Product Description

The journeys of Paul Theroux take place not only in exotic, unexpected places of the world but in the thoughts, reading, and emotions of the writer himself. A gathering of people, places, and ideas in fifty glittering pieces of gold.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #382805 in Books
• Published on: 1986-05-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Review
"Theroux serves as both the camera and the eye, and both the details and the illusions are developed with brilliance." -- Review

Review
"Theroux serves as both the camera and the eye, and both the details and the illusions are developed with brilliance." (Time Magazine )

About the Author
Paul Theroux's highly acclaimed novels include Blinding Light, Hotel Honolulu, My Other Life, Kowloon Tong, and The Mosquito Coast. His renowned travel books include Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, Dark Star Safari, Riding the Iron Rooster, The Great Railway Bazaar, The Old Patagonian Express, and The Happy Isles of Oceania. He lives in Hawaii and on Cape Cod.

Customer Reviews

Magazine writing
This is a collection of 50-some articles Theroux sold to magazines over the years to finance his book-writing. His parents had seven children - considering how talented Paul and Alexander Theroux are, and that their brother Peter is a translator from the Arabic, I wonder what the rest of their siblings grew up to be. When in his article on the subways of New York for the New York Times magazine Paul Theroux quoted the graffito, "Guzmán - Ladrón, Maricón y Asesino" (Guzmán is a thief, a homosexual and a murderer), the editors cut out the word "Maricón" despite it being a part of the quotation: we do not allow such words to appear in our paper.

essay writing at its best
This is a wonderful collection for fans of Theroux and writers who want to study the craft of essay writing. The range of topics is wide, covering everything from travel (of course) to politics (Nixon) to Tarzan-as-expatriate. It's also a great window into Theroux's development as a writer as it spans two and a half decades of his career.

I had the pleasure of reading these when I was in the Peace Corps myself, stationed in the Nepal highlands. Thanks for the fun and inspiration, Paul!

A quirky, evocative collection.
Even without taking my copy of this down from the shelf, a mental vision of the cover conjures up brief mnemonic wisps of mental perfume: sailing on Cape Cod, his memories of Africa, the tale of the unironed shirt and the burrowing mites, the essay on extended family that has always made me wistful for the experience or at least envious to have a doctor and lawyer available for free consultations. Influential stuff from a more or less acerbic personality.