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The Old Patagonian Express: By Train Through the Americas

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Near the end of a two week trip to a far off land (for me at least), those uncomfortable things that at first seemed new and exciting start to become annoying and old.

It seems like Paul Theroux started feeling this way after his first two weeks... actually maybe even before. He manages to leave his personal stamp of disaproval on every Central and South American country in his wake... er... track.

The good thing is that his negative attitude is so obvious that you become desensitized to it, and it starts to feel like the grumpy narrative to a beautiful slideshow presentation by your Great Uncle Horrace.

Theroux's descriptions of people and places are so vivid, that his journey becomes less of a personal trip, and more of a documentary film of the beautiful landscape and interesting people that he meets. He is but a character in the film that you can choose to ignore.

Sidenote: Before I bought this book I had really wanted to go to the Patagonian area of Chile and Argentina. Since that was the only place that Theroux didn't seem to have a problem with, I instead went to Peru (he both hated it and got altitude sickness there, so I figured it must be a great place... and of course it was).

As a venezuelan I thank god that there is no train to my country and that Paul Theroux didn't stop in Venezuela because almost everywhere that he went , including part of the U.S.A, he had the ability, the gift to find only the negative things. So you should ask me, then why did I give this book 4 stars, because its fun to read. Paul Theroux, a young writer in the seventies, one day decides to leave his wife and kids in their home in London, go back to his parents house in Massachussets and from there take a train to the Patagonia: the farthest south that he could go. Sounds fun for an adventurous man, but all the time, all the places he keeps bitching about everything: The people on the trains, the people in the cities, how he misses his family, what is he doing there, about the food, about the hotels. Well you name it, but in the middle of all this bitching you can almost find yourself in the forest, in the middle of a civil war, in the top of the mountain, meeting Borges, every day completely different from the other.Paul Theroux can be real obnoxious, but he sure can write.

Theroux is one of my favorites. "Riding the Iron Rooster" initiated me to his books; the "Patagonia Express" was a good follow-up. He is an intellectual fellow, I suspect, whom I'd enjoy meeting one day. Theroux writes a reliable read. Get it, and enjoy him. <vossj@mdot.state.mi.us>

I very much like Theroux's writing. To me his sometimes acerbic observations get towards the truth of a place AS HE PERCEIVES IT. When I read travel books I likt to hear the author's point of view. That may or may not accord with my own or others'. I like also to compare them to other writers' experiences of the same place, whether it somewhere I will travel to by aircraft or mind's eye via the armchair only.

How does Theroux strike up conversations with such odd collections of people? Partly because he travels alone, and partly because he is open to hearing the stories of others. Either he hits on the most interesting people in every place, or he endures more mundane conversations than anyone in order to cull the best! He must keep assiduous notes - really WORK at travelling to be able to relate in such detail.

I know he gives us glimpses of his working modus operandi -references to the books he is reading, and the note-taking. A few times on the train I wished he had looked up longer i9n order to be able to tell us a little more about what was a bit further away from the track.

The descriptions of what Paul observed while on the trains, under varying conditions, are what I enjoyed the most- they are clear and powerful. Better yet, he lets you in on what he is experiencing while he is describing, so you can perceive his state of mind at the time (which often has a very strong influence on how he describes various places), and what he is reading. He also focuses in on the most quirky "characters" that he meets in the towns and on the trains. His writing style is highly entertaining thoughout the entire book. I liked the fact that he didn't travel first class, but "mucked in" (as Michael Palin said in his TV travel series).

Reading Theroux is like drinking whiskey - it is an aquired taste. Sipped slowly it can be very pleasant but there are times when too much be quite nauseating.

First book I read by Paul Theroux and was blown away by his refusal to play the all-too-easily-pleased and polite traveller/tourist. Theroux is a thinking traveller not afraid to mix it up with the locals or allow people to make fools of themselves. I just wished he had taken another route home and written another book about that.

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.

Jesus, man! Are you always this annoyed with life? I liked your book but only because you met Borges and were Poe-obsessed throughout the entire trip. But my suggestion is to GO HOME next time you write a complaint filled 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 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.