Nov. 15, 2011

Ghost Train to the Eastern Star:
On the Tracks of the Great Railway Bazaar

by Paul Theroux

Decades ago, the writer Paul Theroux reinvented the art of travel writing. Since then he has been one of its best and most regular practitioners, taking readers along with him on epic journeys covering continents and remote outposts. This book finds Theroux retracing the route of an earlier journey across eastern Europe, through the heart of the various "stan" countries, across India and through the various countries of the far east. He revisits the places he visited in his first travel book---but decades later.

Theroux has a distinctive voice and point of view as a travel writer. Getting used to his likes and dislikes is no problem at all, and he makes a very agreeable companion. His opinions are reliable and one can learn a lot about the character of the countries he travels in by the portraits of the people he meets and the places he chooses to visit. He knows many people in many places, and his visits with old friends add to the book and are never boring I very much enjoyed the book and will search out his others in this genre.

ISBN 0547237936

©2011 Rebecca Copeland