The Old Patagonian Express: By Train Through the Americas (Paperback)
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER. The Old Patagonian Express chronicles Paul Theroux’s train journey from his home in Boston, Massachusetts to the foot of South America, in 1978. Full of witty and sharp observations, Theroux goes out of his way to talk to as many locals as possible along the way.
Starting with a rush-hour subway ride to South Station in Boston to catch the Lake Shore Limited to Chicago, Theroux winds up on the poky, wandering Old Patagonian Express steam engine, which comes to a halt in a desolate land of cracked hills and thorn bushes. But, with Theroux, the view along the way is what matters: the monologuing Mr. Thornberry in Costa Rica, the bogus priest of Cali, and the celebrated writer, Jorge Luis Borges, who delights in having Theroux read Robert Louis Stevenson to him.
Starting with a rush-hour subway ride to South Station in Boston to catch the Lake Shore Limited to Chicago, Theroux winds up on the poky, wandering Old Patagonian Express steam engine, which comes to a halt in a desolate land of cracked hills and thorn bushes. But, with Theroux, the view along the way is what matters: the monologuing Mr. Thornberry in Costa Rica, the bogus priest of Cali, and the celebrated writer, Jorge Luis Borges, who delights in having Theroux read Robert Louis Stevenson to him.
PAUL THEROUX is the author of many highly acclaimed books. His novels include The Bad Angel Brothers, The Lower River, Jungle Lovers, and The Mosquito Coast, and his renowned travel books include Ghost Train to the Eastern Star and Dark Star Safari. He lives in Hawaii and on Cape Cod.
