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A review by bucket
Ghost Train to the Eastern Star by Paul Theroux
5.0
I spent a wonderful week following Theroux along on his journey, repeatedly tracing my finger along the route on the map in the front of his book. I found the first 1/2 of the book to be the most fascinating, as Theroux describes how his life has changed in the last 30 years and really digs down deep into the life and culture of the places he visits.
I really liked the sections on Turkey, India, and south Asia (Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore). These countries have changed hugely in the past 30 years and Theroux has a knack for meeting the right people to talk to and having sympathetic, culturally-embedded conversations about how the world has changed. Vietnam was especially fascinating and Theroux holds nothing back in his brief history of what the US did there.
I love his focus on meeting people and learning their stories, especially because I know I'm the sort of traveler who would be more focused on the beauty of the landscape, seeing the sites, and enjoying the food, and would never speak to a soul if I didn't have to.
At the end of the book, Theroux describes travel as "an experience of the fourth dimension." Once travel becomes life - with stops and starts, sickness and health - then travel becomes a true journey, with happiness as a reward. Having experienced exactly this when I hiked the Appalachian Trail, I was thrilled to find it in print here. There is traveling and there is experiencing a journey, and Theroux's book gave new meaning to the difference between the two.
Themes: travel, Asia, aging, train rides, changes over time (to places and people), rest of the world views of America, literature, food, Eastern Europe, Russia, introspection
I really liked the sections on Turkey, India, and south Asia (Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore). These countries have changed hugely in the past 30 years and Theroux has a knack for meeting the right people to talk to and having sympathetic, culturally-embedded conversations about how the world has changed. Vietnam was especially fascinating and Theroux holds nothing back in his brief history of what the US did there.
I love his focus on meeting people and learning their stories, especially because I know I'm the sort of traveler who would be more focused on the beauty of the landscape, seeing the sites, and enjoying the food, and would never speak to a soul if I didn't have to.
At the end of the book, Theroux describes travel as "an experience of the fourth dimension." Once travel becomes life - with stops and starts, sickness and health - then travel becomes a true journey, with happiness as a reward. Having experienced exactly this when I hiked the Appalachian Trail, I was thrilled to find it in print here. There is traveling and there is experiencing a journey, and Theroux's book gave new meaning to the difference between the two.
Themes: travel, Asia, aging, train rides, changes over time (to places and people), rest of the world views of America, literature, food, Eastern Europe, Russia, introspection