Deborah Bosley
Self-Parody is Normal
Translating LA: A Tour of the Rainbow City
By Peter Theroux
WW Norton 271 pp £16.95
It is a brave writer who tries to put a fresh spin on Los Angeles. Not simply because it has been done countless times before, but mostly because it is impossible to do without lapsing into clichés. In their fascination with California, British writers especially are spectacularly good at getting it wrong – producing half–cocked articles full of grotesque stereotypes. Usually, too, they write from an ill–founded sense of superiority that tries to pass itself off as clever observation. Fortunately, Peter Theroux is neither British nor reliant on the cheap shot. He has produced an intriguing and fresh portrait of the city about which everybody has opinions but which few truly understand. Translating LA cool–headedly appraises the everyday life of ordinary people on the lunatic fringe of the Western world.
LA has an extreme personality – both anarchic and conservative. According to F Scott Fitzgerald, it is understandable ‘only dimly, and in flashes’. Theroux’s work as a translator and tutor on an adult literacy programme does not bring him into contact with the city’s glamour element. His is not the
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
Twitter Feed
The era of dollar dominance might be coming to an end. But if not the dollar, which currency will be the backbone of the global economic system?
@HowardJDavies weighs up the alternatives.
Howard Davies - Greenbacks Down, First Editions Up
Howard Davies: Greenbacks Down, First Editions Up - Our Dollar, Your Problem: An Insider’s View of Seven Turbulent...
literaryreview.co.uk
Johannes Gutenberg cut corners at every turn when putting together his bible. How, then, did his creation achieve such renown?
@JosephHone_ investigates.
Joseph Hone - Start the Presses!
Joseph Hone: Start the Presses! - Johannes Gutenberg: A Biography in Books by Eric Marshall White
literaryreview.co.uk
Convinced of her own brilliance, Gertrude Stein wished to be ‘as popular as Gilbert and Sullivan’ and laboured tirelessly to ensure that her celebrity would outlive her.
@sophieolive examines the real Stein.
Sophie Oliver - The Once & Future Genius
Sophie Oliver: The Once & Future Genius - Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife by Francesca Wade
literaryreview.co.uk