The Old Patagonian Express: By Train Through the Americas

I like all of the Theroux books. He is not flattering, he simply describes what he experiences. When he finds something displeasing, he says so. And that is missing in so many travel books. Theroux doesn't bore with cautions and warnings, he doesn't make pretty was isn't. When it is uncomfortable he says it's uncomfortable. When he finds it ugly or distasteful, he says so. I have traveled many of the places he describes, and reading The Patagonia Express, I could relive many of my own experiences. He is not sugar-coated, neither am I. He doesn't shrink away from hard experiences and misery, neither do I. He travels exactly the way the locals travel, so do I. Being squeezed in between six people on a seat made for three isn't "fun", but it is reality. And being between these people who haven't bathed in days isn't fun either, but it is reality. It is a good reality and readers should realize that most of the world doesn't live like we do. This - or any of his books - is not for the superficial traveler. It isn't for someone who just wants pretty or enjoys blinders as not to recognize that the majority of humanity lives is true poverty. Theroux is a wonderful writer who knows how to bring the real world very close.

Paul Theroux, in his introduction to THE OLD PATAGONIAN EXPRESS, states that his wish was to make this "the ultimate book about getting there." As in his other train voyage narratives, this book is about the journey rather than the destination however, as usual, we manage to glimpse quite a lot of the country and people he encounters along the way. Theroux, as always, plays the curmudgeon and misanthrope throughout. This, of course, is the main reason I enjoy coming back to Theroux time and time again. Who needs to read another travelogue of fluffy descriptions of tourist destinations and restaurant reviews? Theroux seeks "adventure" and he finds a fair amount of it in his train travels through the Americas. Although he speaks against the novelistic approach to travel writing, his own character consistently inserts itself into the story which in my opinion reads much like a novel in a positive way. Politically, the book is dated and we must expect that much has changed in Central and South America over the last 20 years. However, THE OLD PATAGONIAN EXPRESS remains a highly entertaining read and I recommend it heartily. Jeremy W. Forstadt

This is an excellent read. Theroux engages everything and everyone with a sort of biting-embrace. He doesn't mince words. He tells the story of the Americas as he experiences it. It's not necessarily pretty and it isn't always complimentary.Theroux's mixes observation with historical background and literary references that add to the text. Theroux's power of description can be breathtaking. "Flocks of white herons blew across the grass tips like flecks of paper in a breeze" It is this type of prose juxtaposed the poor living conditions of the people that adds allure to the story. I think Theroux's writing rests on the edge of what people find comfortable, but the reality is traveling to a third world country is not COMFORTABLE. One must fine riches and beauty amongst the squalor.

The Old Pantagonian Express is about 20 years old now but I still re-read it every couple of years. From the starting point in Massachussets, Theroux remarks on how his fellow commuters are merely commuting a short distance, whereas he is travelling to the tip of South America! There are many great moments and observations in this book. Travelling through Panama, Theroux finds himself with a repetitive fellow passenger who keeps pointing out the re-appearance of a pipeline that is coming in and out of view. Mundane stuff, but Theroux weaves it into the narrative in a way that only he can. Of course there are there are many interesting journeys through Mexico, Central and South America, but told in a unique way that was unlike any travel book I had ever read before. Theroux's many other travel books are entertaining and stimulating, but none so much as this book.