Paul Theroux's Traveller's Tales
I have always loved books about travelling, whether fiction, fact or a combination of the two. How else besides reading would I be able to enjoy all the wonders of the world, since in life there are only a handful of souls blessed enough to wander every corner of the globe? It was in seeking to expand my mind's horizons that I first encountered Paul Theroux.
So who is Paul Theroux, and has he always travelled? He was born in Boston, Massachusetts on April 10, 1941 and grew up in a large family in the Boston area. His father was French-Canadian and his mother Italian, and with such genes it is no surprise that the travel bug reared its head in his heart. In his university days Theroux was a pre-med student, but he eventually turned to creative writing. During his life he followed such pursuits as lecturing in Italy and working in Malawi, Uganda and Singapore. While in Singapore he decided to quit teaching and becoming a fulltime writer. And I am glad he did.
Dark Star Safari was especially on my list to read as it describes a trip that I would love to make myself, from Cairo to Cape Town. And in true Paul Theroux fashion, he doesn't turn away from detailing the difficulties of his travels.
I enjoyed every bit of this book. Theroux knows well how to convey images and experiences to the reader. While nothing can replace the real thing, reading Theroux's work is the closest you can get without leaving home and making the trip yourself, and it is much, much better than not making the trip at all. His observation skills go far beyond the obvious, and his travel accounts are far from the ordinary. What I especially like is the way he centers parts of his travel stories around individuals. Theroux does not meet people, he meets a Hassan or a Yussef. These individuals have names, lives, opinions and dreams and aspirations. Along the way you have the feeling you actually have met these people; they become as real to you as the book you are holding.
In his Dark Star Safari, Theroux shows us his thoughts on certain issues in some African countries, and there are plenty of pressing issues to choose from in Africa. He sees the women who have found a way to take care of themselves, even if it is by prostituting themselves. He registers these facts and gives you his view on it but does not force his opinion upon you. This is a big plus since there are many authors who force their thinking upon you and give little room for personal interpretation or judgement of a situation. Even with the author's commentary I found that this book gives a less pessimistic impression of Africa than other non-fiction books I have read about Africa. I think that it is a rare skill to see through all the problems, the negativity, the poverty and hopelessness of a situation and still show what people are all about.
When I found out that Theroux also had written fiction, I decided to give that a try as well. I figured that if he could give so much life to "dry facts," he could do much more with fiction. I was right!
His Stranger at the Palazzo D'Oro is an erotic story which from beginning to end is filled with suspense. The main character is an American art student who travels the world and gets a very strange offer in Sicily: to make a countess happy. The offer comes from her lady's doctor, and the student is intrigued by this woman who seems younger than she is. The setting is in Italy, and there the traveller Theroux surfaces, making the descriptions of the landscape as vivid as can be. The whole time you know something is going to happen but you don't know when. Theroux builds to a climax that gives the story a quite scary finishing touch, almost like a horror story.
If it were up to me, Theroux would keep combining his travel tales with fiction to make stories as fascinating as this one. Not many people can travel like Theroux, but we can enjoy his adventures by reading about them. Theroux is a master of telling traveller's tales, having written a dozen books, including The Mosquito Coast, Millroy the Magician, The Great Railway Bazaar and The Old Patagonian Express Even if you never leave your armchair, with books like Theroux's you will always be on holidays.