Collected here for the first time, Theroux's tales are funny and sardonic, sensuous and evocative, streaked with terror and cruelty. All glow with Theroux's intelligence, elegance, and ironic wit; with his marvelous sense of place; and with his tragicomic vision. Theroux's canvas stretches from London to Southeast Asia, Boston to Paris, Africa to Eastern Europe, Moscow to the tropics. He portrays colonials, emigres, diplomats, students, would-be writers, academics, and children. Many are trapped in alien situations, or are overwhelmed by larger cultural tremors.