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methanojen's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this book! Especially the parts about Vietnam and Japan (he got Japan spot-on, that's the only place on his journey where I'd actually been). Theroux proves with this book that he's still the premiere American travel writer.
napalousa's review against another edition
4.0
Where to start with this? I wanted to give it 5 stars because it goes without saying that Theroux is a wonderful writer. When he’s on his game the images he paints are both extremely visual and evoke strong emotions. You don’t just imagine the scene, you feel like you’re there with him in the best way possible. The interviews that he does with writers from different countries and travelers that he meets are intelligent, interesting and extremely on point. I’ve learned a lot of political history that I was ignorant of and feel I perhaps have a better grasp of parts of the world that I was otherwise ignorant of prior to reading this book.
But then as I progressed through the book (and it’s a long book) there is a trend of every town having a paragraph dedicated to the red light district and the prostitutes working in the city. I didn’t question it much at first as he seemed to be making a political statement about the state of the cities and the country’s he was visiting. But every city here it was again. Japan was the end of it for me. He thinks that graphic novels are low culture and that all Manga is porn, that most Japanese men are perverts and seemed to be very focused on the more perverse aspects of Tokyo, while of course dismissing it all as being deplorable. Even though he chose to stay in an area of the city that’s famed for being the seedier part of town. Even outside Tokyo he’s obsessed with the idea of Japanese women in uniforms being submissive. Sigh! This was all over 500 pages in and I didn’t want to quite 3 chapters from the end.
There’s also a lot of negativity -he’s a cranky old guy. The journey’s long and I guess he was exhausted by the time he got to Japan. It just kind of made me question his judgement on other countries, as I feel he was a bit off on Japan. There’s a kind of arrogance there too.
Roll forward one chapter and the writing on Siberia is wonderful! So I don’t know where to stand on this. If you’re looking for good journalism and travel writing then this is it. But it is slow going, it’s not light reading and it has some strange moments regarding women in general.
But then as I progressed through the book (and it’s a long book) there is a trend of every town having a paragraph dedicated to the red light district and the prostitutes working in the city. I didn’t question it much at first as he seemed to be making a political statement about the state of the cities and the country’s he was visiting. But every city here it was again. Japan was the end of it for me. He thinks that graphic novels are low culture and that all Manga is porn, that most Japanese men are perverts and seemed to be very focused on the more perverse aspects of Tokyo, while of course dismissing it all as being deplorable. Even though he chose to stay in an area of the city that’s famed for being the seedier part of town. Even outside Tokyo he’s obsessed with the idea of Japanese women in uniforms being submissive. Sigh! This was all over 500 pages in and I didn’t want to quite 3 chapters from the end.
There’s also a lot of negativity -he’s a cranky old guy. The journey’s long and I guess he was exhausted by the time he got to Japan. It just kind of made me question his judgement on other countries, as I feel he was a bit off on Japan. There’s a kind of arrogance there too.
Roll forward one chapter and the writing on Siberia is wonderful! So I don’t know where to stand on this. If you’re looking for good journalism and travel writing then this is it. But it is slow going, it’s not light reading and it has some strange moments regarding women in general.
oregon_small_fry's review against another edition
5.0
12/28/09
Read this book AGAIN (3rd time) and I've changed my mind. This is now probably one of my top 10 favorite books of all time. Just so well written. So changing to 5 stars.
******Brandon: don't read further- might be spoilers!
Oh Paul. Pompous, but a great story teller. This book only gets 4 stars because (yes I know he was re-tracing his steps) but he repeats him self to much "at this point in time, I was broke, depressed, missing my wife" WHICH WAS HIS FAULT- mr. Christmas-came-and-went-and-I didn't-bother-to-call-home.
But that is kind of mean of me to say because I do really like Paul. and in this book he is so in love! its sweet.
But over all, a really great book. Makes me want to travel to Turkey, but defiantly NOT India. I guess that is another thing, a lot this book was kind of negative. Most of the cities had gotten too big and dirty and sleezy.
OH MY GOD- the poor sex workers part. that was really depressing.
Kind of makes me want to ride a train, but then he talks about how disgusting the bathrooms are. and I can't imagine sharing such a private space with strangers.
that was very fragmented and random.
Read this book AGAIN (3rd time) and I've changed my mind. This is now probably one of my top 10 favorite books of all time. Just so well written. So changing to 5 stars.
******Brandon: don't read further- might be spoilers!
Oh Paul. Pompous, but a great story teller. This book only gets 4 stars because (yes I know he was re-tracing his steps) but he repeats him self to much "at this point in time, I was broke, depressed, missing my wife" WHICH WAS HIS FAULT- mr. Christmas-came-and-went-and-I didn't-bother-to-call-home.
But that is kind of mean of me to say because I do really like Paul. and in this book he is so in love! its sweet.
But over all, a really great book. Makes me want to travel to Turkey, but defiantly NOT India. I guess that is another thing, a lot this book was kind of negative. Most of the cities had gotten too big and dirty and sleezy.
OH MY GOD- the poor sex workers part. that was really depressing.
Kind of makes me want to ride a train, but then he talks about how disgusting the bathrooms are. and I can't imagine sharing such a private space with strangers.
that was very fragmented and random.
mubeenirfan's review against another edition
5.0
Travelogues aren't mostly considered serious non fiction partly because people think there is no moral of a traveler's story and partly because there is too much fiction in them to be called non fiction. Case in point are all the urdu travelogues I have read in my teens by Tarar sb or Qasmi sb. To me their genre should rather have been fantasy.
Still, I haven't given up on reading travelogues because they fill me with this feeling of desire to wander (and of misery that I am here working a desk job while people are traveling). In the past, I have picked up Bill Bryson if I only want some humor/light reading and Paul Theroux if I want some serious commentary on some remote (to me) places he has visited. I really liked his Dark star safari which has been described as a cult classic for travelers, liked the Grand Railway Bazaar but absolutely loved Ghost train to the Eastern Star which is actually a re travel of Grand Railway Bazaar. It has more depth in it than its predecessor maybe because he has aged a lot since the last one (33 years to be exact, he keeps repeating it).
I picked it up because I was traveling myself during the time even though Theroux doesn't believe us vacationing types and looks down upon us for traveling with such comfort and ease. I agree with him. We are all in our comfort zones that way. Theroux's observations and commentary is brilliant throughout this book, even though people call him an arrogant American traveler. He might be one criticising everyone outside US of A but he is so dead spot on and very briefly he gives you those small doses of history that you didn't know, hear or cared for. That's why I love his travel writing (haven't read his novels, maybe some day).
Anyone with a slight interest in history or travel should read this one. Highly recommended even above the dark star safari.
Still, I haven't given up on reading travelogues because they fill me with this feeling of desire to wander (and of misery that I am here working a desk job while people are traveling). In the past, I have picked up Bill Bryson if I only want some humor/light reading and Paul Theroux if I want some serious commentary on some remote (to me) places he has visited. I really liked his Dark star safari which has been described as a cult classic for travelers, liked the Grand Railway Bazaar but absolutely loved Ghost train to the Eastern Star which is actually a re travel of Grand Railway Bazaar. It has more depth in it than its predecessor maybe because he has aged a lot since the last one (33 years to be exact, he keeps repeating it).
I picked it up because I was traveling myself during the time even though Theroux doesn't believe us vacationing types and looks down upon us for traveling with such comfort and ease. I agree with him. We are all in our comfort zones that way. Theroux's observations and commentary is brilliant throughout this book, even though people call him an arrogant American traveler. He might be one criticising everyone outside US of A but he is so dead spot on and very briefly he gives you those small doses of history that you didn't know, hear or cared for. That's why I love his travel writing (haven't read his novels, maybe some day).
Anyone with a slight interest in history or travel should read this one. Highly recommended even above the dark star safari.
rumblybug's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
athenany's review against another edition
5.0
I loved everything about this book. The vivid descriptions, the way it taught me about countries and cities I didn't know much about, the author's sharp, honest commentary. I recommend it for those who love good travel literature, but I would also recommend it to anyone with an interest in the world.