2023 #22: Deep South (Theroux)

Deep South: Four Seasons on Back Roads by Paul Theroux
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Part travelogue, part memoir, part commentary on poverty, Paul Theroux's Deep South: Four Seasons on Back Roads attempts to follow in the footsteps of James Agee and Walker Evans (see Let Us Now Praise Famous Men), but the lack of a cohesion makes this a bit more stream-of-consciousness (my real rating is 3.5 stars). Theroux seems to tease out important elements in fits and starts and then gets a bit lost in the landscape or musings about its people--all of which are important, but get a bit flattened by the lack of overarching game plan. Gun shows seem to be a major epicenter, and indeed some of those vignettes are some of the most revealing. Where the book is differentiated is in its ability to (for the most part) keep a voice that is in an in-between space, flanked by disinterest on one side and passion on the other...some might call it a style. But his allegiances are enigmatic, and that can be frustrating, particularly when there is so much at stake. He has been criticized for racializing poverty, and the lack of obvious through-line does not help (the line is there, but there's little about the presentation to highlight it). Sometimes Theroux allows ample space for various voices of the Deep South, but then seems to stand in front of the camera without warning, and very often the impact is one of condescension. Where I most appreciated Theroux's interjections was when he wrote about Southern writers: Faulkner, Portis, O'Connor, etc. (see his "Interlude: The Fantastications of Southern Fiction). Here Theroux seemed to be on more solid ground in terms of firsthand experience with literature.
When Theroux does move out of the way, or fosters a real dialogue (as with the farmers in Arkansas), the book has riches to offer. Dignity does seem to be something which Theroux wishes to amplify and in this, Deep South is successful.

But perhaps it is reading with post-2020 eyes that makes his ambivalence seem inadequate for a travel memoir of this area. There are moments where his opinion is clear -- Clinton's seeming abandonment of poor people in Arkansas, for example--but the meandering (and as one critic said, languid) book dilutes the moments of potential power. Yet, in its 441 pages are voices that are important and have stories and lives to share--some of which are heartbreaking, and some of which are angering. The earnest bigotry of some of those voices is frightening, but not in a sensationalized way. Instead, readers should understand that the "us vs. them" mindset is of limited value because "those" minds are just as set as "ours." The back roads of the Deep South contain multitudes, and what seems like occasional disinterest on the part of Theroux, might be a reminder that those back roads should be more front-and-center.



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