- Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; New edition edition (27 Jun 1996)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 014024980X
- ISBN-13: 978-0140249804
- Product Dimensions: 19.3 x 13 x 2.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 128,641 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
The Direct-Orient Express, the Khyber Pass Local, the Delhi Mail from Jaipur, the Golden Arrow to Kuala Lumpur and the Trans-Siberian Express are just a few of the evocative names that fill this, the story of Paul Theroux's epic journey by rail through India and Asia. It is a journey on which he encounters a huge variety of places and people, foods, faiths and cultures, and which has at its heart an enduring fascination with trains and railways.
About the Author
Paul Theroux was born in Medford Massachusetts, in 1941, and published his first novel, WALDO, in 1967. His subsequent novels include Picture Palace, winner of the Whitbread Prize for Fiction, The Mosquito Coast, and the hugely acclaimed, Kowloon Tong. His travel books include The Great Railway Bazaar and The Pillars of Hercules.
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First Sentence
"EVER since childhood, when I lived within earshot of the Boston and Maine, I have seldom heard a train go by and not wished I was on it." Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
"EVER since childhood, when I lived within earshot of the Boston and Maine, I have seldom heard a train go by and not wished I was on it." Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Around the world in a train,
This review is from: The Great Railway Bazaar: By Train Through Asia (Mass Market Paperback)
I read this book during a couple of train rides through India. It really captures the meatings you encounter on a train ride in such a country and the feelings you have both before, during and after the trip. The trip kicks off on Victoria Station in London and the authour has this idea about travelling around the world in train, since he realises that they all connects to a giant network. In the beginning he is very enthusiastic about everything, but as time passes by he gets tired and bored. This is especially clear in the last couple of chapters where he simply crosses Russia by almost not mentioning is and all off a sudden he is home. The core of this trip is the meetings with the people and the description of them in the book. The authous is very good at capturing the details and discuss them inside and out.Overall this book captures a great trip and is both fun, teaching and interesting to read. Entertaining.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vintage Theroux,
By
This review is from: The Great Railway Bazaar: By Train Through Asia (Mass Market Paperback)
From London to Tokyo by train (where possible) and back through Siberia - it's one hell of a journey, and sometimes it feels like it. The latter chapters especially are written in a kind of "Oh, let's get this over with" style, and you don't learn much about either Russia or Russians, except that there's so much snow and cold it drives everyone to drink. The earlier chapters are more enjoyable, and his account of Japan's sex and death fascination is quite an insight. The chapters on Vietnam and India are also enjoyable, and you have the impression that he wasn't as bored and lonely in these places as he becomes later.Although this book was written in 1975, there are very few references to contemporary events, so I didn't have the feeling (reading it in 2002) that it was nearly thirty years old. No doubt everything has changed since then, and I'd like to read a more up to date account of the trip. Having read quite a few of Theroux's travelogues, I think he's mellowed with age and maybe if he went the other way 'round next time, London - Moscow - Tokyo - Calcutta - Kabul, he'd be kinder to many of those that he meets. Of course, it wouldn't be quite as entertaining then!
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
I must have missed something,
By
This review is from: The Great Railway Bazaar: By Train Through Asia (Penguin Modern Classics) (Paperback)
This book came highly recommended to me and I was expecting much more than I got.
First, the things I liked: Theroux is a very good storyteller and this book carried the narrative well. His descriptions of the trains he travelled on, the places he travelled through and the people he met were very realistic; especially during his descriptions of weather and landscape I felt as though I were present. He has a gift for observation and description, and this book was no exception. However, I was very disappointed in the author's attitude. I found the tone and manner in which he describes people different to him as dismissive and condescending; in some cases his mannerisms are borderline racist. This work seems to carry a superior attitude and describes other human beings as might a scientist working with dried insects in a lab: dismissing entire populations with a mere paragraph does nothing for the work's reputation. I also was quite disappointed by the disdain with which the author generally regards all sorts of sightseeing; he seems to regard it as beneath him and his dignity. I understand the importance of the journey and the mode of transport, but the utter dismissiveness and contempt in which he held anything outside of the actual train itself was quite a let-down.
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