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Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train Through China (Paperback)

by Paul Theroux (Author)

3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Product details

Paperback: 512 pages
Publisher: Penguin (25 Jan 2001)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0140112952
ISBN-13: 978-0140112955
Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 13 x 3.4 cm

Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 138,075 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in this category:
#93 in Books > Travel & Holiday > Countries & Regions > Asia > China

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Product Description

Paul Theroux left Victoria Station on a rainy Saturday in April thinking that taking eight trains across Europe, Eastern Europe, the USSR and Mongolia would be the easy way to get to the Chinese border – the relaxing way, even. He would read a little, take notes, eat regular meals and gaze contentedly out of windows. The reality, of course, was very different. In fact, Theroux experienced a decidedly odd and unexpected trip to China that set the challenging tone for his epic year-long rail journey around that vast, inscrutable land – a journey which involved riding nearly every train in the country. ‘Wry, humorful and occasionally querulous … as Theroux makes excruciatingly clear, travelling alone in the Middle Kingdom is not for the faint of heart or stomach’ Time.

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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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover

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	73% buy the item featured on this page: Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train Through China 3.8 out of 5 stars (4)
	11% buy The Great Railway Bazaar: By Train Through Asia (Penguin Modern Classics) 4.1 out of 5 stars (15) �6.69
	6% buy The Old Patagonian Express: By Train Through the Americas 3.8 out of 5 stars (13) �6.96
	5% buy The Ghost Train to the Eastern Star: On the Tracks of 'The Great Railway Bazaar' 4.6 out of 5 stars (5) �5.77

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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

3.8 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A little too long, 17 April 2003

By A Customer

Good old Theroux is on form with this work however one does begin to feel that there is perhaps too many pages about quite repetious themes during the book which leaves the reader somewhat bored with it after a while. It was certainly a challenge to carry on when I was about two thirds of the way through, however for dedicated readers of Theroux, they will certainly enjoy his talented and ever literary connections and prescient observations written as beautiful literary imagery.

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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read, Fine Insights into China, 22 Feb 2002

By A Customer

This is a strongly written, often very funny account of Theroux's trip around China. I first read it before making many trips to China myself while living in Hong Kong, and found it invariably accurate and enlightening (as well as extremely entertaining). Theroux's take on China is just what a western writer's should be: honest, critical, and most important of all, beholden to no one - aspects of character that will not make such a writer popular to the governments of many Far Eastern regimes (his funny, literary Hong Kong novel, Kowloon Tong, seemed very accurate when I was living there, yet was banned inside China), nor to certain types of westerners who settle permanently in that part of the world and perhaps try a little too hard to make the Third World sound like some paradise posting. But the detached reader, interested in the East yet prefering accuracy of description over saving China's "face," is in for an enjoyable, informative literary read.

Theroux's novel of Singapore, Saint Jack, is another good and telling book if you're heading that way (even just from the armchair).

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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Paul Theroux travels by train around China, 4 Oct 2000

By A Customer

Paul Theroux in his usual cynical way embarks on a voyage through Europe and Russia and around China. Travelling by train Theroux visits the provinces of China unravelling the mysteries of religion, the history and the effects of the communist era. On Therouxs journey he meets many people, government officials, capitalists, communist sympathisers and all manor of characters.

Theroux discusses major issues concerning China such as the cultural revolution, communes, cuisine and the Chinese people. By the end of the book you feel you know more about China and how communism has changed and scarred the enchanting country and the Chinese railway network!

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing and short-sighted
Although Mr. Theroux' writing is now over 10 years old, his attitude to new experiences, situations and people leaves me very cold. Read more

Published on 27 Mar 2001

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