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PAUL THEROUX

"The wish to travel seems to me characteristically human: the desire to move, to satisfy your curiosity or ease your fears, to change the circumstances of our life, to be a stranger, to make a friend, to experience an exotic landscape, to risk the unknown..."
- Paul Theroux, The Tao of Travel
photo of Paul Theroux

ABOUT PAUL THEROUX

Paul Theroux is truly one of the world's prolific and renowned travel writers, and someone who deserves credit for shaping and defining the genre.  He is best known for his sharp and satirical wit, his eye for cultural detail, and his ability to capture the spirit of a place by seeing it through the eyes the local people.  His style can also be described as grumpy, opinionated and sarcastic.  Known for his epic journeys across Africa and Asia, he has written numerous books, both collections of travel essays and works of fiction, several of which were turned into movies.  Theroux grew up in Massachusetts, went to school in Maine, and grew to love Africa while in the Peace Corps in Malawi.  He now lives in Cape Cod and Hawaii.  Theroux describes himself as a novelist who travels, someone who uses travel as a background for his stories.  Some of his best work revolves around long journeys, often on trains, and the self-discovery involved with traveling alone. The Great Railway Bazaar is probably his best known book and definitely one our top recommendations here at A5.
More information on Paul Theroux and his work, on Amazon

A5 RECOMMENDATIONS - PAUL THEROUX BOOKS

Picture
book cover of The Great Railway Bazaar
book cover of Ghost Train to the Eastern Star
book cover of Deep South
book cover of Dark Star Safari
book cover of The Kingdom By the Sea
book cover of The Last Train to Zona Verde
book cover of Riding the Iron Rooster
book cover of The Happy Isles of Oceania
book cover of The Patagonian Express
book cover of The Pillars of Hercules

PAUL THEROUX - TRAVEL WRITING COLLECTIONS

book cover of The Tao of Travel
book cover of Fresh Air Fiend
book cover of To the Ends of the Earth
book cover of Sunrise with Seamonsters

PAUL THEROUX - RECOMMENDED FICTION

book cover of The Mosquito Coast
book cover of The Elephanta Suite
book cover of Hotel Honolulu

PAUL THEROUX - THE BEST AMERICAN TRAVEL WRITING

book cover of The Best American Travel Writing 2001
Paul Theroux was the guest editor of both the 2014  and the 2001 versions of The Best American Travel Writing series, the first time that a writer was selected twice.  His selection of stories celebrates exploration and the truth in travel, and therefore the 2001 version is just as good as the 2014. version.   And, perhaps most importantly, Theroux is drawn to great writing, and so of course his recommendations are stellar.  Click here to see our review of The Best American Travel Writing series.

GREAT QUOTES FROM PAUL THEROUX

"You go away for a long time and return a different person - you never come all the way back.” 
- Paul Theroux, Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town

"Mark Twain was a great traveler and he wrote three or four great travel books. I wouldn't say that I'm a travel novelist but rather a novelist who travels - and who uses travel as a background for finding stories of places.
- Paul Theroux


“Reading alters the appearance of a book. Once it has been read, it never looks the same again, and people leave their individual imprint on a book they have read. Once of the pleasures of reading is seeing this alteration on the pages, and the way, by reading it, you have made the book yours.” 
- Paul Theroux, The Old Patagonian Express:  By Train Through the Americas

INTERESTING LINKS:

  • Read "Why We Travel", by Paul Theroux, New York Times, April 2011
  • Or, read "The Lesson of My LIfe", by Paul Theroux, Conde Nast Traveler, April 2009
  • Read Michael Shapiro's interview with Paul Theroux in A Sense of Place, a collection of face-to-face discussions with some the world's best travel writers on their craft and on their inspiration.​

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