Book description
Paul Theroux left Victoria Station on a rainy Saturday in April
thinking that taking eight trains across Europe, Eastern Europe, the
USSR and Mongolia would be the easy way to get to the Chinese border
the relaxing way, even. He would read a little, take notes, eat
regular meals and gaze contentedly out of windows. The reality, of
course, was very different.
In fact, Theroux experienced a decidedly odd and unexpected trip to
China that set the challenging tone for his epic year-long rail
journey around that vast, inscrutable land a journey which involved
riding nearly every train in the country.
Wry, humorful and occasionally querulous as Theroux makes
excruciatingly clear, travelling alone in the Middle Kingdom is not
for the faint of heart or stomach Time.
Paul Theroux was born in Medford Massachusetts, in 1941, and
published his first novel, WALDO, in 1967. His subsequent novels include
Picture Palace
, winner of the Whitbread Prize for Fiction,
The Mosquito Coast
, and the hugely acclaimed,
Kowloon Tong
. His travel books include
The Great Railway Bazaar
and
The Pillars of Hercules
.
