Rating: 
Summary: A Demeaning Look Down at the Little People
Review: My review of this book is perhaps limited by the fact that I could only choke through the first several chapters. A friend and I were listening to the book on tape as we drove across country. We began the book when we left Boston, by Albany it was under the seat and stayed there for the rest of the trip. The conceit just flows from this guy as he snubs and belittles everyone he meets. When we're not sharing in the jokes he has at his neighbor's expense, we're driven mad with the boredom of the subject.
Rating: 
Summary: Like the final days before returning home...
Review: 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).
Rating: 
Summary: A non-stop roller coaster ride!!
Review: Paul Theroux tells travel stories better than anyone else<br>I couldn't put this book down as I found myself travelling with Paul through the America's, meeting the same people he came in contact with and sharing the same trials and tribulations as well as the high points.<br>A must-read for anyone travelling to South America and for anyone who loves poignant observation mingled with good humour and a undying love for adversity.<br>Michael Crane (mcrane@prodigy.com
Rating:
Summary: Traversing the Americas
Review: 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, of course, is the main reason I enjoy coming back to Theroux time and time again. Who needs to read another travelogue of fluffy descriptions of tourist destinations and restaurant reviews?
Theroux seeks "adventure" and he finds a fair amount of it in his train travels through the Americas. Although he speaks against the novelistic approach to travel writing, his own character consistently inserts itself into the story which in my opinion reads much like a novel in a positive way. Politically, the book is dated and we must expect that much has changed in Central and South America over the last 20 years. However, THE OLD PATAGONIAN EXPRESS remains a highly entertaining read and I recommend it heartily.
Jeremy W. Forstadt
Rating: 
Summary: Can we have an explorer's perspective please.
Review: Paul's books provide a very detailed travel account. But, it appears to be a reporter's view. His writings lack the passion of an explorer. Travelling to distant places is essentially a journey within. Great travelers wouldn't ridicule the places they visit or the people they meet. In this book he seems describing the slums and the poverty of Mexico and other countries. Trust me, not many people want to be poor by choice.
Traveling is a sublime, spiritual & learning experience. It is an opportunity to look beyond our perceptions & bias. His writings are just an account of what he saw, they lack the light of a traveler...
Rating: 
Summary: SAVOUR SLOWLY
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: ideosyncratic but powerful descriptions
Review: 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).
Rating:
Summary: Theroux's most enjoyable travel book
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A Demeaning Look Down at the Little People
Review: There is a timelessness to this odyssey that causes it to be worth reading more than 20 years after its first publication. In a way it is due to train travel not having changed during that period. But also it is the relative absence of change in the scenery or in the social and economic condition of the people along the way. The concept is simple: Travel by train from Boston USA to Argentina and write about what you experience. The execution is something else, and it makes every page quite interesting. Those who have experienced Paul Theroux's travel writing don't have to be convinced of the pleasant experience to expect from this book. For those unfamiliar with his work, this is a very good place to start.
Rating:
Summary: Experience by Rail
Review: There is a timelessness to this odyssey that causes it to be worth reading more than 20 years after its first publication. In a way it is due to train travel not having changed during that period. But also it is the relative absence of change in the scenery or in the social and economic condition of the people along the way. The concept is simple: Travel by train from Boston USA to Argentina and write about what you experience. The execution is something else, and it makes every page quite interesting. Those who have experienced Paul Theroux's travel writing don't have to be convinced of the pleasant experience to expect from this book. For those unfamiliar with his work, this is a very good place to start.
| 
