Happy Ending in the Bush

Paul Theroux's latest novel The Lower River  tells the harrowing tale of a 62-year old man returning to a village in Malawi where he'd served in the Peace Corps 40 years earlier. The village
has been sucked dry and bears little resemblance to the place to which he always wanted to return. The people despise him and his money but they want it. His only friends are a leprotic dwarf and a 16-year old virgin.

They hold him captive, steal all his money and most of his clothes and gear. Why does this village bear so little resemblance to the one he cherishes in his memories?

The novel tries to explain the whys. If anyone could explain them, it would be Theroux, who has intimate personal knowledge of the African bush. The book has a happy ending but comes on the last two pages. I don't think he could bear to do anything else.