 2008-11-24 - Quite a constitution and quite a writer.
Considering the number of trips on marginal trains through poor 3rd world countries Paul Theroux has taken it seems to me a tribute to his cast-iron gut that he has even survived this long, and miraculous that he has the stamina to continue going on these journeys. I really thought "Dark Star Safari" would be his last trip, although I'm glad it was not, because I've enjoyed his travel writing through the years. I enjoyed this book, although the original "Great Railway Bazaar" is in some places more amusing because the younger Paul Theroux wasn't as rich or well-connected as he is now so he had to settle for very lowly conditions sometimes, which he always wrote about entertainingly. Also the U.S.S.R. was there when he took his first trip, and that dismal place often brought out the blackly humorous best in travel writers. Some of the countries he travels through in this follow-up (for instance Uzbekistan,) don't seem to have interested him enough to do his best writing, and he is almost fulsome at times when it comes to describing Turkey, but he is amusing when it comes to describing Turkmenistan and its awful dictator the (happily) late Saparmyrat Niyazov. He is probably best when it comes to describing his travels through India, a place the he seems to like very much. He is good at describing the over-crowded although energetic Bombay, and his fame gets him an entrance into one of Bangalore's many call centers where he gently grills the managers on how much they underpay their employees. He also writes entertainingly about the sanitized speed and efficiency of Japan (although I don't think as many amusing things happened to him this time around,) and Russia. (Which sounds much nicer to travel through but isn't as much fun to read about.)
 2008-11-22 - The Older the Violin, The Sweeter the Music
I have been reading Theroux's travel books for more than 30 years, and I have to say that they and he get better all the time.
This latest book is the funniest, wisest, kindest, most beautifully written of the books. What the author has lost in endurance (he goes to sleep much earlier than ever before) and appetite (he stays pretty much away from the bars), he makes up for in humanness.
Like all the great writers, he's a man on a mission, and the mission is to tell us that there are people in the world who deserve our love and admiration and there are people in the world who don't deserve anything because they are here to hurt us. He tells us this in such a way that we realize that the world isn't such a bad place and that it's a good thing to stick around a little longer.
John Guzlowski
Lightning and Ashes
2008-11-16 - Fast service - good book
The book, Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, is an excellent travel book. It does go even further, however, in his many conversations with the people he meets along the way. It is informative and well as entertaining.
2008-11-10 - Return of the king
Theroux returns for a repeat encounter with the people and places that made him thirty years ago with the Great Railway Bazaar. The protagonist has aged from young turk to an itinerant king who hobnobs with luminaries such as Arthur Clark and Murakami in an 'oh by the way' manner amongst his weekly jaunts. The places have similarly 'grown up' from exotic (not always desirably so) to emerging (with increasing prosperity accompanied with a loss of innocence).
The resulting chemistry (in particular his encounter with the Indian 'outsourcing miracle') has depth, balance, introspection and even a touch of melancholy. You could argue that this is now a more serious man, a more considered view.
But in the hindsight of having made it to the book's back cover - Theroux has lost more gunslinger that he's gained sagacity. The amplitude of his insights have decreased, the observations more palatable but not as trenchantly original. Still a great read, but from a master traveler who's lost a step or two with age.
2008-11-08 - Classic Paul Theroux travel book
This book is a great read from one of the best travel writers of the past 35 years. I've read all his travel books and essays and some of his fiction. I voraciously consumed this book in a couple of weeks. If you like travel writing, give this a try. You won't be sorry.
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