“One of my luckiest instincts lay in being able to tell when I was happy— at the time, not afterwards. Most people don’t realize until long afterwards that they have passed through a period of happiness. Their enjoyment takes the form of reminiscence, and it is always tinged with regret that they had not known at the time how happy they were. But I knew, and my memory (of bad times too) was detailed and intense.”

American novelist and travel writer

Paul Theroux is an American novelist and travel writer. He is known for books that move between fiction and travel writing, including the travelogue The Great Railway Bazaar. His work has reached beyond the page as well. The Mosquito Coast won the 1981 James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and some of his fiction has been adapted for film and television, including versions of The Mosquito Coast.