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simon_levi's review against another edition
1.0
The Goodreads text above describes the author as "endearingly irascible". I would rather describe him as arrogant and prejudiced towards other people. Yes, he has some insights and cultural anecdotes along the way but this is achieved regularly by a lot of authors without too much trouble.
What lacks here is not only compassion towards other travelers and other people living in Africa. The constant description of people in a sinister or comical way makes me think the author has no humanistic side to him. Although his original intentions towards Africa might've been good, he does not act in a way that would prove this.
Phrases like "Of the Germans, the sextet of aging, occasionally exuberant blondes, like the reunion of a chorus line, interested me most, because they were traveling with a Levantine doctor." or "I resisted mocking them because they were harmless and most were committed to geniality" put me off and made the author look like a bully. Yes, you can sometimes have an encounter with an obnoxious person but Theroux seems to have only such encounters. Theroux lives in a world where only he is good.
Overall I would suggest you find another author that will show you there are great places and great people in Africa too and who is able to do this in a less fragmented more fluid writing style.
Goodreads says 1 star means "I did not like it". And that's true for this one.
Another honorable quote by Theroux:
"I finished Flaubert and started The Heart of Darkness, which I was to read twelve more times before I reached Cape Town."....Really Theroux? You are truly a hero.
What lacks here is not only compassion towards other travelers and other people living in Africa. The constant description of people in a sinister or comical way makes me think the author has no humanistic side to him. Although his original intentions towards Africa might've been good, he does not act in a way that would prove this.
Phrases like "Of the Germans, the sextet of aging, occasionally exuberant blondes, like the reunion of a chorus line, interested me most, because they were traveling with a Levantine doctor." or "I resisted mocking them because they were harmless and most were committed to geniality" put me off and made the author look like a bully. Yes, you can sometimes have an encounter with an obnoxious person but Theroux seems to have only such encounters. Theroux lives in a world where only he is good.
Overall I would suggest you find another author that will show you there are great places and great people in Africa too and who is able to do this in a less fragmented more fluid writing style.
Goodreads says 1 star means "I did not like it". And that's true for this one.
Another honorable quote by Theroux:
"I finished Flaubert and started The Heart of Darkness, which I was to read twelve more times before I reached Cape Town."....Really Theroux? You are truly a hero.
isering's review against another edition
2.0
The content was very interesting but good grief Theroux is obnoxious. Particularly, from my POV, how he deals with women (fantasizing about a nun that he meets sharing a bed with other nuns... why would you think that was ok to put in a book?)
martinatrevelin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-paced
3.0
sjhaug's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
rmariedavis's review against another edition
1.0
This book is a clear reflection of how far we've come as far as "political correctness" or I like to call, human decency. I refused to read past page 94 due to an overtly offensive comment on this page. He simply stated that "All trains in Africa look like they are headed towards Auschwitz." Paul Theroux is the epitome of a white man who believes the world is his to examine and criticize.
rsilvery's review against another edition
1.0
Admittedly only made it about 10%. It's pretty obnoxiously effete and bordering on racist. The irony was not lost on me that the writer chose to read Conrad while sailing down African rivers.
ejdecoster's review against another edition
3.0
This book was complicated. For each part travelogue, one part was political or social commentary by the author. While I don't doubt Theroux's abilities for either (as an experienced travel writer and former Peace Corps member in Africa), the two approaches made for an uneasy combination. I'm not sure Theroux has much substantive (beyond his opinion) to add to the debate over foreign aid to Africa, and his often-smarmy attitude detracts from what arguments he does offer. The travel descriptions seem honest and he is straightforward in his storytelling, enough to make me interested in other travel narratives he has written.
sipoflatte's review against another edition
4.0
While my overall impression of this travel memoir was positive (for the most part, I found Theroux's insights to be a sober and eye-opening account of Eastern Africa), there were parts that stung a bit for me personally. In particular, his perspective on racism between foreigners and African natives.
I wrote a much longer, in-depth review on my blog. You can find it here: https://sipoflatte.wordpress.com/2020/02/27/dark-star-safari-review/
I wrote a much longer, in-depth review on my blog. You can find it here: https://sipoflatte.wordpress.com/2020/02/27/dark-star-safari-review/
pygreg's review against another edition
5.0
I love this book. Reading it while traveling in Africa was a very interesting experience. I think Theroux gave voice to a lot of what I was feeling at the time. He has a literary voice that really makes me love his biographical works -- they're funny, irreverent, but still serious.