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Paperback The Old Patagonian Express: By Train Through the Americas Book

ISBN: 039552105X

ISBN13: 9780395521052

The Old Patagonian Express: By Train Through the Americas

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Format: Paperback

Condition: Very Good

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Book Overview

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER. The Old Patagonian Express chronicles Paul Theroux's train journey from his home in Boston, Massachusetts to the foot of South America, in 1978. Full of witty and sharp observations, Theroux goes out of his way to talk to as many locals as possible along the way.
Starting with a rush-hour subway ride to South Station in Boston to catch the Lake Shore Limited to Chicago, Theroux winds up on the poky, wandering Old Patagonian Express steam engine, which comes to a halt in a desolate land of cracked hills and thorn bushes. But, with Theroux, the view along the way is what matters: the monologuing Mr. Thornberry in Costa Rica, the bogus priest of Cali, and the celebrated writer, Jorge Luis Borges, who delights in having Theroux read Robert Louis Stevenson to him.
More by Paul Theroux
PAUL THEROUX's 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, and The Great Railway Bazaar.

Customer Reviews

8 customer ratings | 4 reviews

Rated 5 stars
Not the usual travel book

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,...

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Rated 5 stars
Traversing the Americas

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,...

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Rated 5 stars
Train Through The Americas

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...

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Rated 5 stars
Theroux's most enjoyable travel book

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...

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