Demob Happy

The fantastic Mr Fox As probably Paul Theroux’s best-known fiction work I’ve long wanted to read ‘Mosquito Coast’, and not just because I am a fan of his grumpy brand of travel writing. A 1980s feature film adaptation – starring Harrison Ford and River Phoenix – left a indelible mark on me, perhaps because, as [...]

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Herculean 9/10 Paul Theroux’s ‘Grand Tour of the Mediterranean’ is typical Theroux in many ways, the vagaries of his mood often colouring his perception of the places he visits, but he plays on his reputation as a misanthrop and cumugeon throughout this travelogue. After a comment on the opening page about ‘runty shunted trees and [...]

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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 [...]

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Kingdom of heaven? 7/10 I have to say I’m surprised by some of the negative reviews of this book. Could it be perhaps the reviewers hadn’t read a Paul Theroux book before and didn’t know what to expect? UK fans of Theroux’s misanthropic, razor-sharp observations should have no qualms about the author turning his sights [...]

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Doing the locomotive with Paul Theroux 8/10 People tend to either love or hate Paul Theroux, and although I can sympathise with his detractors I belong to the former camp. He is an uncompromising author that calls things as he sees them, refusing to romanticise or sensationalise his experiences. Although he comes across as a [...]

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