Paul Theroux’s novels include The Vanishing Point (Mariner/Harper Collins, 2025), from which “The Silent Woman” is excerpted; Burma Sahib (Mariner/Harper Collins, 2024); and The Bad Angel Brothers (Mariner/Harper Collins, 2022). His travel books include Ghost Train to the Eastern Star (Houghton Mifflin, 2008) and On the Plain of Snakes (Houghton...