"Artists are never complete people. But if it's art that completes them, then what is taken away?" -- Alexander Theroux
Alexander Theroux (born 1939) is an American novelist, poet, and essayist.
He was born in Medford, Massachusetts. His brother is Paul Theroux. He studied at Harvard University and Yale University. On publishing his first novel, Three Wogs aged 32, the New York Times called him "a certified, grade A, major new talent." His most recent novel, Laura Warholic, has been described as "the Moby-Dick of misanthropy".
"Being natural is one of the most irritating poses I know in people.""Hypocrisy is the essence of snobbery, but all snobbery is about the problem of belonging.""It's true, you can never eat a pet you name. And anyway, it would be like a ventriloquist eating his dummy.""Silence is the unbearable repartee.""There is no loneliness like that of a failed marriage."
In 1995 the New York Times reported that one of its readers had noted the similarity of 6 passages in Theroux's 1994 survey of The Primary Colors with a 1954 book Song of the Sky (by Guy Murchie). Theroux attributed the matter to "stupidity and bad note taking," noting that he had read hundreds of books for The Primary Colors. Theroux's editor said that future editions would credit Murchie's work, or remove the passages.