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The Old Patagonian Express: By Train Through the Americas
by: Paul Theroux

List Price: $15.95

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Used Price: $4.31
Third Party New Price: $9.05

Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 917.0453
EAN: 9780395521052
ISBN: 039552105X
Label: Mariner Books
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 404
Publication Date: November 07, 1979
Publisher: Mariner Books
Studio: Mariner Books
Sales Rank: 152238

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Editorial Review:

Product Description:
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 blind Jorge Luis Borges, who delights in having Theroux read Robert Louis Stevenson to him.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- condescending, judgemental, and refreshingly honest
You may find Thoreaux's openness and directness refreshing, or you may find his brashness, arrogance, condescension, and hypocritical judgementalism revolting. If the latter is true, take heart that this book actually becomes enjoyable once you get past the first hundred pages or so...

Maybe others will better appreciate Thoreaux's attempts at humor, but the first hundred pages of this book could arguably compete for the most off-putting intro ever written. Before even beginning to prove a thing about himself (unless he's relying on an established reputation?), he devotes a few pages to trashing the state of current travel literature as being formulaic and overly focused on the destination vs. the journey. Beginning his story, he immediately picks a couple of confrontations ... Read More

Rating:

- "The journey, not the arrival, matters; the voyage, not the landing."
In 1979, Paul Theroux departed from his childhood home in Medford, Massachusetts, and began his train journey from the East Coast of the United States to Patagonia, on the southern tip of Argentina. A seasoned traveler, fluent in Spanish, Theroux brings to life his trip through the northern and southern hemispheres, traveling without a schedule and observing his fellow passengers on the train and people at stops along the way.

In Texas he is astonished at the contrasts between Laredo on the Texas side of the Rio Grande and Nuevo Laredo across the border in Mexico, commenting on society and governments. Traveling through Mexico and Guatemala, he observes the poverty of the Indians and their lack of opportunities. In El Salvador he attends a soccer game and gets caught up in the ... Read More

Rating:

- From Boston to Patagonia by Train
Note: I made some immature Mormon angry because of my negative reviews of books that attempted to prove the Book of Mormon, and that person has been slamming my reviews almost as fast as they are posted.

So, your "helpful" votes are appreciated. Thanks, and note that a short review is not necessarily a bad review if it leads you to a great book.

From Boston to Patagonia by train. What an adventure. As I wrote in my review of the "Great Railway Bazaar," treat yourself to traveling the easy way and read one of Paul Theroux's books.

Peter Mathiessen described the "Old Patagonian Express" perfectly: "Sharp-eyed, honest, and exceptionally well-written...an implacable landscape, conveyed through a series of marvelous encounters."

Rating:

- Another Wonderful Travel Expose by the Inimitable Theroux!
Terrific in every way, as all of Theroux's travel books are! Not a word too many, and not an insight overlooked in this adventure through the Americas. Wonderful, beautiful, and a treasured book in my library.

Rating:

- Take a trip
One of Theroux's best train trips. You can really feel the shifting landscapes as he moves through the latitudes...

Books : The Old Patagonian Express: By Train Through the Americas