His good luck continues and he proves adept at finding valuable rocks. For his efforts, Cal is accepted as an honorary member of la familia Zorrilla, “a family that was wealthy, and obviously powerful.” He’s able to nurse the man back to health and return him to his fortified Arizona compound, only to discover that he has rescued none other than Don Carlos, the patriarch of a Mexican cartel. What he finds instead in the desert is a half-dead body. Cal grows up to be a metallurgist and a prospector “searching wild places for minerals and metals.” His escape from their stifling hometown first takes him to the American Southwest in search of solitude and, more important, gold. Theroux soon takes us back to their shared childhood and the lifelong rivalry that led to such fratricidal ire.
In a brief overture that takes place when the men are in their late 50s, Cal admits that he wants Frank dead and gives us ample reason to question his reliability as our first-person narrator. Pascal Belanger is three years younger than his brother, Frank, a well-to-do lawyer who has stayed behind in their Massachusetts hometown while Cal travels the globe in search of precious ores. In it, the fierce rivalry between two siblings comes laden with jealousy, betrayal and an almost mythic lust for vengeance.
“The Bad Angel Brothers” is his 33rd work of fiction and 53rd book overall. Born in 1941, and best known for “The Mosquito Coast,” Theroux is nothing if not productive. At least that’s one takeaway from Paul Theroux’s latest novel. There are no happy families, only less unhappy ones.
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