Review of Ghost Train to the Eastern Star: On the Tracks of the Great Railway Bazaar (Hardcover)

I assume everyone reading this is familiar with Theroux's latest premise, to retrace the trail he took over thirty years ago when he wrote "The Great Railway Bazaar."

His latest is classic Theroux - observant, infinitely inquisitive (almost nosy), insatiably curious. Few can afford the time, money or emotional strain it would take to complete a journey like this. Consequently, it's wonderful to have a traveler (the author's familiar reference to himself) of this caliber to do it for us. Mostly by land from London, through Eastern Europe, the Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Japan and home across Russia. I, for one, don't know how he manages to leave his loving wife for that long.

Some have called the author a misanthrope. I don't think that at all. One particular act, which I won't spoil by revealing, distinguishes the man from your average humanity-hater. I appreciated how he usually searched out the oldest rickshaw-wallahs and taxi drivers, people his age who haven't been as fortunate.

I take his observations of annoying people as part of the landscape of a trip of this magnitude. It was inevitable that he'd come across slovenly, boorish, clueless tourists that deservedly reaped the wrath of his rapier wit. I particularly enjoy Theroux's slicing and dicing of holier-than-thou missionaries. When he begins a description of someone he runs into with sly, almost vicious adjectives, look out. You know the game is about to begin.

I share a lot of the author's opinions, especially when he compares lawyers to prostitutes and expresses nothing but disdain for weak-handed politicians and substance-less celebrities. He seems to explore an inordinate number of sex trade sites around the world, shining the light of day on the cockroaches that reap profits from the suffering of others. As a single Western man, I suppose he's bound to be a target for the profiteers trying to separate him from his money. For those of us curious about how such things work in these far-off places, thankfully we have Theroux to describe them for us. Look out, Japan! Your weird fascination with school girls and French maids has been captured in print by one of the best travel writers in the biz!

Theroux seems to reserve special animosity for Singapore. Despite the city-state's facade of prosperity and glamor, wrapped in a mantle of super-security, the author manages to delve below the surface and reveal that here too there is an underworld, seedy sex trade and community of low-life individuals who deal in flesh, including that of the very young. It seems that Theroux is accomplishing a bit of payback here - as he was sacked from a teaching job there way back in the 1960s. From what I can tell, the despotic prime minister and all the mealy-mouthed underlings deserve everything they get.

Paul doesn't seem to hold back on descriptions of people he meets, including some famous writers. I often wonder what they think when they read what he has written about them. He is a bit of a name dropper, managing to rub elbows and spend time with some of today's most famous authors, including Orhan Pamuk, Sir Arthur Clarke and Murakami Haruki, as well as Prince Charles and Camilla. Oh, well. At least we get a bit of insight as to what they're like. I'll never get to talk to them so I'm glad he did. I admit that some I'd never heard of before reading the book so the author has provided another service - to broaden horizons.

I've been to many of the places Theroux describes (Eastern Europe, India,Burma, Southeast Asia, Russia) and it's interesting to read his take on things. He has a habit of looking at places differently, describing and visiting little known sights that, though I was there, never got to. I suppose that's another of his differences between tourists and travelers.

In summary, I'd very highly recommend "Ghost Train." It reveals more of the author than anything he's written thus far; mulling regrets about past mistakes and the inevitable disasters we are all confronted with at some point in life. His sentimental journey, like "Dark Star Safari," allows the reader to understand a lot about why he is the way he is - and where he's coming from.



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