Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Capetown

by Paul Theroux

Book Overview

The legendary travel writer's thrilling and dangerous account of his journey across Africa

A rattletrap bus, dugout canoe, cattle truck, armed convoy, ferry, and train. In the course of his epic and enlightening journey, wittily observant and endearingly irascible Paul Theroux endures danger, delay, and dismaying circumstances. Gauging the state of affairs, he talks to Africans, aid workers, missionaries, and tourists. What...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0618446877
• ISBN13: 9780618446872
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Mariner Books
• Length: 485 Pages
• Weight: 1.13 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

A more accurate meaning for "safari"

This is Theroux's account of a journey from the very north of Africa to the very south...but not in tourist style! Buses, rickety trucks, taxis, some trains. Travel guides give "the view from 30,000 feet." Theroux gives what the military call "ground truth." He sees the reality, meets many people. His account is enriched by two things in particular: He had lived and worked in some of the African countries, decades before, spoke some of the languages, so he could form a realistic view of whether things were better or (almost always) much worse: and he is a canny and skilful writer, who knows exactly how to balance description, dialog, and commentary, and packs plenty of punch into a few crisp words. For instance: "My first impression of Addis Ababa: handsome people in rags, possessed of both haughtiness and destitution, a race of aristocrats who had pawned the family silver." He is generally scathing about the efforts of international aid agencies, whose personnel rush about in white Land-Rovers and end up leaving some useless practice, or object or building that will disintegrate, or need expensive maintenance, or be unsuited to the location, as with the two-story condos built in Harar by a German aid agency. The people, a tall race, did not use them but stayed in their mud huts. Why? "They are too tall. There is no space. They cannot bring their donkeys and goats inside." "Why would they want to do that?" "To protect them from the hyenas." The well-meaning aid people had missed a point or two. He does, however, pay tribute to certain selfless individuals who work hard directly with the people, teaching or healing. Overall, his opinion is that survival is better assured with the simplest, oldest technology and crops, and living in small traditional villages. Nearly all the cities are basically disasters, and many of the government bureaucracies are incompetent or corrupt, even if sometimes those at the top are trying to make things better. Now and again we get a really tantalizing throwaway: "Yes, the Bachiga of southwest Uganda and their curious marriage rite, which included the groom's brothers and the bride in the urine ceremony. I could not hear the name of the tribe without thinking of the piddle-widdle of this messy rite." To which the only possible response is, "Do tell!" But he doesn't. A fascinating tale - a guaranteed page-turner. Incidentally, I noted the really unfavorable review by Carl Owen. It seems to have some reasonable points, but as with some other negative reviews, I felt it wasn't just having issues with the book's content. There seemed to be something about Theroux's personal style that seemed to irritate them. Now I was once annoyed with a Theroux book - I forget the title - when he thoroughly dissed my hometown of Aberdeen in Scotland! But that didn't prevent me appreciating and enjoying his thought-provoking remarks - and the humor!

What most of us don't know about Africa

I found the Audio book to be exceptionally well done. Norman Dietz, the reader, is terrific. He "acts" the narratives using his voice, making the 23 hours wonderfully listenable. Paul Theroux's means and mode of travel, ability to communicate in native languages, description of landscape, and encounters with peoples, police, bureacrats, etc. extremely interesting and educational. Theroux at one point says an author's greatest accomplishment is tell the story so the reader feels he is there and experiencing what is being described. Theroux acomplishes this beautifully. I see vividly the scenes and feel I know personnally the people he meets. Terrific book to learn about the countries of Africa, their politics,different cultures between African countries, the institutionalized violence and histories. His views on the various "charity industries"of Africa is compelling. His view of their self-interest overiding any good that is accomplished by them. In fact they are counter productive and to so some degree responsible for the lack of any real educational, economic or political progress in most African countries. It is not a "happy" story that will leave readers with an optimistic view of the future for the continent. You will,however, have a feeling for Africa's potential with leadership. Leadership capable of providing education for the masses, developing economic resources for the benefit of their countries rather than the politicians in power at any given time.

Armchair Traveler

This is a marvelously engrossing book, perfect for those, like me, who want to see the world without actually enduring the necessary discomforts. Theroux has lived in Africa, speaks some of its languages, and knows his way around. He writes of what an ordinary tourist would never see. I'm prompted to write this review by one of the reviews already posted here, which accuses Theroux of negativity and a dislike of people. I had the opposite impression. He does indeed see much to be disturbed by in Africa--any compassionate person would be disturbed by it. Civil society has broken down in many of the countries he visits. Poverty, disease, crime, and corruption beset the cities, and Theroux shows clearly how aid workers who come to help, and the missionaries who want to foist their beliefs on the Africans, often make things worse. He is opinionated and sometimes testy, which makes his account interesting, never a dry recital of facts. He talks with people wherever he goes, and most important of all, he listens to them. As a result, he learns what few outsiders ever do, and gives us a view of Africa--a place he loves--that is a fascinating, deeply unsettling revelation.

A Fresh Look From A Professional Skeptic

This may be the best of all of the Theroux travel books. Theroux, skeptical of everything, revisits the Africa he left 30 years before. Theroux concludes that things are worse in much of Africa and he strongly implies that Western aid; Western Charity and Western Liberal Do-Gooders have accomplished little or nothing in Africa. They have trained the local people to expect handouts instead of taking care of themselves. Here he sounds like a conservative Republican. However, Theroux is especially skeptical of the religious workers in Africa who, in his view, are wasting their time attempting to convert Africans to Christianity to save souls. This book caused me to rethink the African Charity issue.As always, Theroux is fresh and unpredictable. He pokes fun at himself and his life, but he also concludes that his own journey through life has been very rewarding. You get the sense that no one handed Theroux any breaks in his career. He feels he had to earn every break he got.He makes a few references to V.S. Naipaul in the book. He also interviews Nadine Gordimer, the South African novelist, and paints a portrait of an interesting and courageous woman.

A large look at a huge continent

"All news out of Africa is bad. It made me want to go there . . " Most of us will never have the opportunity to start at the top of an immense continent such as Africa and make our way to the other end, chatting with everyone we meet and recording our impressions along the way, interwoven with a vast knowledge of local history and literary references. We are lucky to have Theroux do it for us. Approaching his sixtieth birthday, he still prefers to travel close to the ground, engaging those around him in both light banter and discussions of tough issues - in this case, whether or not government policies have brought about any progress since he was last there as a teacher in the Peace Corps in the 1960's. Dark Star Safari begins in Cairo, but really takes off when he leaves the city behind and roams from town to town describing the sights, the pleasures and hazards of travel and forming his own opinions about such topics as subsistence farming and international aid efforts. Those unfamiliar with Theroux's writing should know that it is these personal reactions and the immediacy of his narrative that provide the pleasure in reading one of his books. He speaks some of the local language and makes himself comfortable in a broad variety of settings. If you are seeking an in-depth look at the political scene to the exclusion of everything else, then Dark Star Safari might not be the book for you. It covers a lot of ground fast (if 500 pages can be said to be fast), yet provides enough lingering looks at such a variety of residents and lifestyles that you feel as though you know a lot more about Africa than when you started.