The Great Railway Bazaar [Paperback]

Paul Theroux (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2006

First published more than thirty years ago, Paul Theroux's strange, unique, and hugely entertaining railway odyssey has become a modern classic of travel literature. Here Theroux recounts his early adventures on an unusual grand continental tour. Asia's fabled trains -- the Orient Express, the Khyber Pass Local, the Frontier Mail, the Golden Arrow to Kuala Lumpur, the Mandalay Express, the Trans-Siberian Express -- are the stars of a journey that takes him on a loop eastbound from London's Victoria Station to Tokyo Central, then back from Japan on the Trans-Siberian. Brimming with Theroux's signature humor and wry observations, this engrossing chronicle is essential reading for both the ardent adventurer and the armchair traveler.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

PAUL THEROUX is the author of many highly acclaimed books. His novels include A Dead Hand and The Mosquito Coast, and his renowned travel books include Ghost Train to the Eastern Star and Dark Star Safari. He lives in Hawaii and on Cape Cod.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (June 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618658947
• ISBN-13: 978-0618658947
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #113,739 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #60 in Books > Travel > Middle East

More 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

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A peerless and unforgettable travel narrative, July 8, 2008

By 

M. Feldman (Maine, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Great Railway Bazaar (Paperback)

This fabulous account of getting on the train in London and riding trains (including the decrepit Orient Express) through Europe, across Asia as far east as Japan, then looping back to Europe on the Trans-Siberian, is not a bit dated, even though it was first published in 1975. Theroux is sometimes cross and prickly, but he doesn't miss a thing, and he ventures into places (and eats things) that most people never would. Because he is also a novelist, he's deft at limning the appearances and characters of the people he meets, and these people, who are variously vain, odd, smelly, crazy, foolish, bigoted, or just eccentric, give this travelogue--and indeed all of Theroux's travel narratives--the quality of a Dickens novel.

I've read and enjoyed several of his other rail narratives, including "The Old Patagonian Express" (Central and South America) , "Kingdom by the Sea" (United Kingdom), and "Dark Star Safari" (Africa). I'd start with this one, though, with its wonderful section on Vietnam in the last year of the war and its melancholy voyage across Leonid Brezhnev's sclerotic Soviet Union. As with all good books, it will transport you to places you did not know existed, even in this era of Google Earth. As for those who don't care for Theroux's sometimes cranky persona, well, there are always the twittering ecstasies of Peter Mayle ("A Year in Provence," etc.) or--worse--Frances Mayes ("Under the Tuscan Sun," etc.). Theroux's sojourns will never inspire busloads of tourists or the astronomical appreciation of the local real estate. Once you've read "The Great Railway Bazaar," be sure to follow it up with "Ghost Train to the Eastern Star," his recent (2009) account of his retracing (with some new stops) of the trip he took in the seventies. It's equally compelling, and it illuminates the story of the first trip.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars By this book, unless you don't like good reading..., November 18, 2009

By 

J. P. Dorsett "d2iq" (Lost on a NM mountain) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Great Railway Bazaar (Paperback)

I like trains, and now I like Paul Theroux! I picked up this book because I was interested int the travel itinerary. After reading it, I bought all of his travel books, even those that didn't have a train in it. I have every one of his books that I can find and have read them all, and loved them all. Do yourself a favor; if you haven't read any of his books, read this one to start with and I assure you, you will be hooked on Mr. Theroux. Now, if I could only pronounce 'Theroux' properly...

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A pioneer of travel narratives, August 3, 2009

By 

Ed Sherman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Great Railway Bazaar (Paperback)

This was the very first travel book I ever read. My parents had early on inspired in me a love of travel. Reading this book increased that desire to explore the world. Coincidentally, I also shared a love of traveling by train, though as the author frequently mentions, this can often be somewhat difficult, and at times downright unpleasant.
While some people consider Paul Theroux to be cynical, I prefer to think of him as a realist who does not feel the need to sugar coat any of his writing.
Part of embracing travel is to deal with the good and the bad,the same as many life experiences.
I feel that the author was a pioneer in his belief that the journey is sometimes more rewarding than the destination itself.
If you've never read any of Paul Theroux's works, you got some great reads to look forward to !