Theroux The Keyhole: When the world went weird

by Louis Theroux

Come round to Louis Theroux’s house where the much-loved TV documentary-maker, podcaster and bestselling author of Gotta Get Theroux This finds himself in unexpected danger . . .

Like millions of others, Louis’ plans were mothballed by the onset of Covid. Unable to escape to the porn sets, prisons and maximum-security psychiatric units that are his usual journalistic beat, he began reporting on a location even more full of pitfalls and hostile objects of inquiry: his own home during a pandemic.

Theroux the Keyhole is an honest, hilarious and ultimately heartwarming diary of the weirdness of family life in Covid World. A wife intolerant of his obsession with Joe Wicks’ daily workouts. Two teenage sons, inseparable from their videogames, for whom he is increasingly 'cringe'. A five-year-old happily spamming out videos on his own new TikTok account while on holiday with his oblivious family.

Louis also describes how he launches his podcast, Grounded, finally gets to the US to film a new Joe Exotic documentary and aims his sights on the latest incarnation of the far right in a world becoming radicalized by social media. Theroux the Keyhole is Louis at his insightful best, as he faces unforeseen new challenges and wonders why it took a pandemic for him to learn that what really matters in life is right in front of him.

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Memoir, Biography, Autobiography, Biography Memoir, Humor

376 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2022

About the author

Louis (Sebastian) Theroux was born in Singapore in 1970. His father, the American novelist and travel writer, Paul Theroux, met his mother, who worked for the V.S.O., in Uganda. Louis’ older brother Marcel Theroux was born in Kampala, "so as children we sort of globe trotted." But his father decided to buy a family home in England, and they settled down in a big, rambling, dilapidated house in Wandsworth, South London. Louis went to Westminster School and then gained a First Class Degree in History at Oxford University.

On graduating, Louis decided to spend some time in the States. His summer break got longer and longer. "I didn’t have a job lined up in England and I felt that at least by being in America I was broadening my mind." Marcel had just completed a post-graduate degree at Yale, so Louis stayed with him. "I did menial work to make money and spent two months with a glass blower who made unbelievably tasteless gilded cherub goblets.

Although initially resisting the idea of going into journalism. "All my friends were writing, and I wanted to be different." Louis found a job on a local paper in the sprawling city of San Jose, "a town where nothing ever happens." A year later he went to work for the New York-based satirical magazine, Spy, where "When I asked some rappers to freestyle on gun safety, one of them threatened to beat me up."

As a correspondent for Michael Moore’s 1995 series, TV Nation, Louis anchored sixteen segments. Theroux describes his first assignment: "The Klu Klux Klan were trying desperately hard to repackage themselves and make themselves seem cuddly and nice, but inevitably they left out racist stickers or hate filled T-shirts. It was quite an eye opener." Reports on Avon Ladies in the Amazon and on President Clinton’s hometown of Hope, Arkansas followed.

In 1995, Louis developed his own Weird Weekends and produced a critically acclaimed documentary series premiere. As Theroux describes, "Weird Weekends sets out to discover the genuinely odd in the most ordinary setting. To me, it’s almost a privilege to be welcomed into these communities and to shine a light on them and, maybe, through my enthusiasm, to get people to reveal more of themselves than they may have intended. The show is laughing at me, adrift in their world, as much as at them. I don’t have to play up that stuff. I’m not a matinee idol disguised as a nerd."

Louis currently lives in West London with his wife Nancy and their three boys.

Reviews

[Louis Theroux · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved (writing) it.

[Jay · Rating 1 out of 5]

I used to be a huge fan of Louis Theroux and admired his skills as a film maker. Sadly I think I may be Theroux with him (ugh). I kind of sensed that it would be a disappointing cash grab when I downloaded it so I guess I only have myself to blame… I don’t understand why anyone would choose to publish these banal ramblings. It wasn’t witty or particularly insightful. Most of it just sounded like unedited diary entries (but not in a juicy warts-tell-all kind of way). It mainly just reminded me of how unequal things were for people in lockdown - and how not everyone can capitalize on the tedious time spent in their London home with their garden and wife. I also feel like he came off poorly - selfish, ungrateful and immature. Soz but that’s just how I feel. Bye.

[Jessie Betts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny, silly and a lovely insight into him as a person.

[CwtchUpBooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

I loved Louis and his previous work but this lockdown memoir is tone deaf and out of touch. Hugely irritating.

[Kexx · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing - not sure what I was expecting but not this self absorbed diary, which was boring and mundane. Felt sorry for the long suffering Nancy.

[Lizzy Linklater · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm

Okies, ma thoughts. I fkn love Louis, nae secret, can quote most of his docos so in terms of getting to hear him just chat away about lockdown for however many hours well #thatsgoodsoup. 🍵

However, a couple bits I was like awch man, camaan Louis. There's a section where him and his wife are complaining about their kids not being in school & they're calling into question the point of lockdowns and quarantines, even going as far to claim they're essential workers coz "they work at the BBC" & I just thought...how privileged he is that no one in his family died or got seriously ill from COVID 🙃 because the lack of compassion and sole focus on his work was quite telling. Also he talks a lot about his youngest son having worms 😂😂 & I was thinking I'm sure that wain will love that being out in the world when he's older x

[Xanthi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to this on audiobook format. Read by the author.
Even though I found parts of this amusing I generally felt like the content didn’t really merit a book being published. This would have been better suited as an online blog.
The sons come across as incredibly annoying and entitled, and Louis was crawling his way to developing a drinking problem. Those parts did not make for entertaining reading.

[Maura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm intrigued about how other people have experienced the Covid-19 pandemic particularly those who are so used to the limelight, like Louis. I admired Louis' honesty in this book about the challenges that Covid posed to his marriage, his kids, his job and his health. I wasn't expecting it to be quite so honest, which perhaps was naive of me as he does like to shock, but I didn't think he would be so frank about his personal life.

I enjoyed his relaying of his conversations with his youngest son, Ray. Ray comes acorss as precocious, clever, fun and something of a handful. However, Louis' descriptions of Ray's very frequent ipad use and a few references to outbursts that Louis and his wife, Nancy, struggled to cope with, concerned me. They really hammered home the concerns that many parents must have about the behavioural and developmental impacts of the pandemic on young children.

Louis' use of alcohol to cope with the lockdowns was very familiar to me and I admire his honesty. I found his near addiction to Joe Wicks fitness content fascinating and of course Louis developed a plan to collaborate with Joe on a documentary so that exercise paid dividends in more ways than one. I really liked his inclusion of his wife's quips when Louis had said the wrong thing. Not many men could articulate a woman's scorn quite so well when the woman in question is their significant other!

While I didn't enjoy the book necessarily I did enjoy the sneak peak into Louis' private life at a difficult time.

[Gary Boland · Rating 3 out of 5]

A warts and all view of domestic life in the pandemic. A brave decision to publish a memoir that reveals Louis's foibles and fears. Turns out prior success and upper middle class wealth does not protect you from anxiety or stress during lockdown. Interesting to hear Louis's kids be so cheeky to him as I noticed my own had become more Bolshevik during this time

[Jo Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Holy middle class monotony. These are Louis's Covid diaries. If you would like to know exactly what he cooked for tea each day using a Jamie Oliver recipe, how many workouts he did with Joe Wicks, how blasé him and his wife could be about the virus, how busy the school run was, which bedtime story he read to his son, or what his exact daily alcohol consumption was then this is the book for you.
It only just scraped 3 stars for me. I much preferred Gotta Get Theroux this. Louis is brilliant, but this book doesn't shine for me.

[Jacquina · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. I love Louis but this reeks of privilege and entitlement and is completely tone deaf. So disappointing.
Calls lockdown forced house arrest while admitting at the start he saw friends and went on transatlantic trips for work. Must have been nice.

[Suzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An up-front and honest look into LT's life in lockdown, which laid bare his struggles and shortcomings. I really enjoyed the chaotic nature of it all

[LC · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really like Louis Theroux, and enjoyed Gotta Get Theroux This, but I found this book pretty annoying at times. I actually enjoyed the diary like nature of it, and the voyeurism, and the conversations. But I found much of it very tone deaf. The constant pitting of the ‘old and infirm’ against the ‘yoots’ was oversimplifying and pretty enraging. Pushing this narrative that it was only older or sick people that got ill and died, when we know that’s not the case. So why keep saying it? I lost a loved one (who was neither old nor infirm) during the pandemic, like many others, and sometimes it felt like for Louis and his wife the worst thing about the whole experience was not being able to go out for a drink; or being confined to what I’m sure is a fairly big and nice house with a decent garden. Seems like they felt so sorry for themselves all the time. Like, get a grip, there are far worse things happening in the world

[Nakul L-P · Rating 5 out of 5]

As real and raw as a diary can be. In an age where media personalities are constantly working at projecting a picture perfect image with a dream home life, Louis Theroux shares his home life during the pandemic with pure honesty. The good, the bad and the ugly. Almost felt voyeuristic at times but I’m not complaining, I think that level of authenticity is what made me read on and relate. Louis Theroux is a national treasure. A very enjoyable read.

[Don Jimmy]

One of the problems with not reading more about books before you start them is that you occasionally start something you wish you hadn't. This is one of those times. I love Louis but I can't possibly listen to a whole book about his lockdown experience when covid is once again running havoc.

[Sheldon · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I had Louis' kids I'd spend most of my free time making documentaries in the States too.

[Rach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to the audiobook. Really enjoyed this, funny, lighthearted but also really relatable.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Never meet your heroes. This is like seeing the real life of Louis Theroux and I just really wish I hadn’t. If you enjoy his documentaries do not read this book.

[Ruby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it in his voice the entire time, maybe I have watched too many of his shows to be able to do this...
Anyway it was interesting to see this side of him, and really enjoyed the epilogue.

[Nicky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love Louis T but I think I only love him on TV. As a writer, he doesn’t do it for me, sadly.

[Aoife Cassidy McM · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

I’m a fan of Louis Theroux. I love his podcast, his books, his documentaries, so no surprise that I really enjoyed his new book too. I listened on Audible and it’s narrated by Louis himself.

The book is basically Louis’ lockdown diaries and if the thought of reading about the lockdown while we’re still living through these crappy times doesn’t exactly fill you with enthusiasm, let me say that this is refreshingly candid, and full of Louis’ trademark wit.

Louis is a parent to three boys, the youngest aged 5, and I found a lot of the parenting chat, angst over homeschooling and general lockdown family life very relatable. His cute conversations with his clever little 5 year old Ray were a highlight.

Louis’ soul-searching over his alcohol consumption was very honest (I’m not much of a drinker myself but I think a lot of people who relied on alcohol during lockdown would probably feel seen.

The book is also a whistle-stop tour of world events during this period, some of which made me laugh out loud all over again (Four Seasons Landscaping anyone? 😂).

If you’re a fan of Louis Theroux and his work, I’d recommend this one. If you’re not familiar with him, then his musings on life, work, lockdown, Joe Wicks, Joe Exotic (urgh) and Louis’ key worker status may bewilder you! 4-4.5/5 ⭐️

[alex alderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

★★★★
— #ad #gifted

I miss being immersed in a story and I find I have a general feeling of disquiet that is hard to pin down. Exercise helps and also alcohol. The two men in my corner are Joe Wicks and Jack Daniels

going to dive straight into this read!! it was brill. I loved louis theroux’s reflective tone, splashed with humour and revelations that were completely therapeutic to me😌

raw and candid writing about the series of lockdowns, louis doesn’t shy away from discussing every detail of his own locked down experience in his diary-style book. it’s true that not everyone has the luxury of living in a pandemic in their london home with job security and celeb status, but he addresses this often, commenting on his position and guilt over his privilege in exceptionally trying times👏🏻

I absolutely loved his writing about the interactions with his family and more specifically his children. who knew that louis theroux, filmmaker, journalist, writer, two time BAFTA award winner & national treasure, would be upstaged by his five year old son creating a tiktok account spamming videos while on holiday completely oblivious to his father. an absolute cracker… I truly live

the diary entries are also paired with selfies and photographs which perfectly encapsulate the chapters he writes about, with a little note at the bottom which would almost always make me chuckle🤳🏻

joe wicks adoration, tiger king filming rights collision, clashing family lockdown quarrels, highly questioned alcohol consumption, louis goes through it all, and we’re just along for the ride🎢

read if you enjoy:

🗝 diary style entries
🗝 relatable reflections on the universal lockdown experience
🗝 thoughtful and witty comments from louis on his personal and work life, as well as the silly goofy louis we know and love🤪

**thank you SO SO much to Pan Macmillan for sending me my copy of Theroux the Keyhole 🌟🙌🏻 I don’t think i’ve ever been more excited to receive a review copy of a book🤩!

[Engrossed Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still thinking about what I liked being out weighted by what I didn't. Here goes.

Good insight into viewing a celeb in a different environment to where they are normally found.
A domestic Louis Theroux was an interesting encounter that unfortunately was a tad overdone. Loved the meal ideas, Pity there wasn't recipes as an appendix. I'm not a fan of my own domestic banal routine and therefore had no real abiding interest in someone's meal prep and dishwasher duties.

I understand the need to be open in an diary, but not everyone's diary is published. Too granular and I felt it was an invasion of his children's privacy. Noting Roblox handles was not on.

Louis drank far too much, perhaps the pandemic was too much to handle sober.

On the plus side the author narrated and he has a charming whimsical way about it, that made it work apart from the various mimicking voices of different individuals he met with.

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[🌶 peppersocks 🧦 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reflections and lessons learned:
“‘So what do you make of all of this?’ The doctor asked.
‘Errr… The whole situation?… I’m mainly confused - I guess I can’t work out if we’re locked down too much or not enough - I’m not sure…’
‘…the reality is that Covid is going to be with us for a long long time and we’re going to have to live with it…’”

For a book that I thought was just a bit of a cash in, ended up exceeding my expectations! Basically a written documentary with the subject being lockdown, and the character study, Theroux himself. Amazing reflections to ensure his sanity which brings back associated memories of a recent but mentally distanced event due to it being all so dense and intensely lived. As a fellow parent through covid, I found this reassuring and therapeutic to hear - glad that I listened to it at this point in the pandemic battle, just as the second winter and reemergence of fears are starting again, as a grounding tool - the reminder that everyone is in personal household strangeness that we want to get away from but also want to take the most from

[Dan Kert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a fan of LT work and his autobiography was a good read, but this book left me puzzled. I don't think that diaries are meant to be published unless they have some unique insight or interesting stories to tell. Louis wrote about his family's time in lockdown - but all lived through exactly the same thing. I was expecting some witty writing and some thoughts and opinions on life in 2020, but instead got a collection of news clippings and family arguments that lead nowhere.... I am sorry, but this is a very bland book, i am not even sure why a publisher would publish this? Louis, you can DEFINITELY do better than this. And PLEASE stop drinking everyday - that's proven to lead to unrepairable catastrophes.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly, I found this memoir to be therapeutic. While the book is predominantly a personal memoir about his own domestic life, hearing Louis recap the news events from the past 23 months and his reaction to them, has helped me piece together my own experience of the pandemic.

I found myself thinking "Oh yeah, I forgot that happened!" many times while reading. It's been a reminder that it's absolutely normal to feel abnormal these days, and that almost everyone is feeling this way. So much has happened in such a short space of time that it would be strange to feel like we had everything under control.

[Ewan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Feels oddly intrusive and ghoulish into Louis Theroux's personal life without giving any details as to what he's up to or how his life is turning out through the coronavirus pandemic. An alright approach to it all, far worse than his surprisingly reflective autobiography. Not the most unreadable piece in the world, but Theroux the Keyhole feels like a coronavirus cash-in rather than a real, breathing project written with passion beyond whittling down the diary entries to a format acceptable of passive reading quality. Not bad, though, certainly not for anyone that doesn't consider themselves a fan of Theroux.

[Carl Krantz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must say I enjoyed Theroux the Keyhole much more than Gotta Get Theroux This. The diary format is more raw, and it's quite relieving to read that Louis struggles as much as everyone else during the pandemic and lockdowns. His writing is witty, funny and (sometimes painfully) personal.

Louis, you're drinking too much. But thanks for all the insights and laughs.

[David Johnston · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very honest look into Louis Theroux’s lockdown experience as told through his diary entries throughout the bulk of the pandemic. There are many times in this book where Louis comes off as a bit unlikable but I wonder if this is, in part, due to the established perception of him as no more than a lovable documentary maker - a perception that forgets the fact that he is also a human who isn’t always going to make the best decisions and is going to process stressful events in ways that aren’t particularly ideal.

There was a weird bittersweetness in revisiting the events of the past few years and Louis speaks at length about his frustration throughout the whole ordeal and we see how communication breakdowns and unhealthy habits are facilitated by a removal of what we both know to be his purpose in life, to date. Adjusting to life certainly looked very different for Louis and whilst I don’t think his reflections on this period came off as gloating they could definitely sound a bit insensitive at times to people who worked in PPE day to day and weren’t able to have as many enjoyable moments.

I suppose the biggest flaw from this book may actually be the time I chose to read it, or maybe the blame is on the publishers for when they put it out. This will be a really interesting perspective for people in future to read into the difficulties that came with adapting to a new world but I think it just revealed I’ve still got a lot to get over.

Will still be a big Louis Theroux fan of course, and must reiterate a respect for him releasing this despite the various instances where he assassinated his own character.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

really like louis theroux but he doesn’t come across very well in this. didn’t enjoy this as much as his other book although this may be my own fault because i should have read the blurb before i started. reading a covid book in 2023 is too soon for my liking!!