Customer Reviews

To the Ends of the Earth

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In his Introduction Paul Theroux writes, "When something human is recorded, good travel writing happens." Theroux always records the human aspects of countries and people he meets along the way. He records the scene outside the train window or porthole like no one else. Close to poetic in some sections.

I have read almost all of Theroux's books and when I picked up this one I was afraid it would just be excerpts from his travels and might be less than satisfying, the tales taken out of conntext. I was wrong. These stories are gems in their own right, timeless, and may inspire you to read more of his books, fiction and nonfiction.

This book is a collection of episodes, usually not connected, from six previous Theroux books published in the 70's and 80's. His travels in five different continents are highlighted here with varying degrees of detail. Since his other books describe distinct journeys from beginning to end, Theroux explains in the intro here that this book is meant more as a celebration of the art of traveling itself. He also has some snide insights into the art of travel writing, especially annoying authors who give only a tourist's eye view of the destination but don't bother to say how they got there. Getting there is Theroux's passion and the fragments in this volume usually show him encountering all kinds of intriguing characters and situations around the world, all while on his way somewhere else. That includes the good, the bad, and the ugly - and describing all of these with equal insight is Theroux's greatest strength as a globetrotting non-tourist.

I write that as my intro because this is a collection of selected works from several of the author's travels. Just as he is pulling you into one adventure the book moves on to another. You definitely will want to read the full books if you have any interest whatsoever in travel.

This author takes you on a round the world trip. You get to visit "guesthouses" with frozen feces and vomit in the stairway. You will meet possibly the worst driver ever. You wil have the chance to see if he exchanges a radio for sex with a woman before her husband gets home. Even though one vhinese woman says "don't get your hopes up", along with a lot of other English phrases, you definitely can have high hopes with this one.

An unfair introduction to Theroux travels. It whets the appetite for those who have read just one or two of his books. For someone who has not read any of his books - well, unfortunately this book would not encourage them to buy the full texts. I don't think it does justice to his writing or his travels. Too short - each story.

The books in their entirety draw you in and make you live the experiences with him. I adore his books and his writing style. I love his full texts. By the time you're half drawn into one of these segments, they are over already. Too bad.

I enjoy reading of some places that are familiar to me from my travels, but really dont like his dry, dry style. There are too many gaps in the story, lack of luster as well as never having any real praise for the majority of the places he sees. There is a real lack of human element. I am dont have a real desire to read any more of his books.

This romantic comedy by Paul Theroux was absoloutely superb. The character of baby Alexandra was my favourite as she was a talking baby with a strange disability, having the misfortune of wheels instead of legs. There were other interesting characters such as Bessy the poisonious mark, which could talk and fly.

Even though this book was fantastic it was great.