fiction Awards” held in London last week. Started by the eldest son of Evelyn Waugh, the awards “lampoon dysfunctional literature,” explains Stephen Bayley.
Writes Bayley:
The Bad Sex Awards are not based on any reluctance to acknowledge the erotic element in literature but rather on clear critical standards about how sex may be written best. Thus, every year’s short list reflects a process in which novels are vigorously scrutinized for pomposity, ludicrous metaphors and embarrassing wish-fulfillment by aging literary superstars.
Something about sex makes even the greatest prose stylists ham-fisted. This year, the usually adroit Paul Theroux erred when he referred to “a demon eel thrashing.”
In all fairness to Theroux, World Hum’s Bures objected to some of the erotic writing in “Blinding Light” but also wrote, “It’s not all that bad, and some of the sex writing is actually well done.”
I’m a big Theroux fan myself and had a tough time picking my favorite book of his for a recent contribution to Transitions Abroad. So I was happy Theroux didn’t take home the big “Bad Sex in Fiction” prize this year.
That dishonor went to Giles Coren for his debut novel, “Winkler.” According to Bayley, Winkler “described a male character’s genitalia ‘leaping around like a shower hose dropped in an empty bath.’”
That’s bad.
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Jim Benning is the editor and co-founder of World Hum.
