Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fong and the Indians | 1968 | Paul Theroux | Buy |
| 2 | Waldo | 1968 | Paul Theroux | Buy |
| 3 | Girls at Play | 1969 | Paul Theroux | Buy |
| 4 | Jungle Lovers | 1971 | Paul Theroux | Buy |
| 5 | Saint Jack | 1973 | Paul Theroux | Buy |
| 6 | The Black House | 1974 | Paul Theroux | Buy |
| 7 | The Family Arsenal | 1976 | Paul Theroux | Buy |
| 8 | Picture Palace | 1978 | Paul Theroux | Buy |
| 9 | The Mosquito Coast | 1981 | Paul Theroux | Buy |
| 10 | O-Zone | 1986 | Paul Theroux | Buy |
| 11 | My Secret History | 1989 | Paul Theroux | Buy |
| 12 | Millroy the Magician | 1993 | Paul Theroux | Buy |
| 13 | My Other Life | 1996 | Paul Theroux | Buy |
| 14 | Kowloon Tong | 1997 | Paul Theroux | Buy |
| 15 | Hotel Honolulu | 2001 | Paul Theroux | Buy |
| 16 | Blinding Light | 2005 | Paul Theroux | Buy |
| 17 | The Elephanta Suite | 2007 | Paul Theroux | Buy |
| 18 | A Dead Hand: A Crime in Calcutta | 2009 | Paul Theroux | Buy |
| 19 | The Lower River | 2012 | Paul Theroux | Buy |
| 20 | Mother Land | 2017 | Paul Theroux | Buy |
| 21 | Under the Wave at Waimea | 2021 | Paul Theroux | Buy |
| 22 | The Bad Angel Brothers | 2022 | Paul Theroux | Buy |
| 23 | Burma Sahib | 2024 | Paul Theroux | Buy |
Paul Theroux’s standalone novels span over fifty years of writing, from Fong and the Indians in 1968 to Burma Sahib in 2024. His early novels were satirical and often set in Africa or Asia, drawing on his time in the Peace Corps. The Mosquito Coast (1981) remains his most famous novel, telling the story of an American inventor who drags his family to the Honduran jungle.
Later novels like Hotel Honolulu, Mother Land, and The Bad Angel Brothers show Theroux continuing to explore new settings and themes well into his seventies and eighties. His fiction often draws from his own extensive travel experience, giving his novels a strong sense of place.