This week’s book was written by the famed travel writer Paul Theroux, though
a “book” is probably a misnomer. It is in fact, a collection of short
stories, previously written for a disparate group of magazines, and
re-jigged into this collection of travel writings 1985-2000 (Fresh-Air
Fiend ISBN 978-0-241-95055-5, reprinted 2011).
Author Theroux is an American, with decided ideas on life
and living, and where. He also comes across as someone who hates American
tourists, though he will have a lot of supporters there! He is also an aging
radical, and much of his early writings reflect this, though like all
teenage rebels, pragmatism eventually is the winner.
He describes his transition to writing as, “I was not
embraced as a traveler, I was seen as a stranger, sometimes a dangerous one.
My experience of that conflict made me a writer.”
He is happy to experience any arena of conflict, and even
becomes embroiled in the conflicts in juvenile lust. “The fact that
something is forbidden or deemed wicked, has made it more pleasurable,
especially for those of us who grew up in an atmosphere of repression. Half
the country breaks state laws in the bedroom. Obviously that is part of the
fun in living in places like Alabama and Georgia.” So now, has Theroux
interested you enough to travel there?
His visit(s) to China showed the rate of change in that
country, and Theroux, with much foresight mentions, “… one of the numerous
auto accidents I saw in an average day as a metaphor for modernized China -
the so-called miracle you read about every time you open a magazine or
newspaper. Seen from a distance the country does seem wondrous, but up close
it is messier and more complicated. Like most economic miracles it is also
an ecological disaster.” Indeed, Theroux writes that there is no reason for
tourists to go to the manufacturing cities of the economic zones. “Tourists
would be in the way.”
One of the items relates to his going to an uninhabited
island in the Republic of Palau. Once again, a humorous report of his
looking for solitude, though remaining connected with the world at large
with a host of electronic devices including sat-nav and an emergency rescue
device. He also says that Palau has 400 species of hard coral. (I’m on the
next canoe.)
A weighty read at 450 pages for B. 495. Separate short
stories, it is very easy to pick up and put down, but if you are looking for
hints on where to go in Bechuanaland and the cheapest hotels, then this is
not the book for you. It is very much the personal muses of a well-traveled,
but very individual character. In many ways it reminded me of books about
cars by Jeremy Clarkson (presenter of Top Gear BBC). Humorous, slick and
teaches the reader nothing about cars. Similarly, Theroux is humorous,
slick, and the book teaches you nothing about travel. If you are a Theroux
fan, you will love the book. For me it was, as I mentioned before, easy to
pick up and put down. I chose the latter.
