Demob Happy

Journey to the ends of the Earth (and back)

9/10

The fifth Paul Theroux travel book I have read (i’ve posted reviews of ‘The Kingdom by the Sea’ and ‘The Old Patagonian Express’ here and here), ‘The Great Railway Bazaar‘ is in fact his first and arguably most rewarding. If you are familiar with Theroux’s writing you may feel the opening gambit is already familiar: “Ever since childhood … I have seldom heard a train go by and not wished I was on it”. In an introduction that has echoes in much of his work he explains that for him the journey is more important than the destination. Coupled with his mocking, but very funny, misanthropic streak, his apparent lack of interest in some of his stops may frustrate some readers. Theroux does not feel dutybound to discover or unpeel anything for the reader, he has not really - as William Golding is quoted as saying on the cover - “done our travelling for us”. In fact, he invites us to share his discomfort (and sometimes luxury) and his refreshingly unpredictable way of looking at things. He does not claim any objectivity, owes no-one anything, and tells it like he sees it. You may not find yourself much the wiser about, say, the USSR circa 1975, but it is a vivid and entertaining ride nonetheless. Theroux never romanticises his subjects, and some countries - Burma springs to mind - get pretty damning verdicts.

The four-month journey is impressive enough in itself, with Theroux setting out on a vast “parabala” of train lines from London and back via Turkey, India, the far East, Siberia and Russia (among many others). The dizzying carousel of cultures and encounters with their peoples induces a kind of literary motion sickness. Theroux’s descriptive writing is always engaging, and is most interesting in countries which were at a socio-political crossroads. His tour was made in 1975, and his commentaries on cease-fire Vietnam and pre-revolutionary Iran, for instance, are real eye openers. Moreover, The Great Railway Bazaar is wonderfully varied compared to his other travelogues, and the striking contrasts between rural India, megatropolis Japan and Siberian tundra are physically tangible. Unmissable.