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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, guntoting 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. |
