Paul Theroux
Born: 01-01-1941
Paul Theroux is an acclaimed American travel writer and novelist known for his vivid storytelling and keen observations of culture. Born in 1941, he gained fame with "The Great Railway Bazaar," a pioneering travelogue. Over his prolific career, Theroux has penned numerous novels and travel books, exploring themes of adventure, displacement, and human connection. His writing is celebrated for its depth, wit, and a critical eye on societal norms.
Book summaries for books written by Paul Theroux
Quotes
Travel is glamorous only in retrospect.
I have seldom heard a train go by and not wished I was on it.
Travel is at its most rewarding when it ceases to be about your reaching a destination and becomes indistinguishable from living your life.
It is not possible to see the Great Wall of China from the moon with the naked eye.
A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike.
I sought trains; I found passengers.
I have always wanted to write a book that ended with the word 'mayonnaise'.
I had been trying to get somewhere I couldn't get to and it had made me manic.
Most travel, and certainly the rewarding kind, involves depending on the kindness of strangers, putting yourself into the hands of people you don't know and trusting them with your life.
The railway bazaar was a fantastic place (...) an extraordinary conglomeration of human beings at its most intense.
I have learned a lot about my country from travelling, and I've learned a lot about myself, too.
But travel is like love, mostly because it’s a heightened state of awareness, in which we are mindful, receptive, undimmed by familiarity and ready to be transformed. That is why the best trips, like the best love affairs, never really end.