Rating: 
Summary: The Pillars of Hercules
Review: "It's all in your head"? Not at all. At least for Paul it isn't.
I'll explain myself. Well, The Pillars of Hercules is a book Paul wrote on his travels all over the Mediterranean. For people who didn't read other travel books by this wonderful writer let me tell you that he writes what he sees not about what he liked before he even went to one of his dream places. This particular book is amazing and I am only halfway through it and I learned heaps, and I could almost say that I've seen a lot too because the writing is so wonderful, so vivid. It just makes me feel that I am on vacation.
Anyways, if you decide to "Waste some of your time" on a book chose this one - I swear you wont be dissapointed at all. Apart from beautifully described places Paul visited you'll get to know about so many nations histories,culture,customs,stupidities etc.Highly Recommended. Go PAUL you're even better than Bill Bryson. Hope you'll write about Kosova too someday. You would absolutely like it there. Warm Hospitality and an Enormous Love is what you'll find there especially if you're an American.
Rating:
Summary: The Pillars of Hercules
Review: "It's all in your head"? Not at all. At least for Paul it isn't.
I'll explain myself. Well, The Pillars of Hercules is a book Paul wrote on his travels all over the Mediterranean. For people who didn't read other travel books by this wonderful writer let me tell you that he writes what he sees not about what he liked before he even went to one of his dream places. This particular book is amazing and I am only halfway through it and I learned heaps, and I could almost say that I've seen a lot too because the writing is so wonderful, so vivid. It just makes me feel that I am on vacation.
Anyways, if you decide to "Waste some of your time" on a book chose this one - I swear you wont be dissapointed at all. Apart from beautifully described places Paul visited you'll get to know about so many nations histories,culture,customs,stupidities etc. Highly Recommended. Go PAUL you're even better than Bill Bryson. Hope you'll write about Kosova too someday. You would absolutely like it there. Warm Hospitality and an Enormous Love is what you'll find there especially if you're an American.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable but tiring
Review: ...and not just for the reader. I had the impression that Theroux himself was tired of his journey about halfway through, and his cynicism and displeasure became increasingly evident throughout the latter portion of the book. Still, it was well-written, and I enjoyed it enough to read The Kingdom By the Sea. I'll keep reading, but I'll take him and his attitudes with a grain of salt.
Rating: 
Summary: A Misanthrope's Holiday
Review: Do NOT read this book if you are looking for a travel guide (unless you are looking for places NOT to go, like the entire Mediterranean region). This is essentially a book by an extremely well-read and erudite misanthrope who pours (not undeserved in many cases) scorn upon most everyone he meets and every place he visits, preferring to reflect on the dead authors and men of genius admired by him who visited or inhabited these places. (One exception: ALMOST dead in the case of Paul Bowles.) His basic approach can be summed up in a statement in Chapter 7 he makes regarding the Sardinians: "Excessive friendliness is perhaps a philistine trait; in a place where no one reads, no one values or understands contemplative solitude, and so they need each other to be friendly and talkative." It doesn't seem to occur to him that a man might be complex enough to be both extremely friendly and extremely contemplative; perhaps because Theroux himself is not, or perhaps because to recognize the possibility would staunch the outpour of his vile, which is really what this book is all about. The book does have its moments. Snide remarks have their place, and his dismissive, irreverent comments on Syrian president Assad and his contempt for the Israeli dependence on American largesse hit the mark like no other writer can. But anyone familiar with Theroux's work can not help but be reminded of his alter ego and the protagonist of his earlier novel, The Mosquito Coast, who ends up destroying himself and his family because of his disdain for non-geniuses....Well, at least Theroux knows what he's about. I can't really think of whom to recommend this book to besides intellectual snobs who are not MERE snobs but truly well-read and who get a rush out of hearing about where famous authors worked and lived, and, of course, what Theroux thinks of it all. Theroux probably gives it all away when he (supposedly) visits the ailing Paul Bowles, and the first thing he records Bowles as saying as our author enters the room is: "Yes, I know your books.".............All is vanity, saith the preacher.
Rating:
Summary: Cerebral; very Paul Therouxish (of course)
Review: Here again is Paul Theroux, taking us on an unemotional but sometimes funny literary tour of the Mediterranean. This book is definately worth reading, but if you're like me, you may not always enjoy it. I've tried, and I've tried again, but I just can't seem to LIKE "Pauly" that much. This tour is not a sensual one. Don't expect (if you know his work you won't) to experience the physical feel of the places he visits. Textures, tastes, colours, the feel of rain or sunshine on the skin; Theroux is not concerned with any of these. Instead, he applies his supposedly apolitical intellect to record and judge the people he meets, the places he sees, and what others have written about them before him. This does produce some hilarious moments, like when he describes the superstitions locals have about the EEC; ie "The fishermen will have to wear hairnets!" However, his prose is often very pompous and boring: "The proof of Dali's gift is that he knows how to arouse us, and outrage us, and make us laugh." I'm sure Thoroux was gleefully thinking about himself when he wrote that, a sort of self congrats; The proof of Theroux's gift is that he knows how to arouse us, blah, blah, blah. Theroux's name dropping, his apparent lack of physical sensation, his constant intellectualizing makes the Mediterranean feel very distant indeed.
Rating:
Summary: Not a travel guide!
Review: I chose this to be the first book to read about the area I plan to visit by way of a cruise ship (not a Turkish one!) this year. I laughed when I checked out the chpater about the Seabourne Spirit to Istanbul and the passengers, but when I returned to the beginning and started, I was almost instantly depressed. I know there are ugly tourists everywhere, but Theroux seemed to delight in finding them and writing about them. Since this is my first book by him, I was in turn entertained, then appalled. I did like the way he stayed in inexpensive places to get the feel for the place and I'm impressed with his language abilities. Maybe if the average tourist had those linguistic skills, he wouldn't have been able to find so many boorish ones. I liked his pilgramages to literary haunts and his quotes of what other writers had said about his itinerary. His description of Albania was stunning. Theroux minces no words and certainly tells it like it is. It left me disturbed and ready to look for a real tourist guide to pump me up before I leave for the region. But I won't forget his descriptions and may even read it again someday, when I'm not so emotionally involved. His descriptions of the coast of Spain were particularly upsetting, since I lived in the interior of that country many years ago. It sounded absolutely desolate and ugly! How sad! If a good book leaves one with strong emotion, then this is a good book. But a travelogue, it is not!
Rating: 
Summary: Hated it
Review: I couldn't get past the first 100 pages. Is this guy actually going to whine and complain and sneer the entire way around the Mediterranean, and is anybody interested in reading that? He starts with a loathsome description of Gibraltar and his fellow tourists and the poor monkeys. Continuing along the coast of Spain, every place he goes, every person he meets, is despicable. I was particularly nauseated by the repeated gory descriptions of bull-fighting. OK, OK, once was enough, in fact, once was more than enough. There is a popular expression, "words cannot describe" how awful something is. Well, this guy doesn't suffer from an inability to find the words. He finds every word he needs to describe his miserable journey.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully entertaining, especially the first half of book.
Review: I enjoyed Theroux's ability to burst the bubble that is thefantasy image portrayed in the media about travel to exotic places.One relishes Theroux's high opinion of his own judgment in describing the more sordid aspects of travel. That is because his shock or surprise in certain situations parallels what our own would be in the same situation. The best part of the book was the first half, largely because the theme was fresh in his mind, I think. I got the impression he became tired of traveling after his return from Albania. When he returned to the region, he seemed to lack his earlier enthusiasm. However, the pace picks up, and his description of the trashy classicism of Greece makes fun reading. Throughout the book, the references he makes to other writers' books about the Mediterraean will furnish the reader with some good sources of literature about the region. A lovely book, especially for its instances of typical Theroux smart-alec wit.
Rating:
Summary: Superior travel writing
Review: I loved this book. Theroux' constant allusions to literary works pique an interest to further investigate. His descriptions of his encounters with individuals as well as landscapes make you feel as if you are traveling with him.
Rating:
Summary: a good writer and a lousy traveler
Review: I must admit I enjoy reading Theroux for his verbal wit, astute observations and linguistic acrobatics. As a traveler, however, the man is a complete failure. In a sense, he doesn't really travel at all:He surrounds himself with a bubble of his arrogant American expectations and never bothers to take a step out of it. In a way, he has never really BEEN to the places he writes about. In this sense, he is not unlike those spoiled rich folks floating around in their luxury cruise ship gazing at the mediterranean world through rose-colored glasses, except that HIS glasses are an especially ugly shade of gray. Maybe he should give up traveling altogether- it appears to make him profoundly unhappy- and write humour columns for newspapers instead- a la Dave Barry. He'd be good at that.
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