Word: books
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...TRAVEL BOOK Paul Theroux describes one town that is so dull he bought dental floss to keep busy. Well, folks, get out your dental floss...
...best-selling The Great Railway Bazaar, Theroux has moved his one man railway show into the western hemisphere. This time he chose the jaunt between Boston and Southern Argentina, once again via the tracks. In what would seem like a replay with just a change in geography, this book lacks the characters, scandals, tall tales and disasters that usually make this genre successful...
...lacks enthusiasm. For two months Theroux's only travelling companion is his grumpiness. For 400 pages we have to put up with both of them. For example, when caught in the mad pre-game rush of a Guatemalan soccer match, all he thinks about is leaving. Throughout the book Theroux keeps asking whether it's worth the trouble. An unadventurous adventurer, he skips carnivals and sidesteps invitations at every turn, like the man who goes to a museum and refuses to look at the pictures...
...perhaps the book's overall blandness is not Theroux's fault--maybe the geography is to blame. After all, squalor in Mexico is pretty similar to squalor in Peru. South America lacks the historical associations of Europe and the exotic attractions of Asia. Maybe Theroux's topic is not interesting...
...there are two ways travel books can succeed: if the travels are boring, the traveler can still intrigue. Theroux does not, and there lies the problem with this book. In this travelogue of narrative and commentary, Theroux lacks a point of view--he is reflective to no purpose. The book is scenery without sentiment, and in the and we remember poverty, not personalities...