Award-winning travel writer Paul Theroux invites you aboard The Old Patagonian Express by Train through the Americas; packed with powerful descriptions and portraits of the many colours of humanity, The Old Patagonian Express is an unforgettable read. A witty sharply observed journey down the length of North and South America Beginning his journey in Boston, where he boarded the subway commuter train, and catching trains of all kinds on the way, Paul Theroux tells of his voyage from ice-bound Massachusetts and Illinois to the arid plateau of Argentina's most southerly tip. Sweating and shivering by turns as the temperature and altitude shoot up and down, thrown in with the appalling Mr Thornberry in Limón and reading nightly to the blind writer, Borges, in Buenos Aires, Theroux vividly evokes the contrasts of a journey 'to the end of the line'. 'Fascinating, beautifully written. . . a vivid travelogue described with the sensitive, richly observant pen of a born writer' Sunday Express 'This is travel writing at its most accomplished. . . even the bored are funny and human, and the description of homeless children is painfully unforgettable' Sunday Telegraph American travel writer Paul Theroux is known for the rich descriptions of people and places that is often streaked with his distinctive sense of irony; his other non-fiction titles, Riding the Iron Rooster, The Happy Isles of Oceania, Sunrise with Seamonsters, The Kingdom by the Sea, The Tao of Travel, Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, The Great Railway Bazaar, Dark Star Safari, Fresh-air Fiend, Sir Vidia's Shadow, The Pillars of Hercules, and his novels and collections of short stories, including the James Tait Black Memorial Prize winner The Mosquito Coast are available from Penguin.
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The Old Patagonian Express By Train Through the Americas
By Paul Theroux
Award-winning travel writer Paul Theroux invites you aboard The Old Patagonian Express by Train through the Americas; packed with powerful descriptions and portraits of the many colours of humanity, The Old Patagonian Express is an unforgettable read. A witty sharply observed journey down the length of North and South America Beginning his journey in Boston, where he boarded the subway commuter train, and catching trains of all kinds on the way, Paul Theroux tells of his voyage from ice-bound Massachusetts and Illinois to the arid plateau of Argentina's most southerly tip. Sweating and shivering by turns as the temperature and altitude shoot up and down, thrown in with the appalling Mr Thornberry in Limón and reading nightly to the blind writer, Borges, in Buenos Aires, Theroux vividly evokes the contrasts of a journey 'to the end of the line'. 'Fascinating, beautifully written. . . a vivid travelogue described with the sensitive, richly observant pen of a born writer' Sunday Express 'This is travel writing at its most accomplished. . . even the bored are funny and human, and the description of homeless children is painfully unforgettable' Sunday Telegraph American travel writer Paul Theroux is known for the rich descriptions of people and places that is often streaked with his distinctive sense of irony; his other non-fiction titles, Riding the Iron Rooster, The Happy Isles of Oceania, Sunrise with Seamonsters, The Kingdom by the Sea, The Tao of Travel, Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, The Great Railway Bazaar, Dark Star Safari, Fresh-air Fiend, Sir Vidia's Shadow, The Pillars of Hercules, and his novels and collections of short stories, including the James Tait Black Memorial Prize winner The Mosquito Coast are available from Penguin.
Popular Reviews(1)
Reviewed by JuliaIn its core it is a marvelous, great book. The combination of eloquent landscape descriptions and the inside in Theroux’s soul life is genius. Loved reading that, I found his ideas and journey very inspiring. Why only three stars though? Two things were really bothering me while reading: 1) I found Theroux extremely narcissistic. Annoyingly self focused, nearly unable to change perspective. 2) which leads to the thing, which nearly spoiled my lecture: the book is from 1979 - the words describing women or indigenous people are often hurtful. Especially when he describes indigenous - he uses clichees, mean etiquettes - overall I found no sensitivity there. For me Theroux was therefore just another white man deploying south and Central America for his own narrative.