In his second major work of travel non-fiction, Paul Theroux hops on a train from Boston and ends at the end of the rail in Patagonia, southern Argentina. From the outskirt town of Laredo through Central America to the "Canal Zone" of Panama and to the Andean mountain towns of Ecuador.Soccer riots, suffocating dust-filled trains and endless geography are enhanced by Theroux's impeccable ability to capture place and dialogue, forming them effortlessly into narrative.
Theroux's work transports the reader to the time and place at hand. We become attached with the characters he meets, the places he visits and the cultures he both criticizes and embraces. Theroux's text allows us to see, smell, taste and touch the excitement, terror, spontaneity and curiosity accompanying travel and giving the reader historical and cultural background along the way.
The Old Patagonian Express is as much a travel narrative as it is a critical analysis of the world around us and the places we often overlook as tourists and not travelers.
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