The Orient Express, The Khyber Pass
Local, The Frontier Mail, The Golden Arrow to Kuala
Lumpur, The Maridalay Express, The Ozora Limited -
-a Grand Tour by train, a journey from London to
Tokyo and back with as many mishaps as detours. Paul
Theroux, novelist and railway lover, set out one day
from Victoria Station, bent on boarding every
eastbound train that chugged into sight, eventually
returning from Japan on the Trans-Siberian Express.
The trains he took in his parabola through Asia
prove that, in spite of supersonic jets and package
tours, travel can still be a serendipitous
adventure. He sought trains; he found passengers --
any number of travelers eager to unburden themselves
to the attentive writer. They ranged from the
unfortunate Duff ill, destined always to miss his
connection, to the admirable Bernard, preserving in
the middle of Burma the outmoded ways of British
imperialism; and from Mr. Radia, who intoned Hindi
songs through his nose, to the mysterious, gun toting
Mr. Pensacola with his stories of opium smuggling.
Paul Theroux’s sharp eye catches the telling
details of landscape and character that have
consistently distinguished his novels. It is also
the fascinating record of one intrepid traveler’s
mind as he traversed two continents -- through the
deserts of Iran, the war zone of Vietnam, the
snowfields of Japan and Siberia -- on the trains
with the wonderful names. |
