Ghost Train to the Eastern Star

Paul Theroux is probably one of the most interesting authors I've read and because of this book is now one of my favorite authors. The writing is brilliant, the places visted fascinating, and his journey seemed almost too short while I was reading. "Ghost Train" follows Theroux as he travels along most of the path he took in his first travel book, "The Great Railway Bazaar," written in 1972. He takes the journey in large part to see what it is like to return to the places he'd been thirty years later and to see what has (or hasn't) changed and how he may see it differently. At times poignant and acrid, the account is a realistic personal journey that takes one through many diverse and interesting places.

There are two things which make this a stand-out travel book. The first is that Theroux does not take an overly optimistic view of humanity or gloss over what he sees on his travels. Neither does her wallow too much on the darker parts of his travels. What he shows is as close as one can get to depicting real life: often dark, depressing, and overflowing with irony. The world is not always a good place and there is no sense pretending that it does. However what he does do is affirm a faith in individual humans. This sort of realistic ambivalence and truthfulness make the journey more rewarding in the long run than looking for good or bad everywhere you go. The second thing is that the book does not seem to start and end with his trip but we come into his life at a certain point and we exit it at the end of the journey. What this does for me is make the account less constructed and more organic, which is how I think travel should be. It also makes you reflect on the value of time. He writes that "all travel is time travel" and I would have to agree. "Ghost Train to the Easter Star" will enthrall anyone who sees themselves as students of the world and looking for more than just a standard travel narrative