Word: theroux
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...Patagonian Express, Theroux...
...Patagonian Express, Theroux...
Nevertheless, Theroux includes some passable anecdotes, like one on the inappropriate naming of South American cities: "None of the Lagunas Verdes was green...Progreso in Guatemala was backward; La Liberated in El Salvador, a stronghold of repression in a country where salvation seemed in short supply." And his descriptions of the class stigmas on the trains and his interview with Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges are superb...
...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...