The Great Railway Bazaar
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- Create Date：2022-10-29 05:51:34
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Paul Theroux
- ISBN：0141189142
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Summary
The Great Railway Bazaar is Paul Theroux's classic and much-loved homage to train travel。
The Orient Express; The Khyber Pass Local; the Delhi Mail from Jaipur; the Golden Arrow of Kuala; the Trans-Siberian Express; these are just some of the trains steaming through Paul Theroux's epic rail journey from London across Europe through India and Asia。 This was a trip of discovery made in the mid-seventies， a time before the West had embraced the places， peoples， food， faiths and cultures of the East。 For us now， as much as for Theroux then， to visit the lands of The Great Railway Bazaar is an encounter with all that is truly foreign and exotic - and with what we have since lost。
Praise for Paul Theroux:
'Theroux's work remains the standard by which other travel writing must be judged' Observer
'One needs energy to keep up with the extraordinary， productive restlessness of Paul Theroux 。。。 [He is] the most gifted， most prodigal writer of his generation'Jonathan Raban
'Always a terrific teller of tales and conjurer of exotic locales， he writes lean prose that lopes along at a compelling pace'Sunday Times
Paul Theroux's books include Dark Star Safari， Ghost Train to the Eastern Star， Riding the Iron Rooster， The Great Railway Bazaar， The Elephanta Suite， A Dead Hand， The Tao of Travel and The Lower River。 The Mosquito Coast and Dr Slaughter have both been made into successful films。 Paul Theroux divides his time between Cape Cod and the Hawaiian islands。
The Orient Express; The Khyber Pass Local; the Delhi Mail from Jaipur; the Golden Arrow of Kuala; the Trans-Siberian Express; these are just some of the trains steaming through Paul Theroux's epic rail journey from London across Europe through India and Asia。 This was a trip of discovery made in the mid-seventies， a time before the West had embraced the places， peoples， food， faiths and cultures of the East。 For us now， as much as for Theroux then， to visit the lands of The Great Railway Bazaar is an encounter with all that is truly foreign and exotic - and with what we have since lost。
Praise for Paul Theroux:
'Theroux's work remains the standard by which other travel writing must be judged' Observer
'One needs energy to keep up with the extraordinary， productive restlessness of Paul Theroux 。。。 [He is] the most gifted， most prodigal writer of his generation'Jonathan Raban
'Always a terrific teller of tales and conjurer of exotic locales， he writes lean prose that lopes along at a compelling pace'Sunday Times
Paul Theroux's books include Dark Star Safari， Ghost Train to the Eastern Star， Riding the Iron Rooster， The Great Railway Bazaar， The Elephanta Suite， A Dead Hand， The Tao of Travel and The Lower River。 The Mosquito Coast and Dr Slaughter have both been made into successful films。 Paul Theroux divides his time between Cape Cod and the Hawaiian islands。
Reviews
Charles
，
This must have been scandalous in 1975。 The stuff about Russia was effectively surreal。 He traveled to Vietnam at an incredible time。 This has things that haven’t aged well， but still insightful。 Found myself telling a colleague to hurry up or he would get Dunphilled。 I wish there was a 3。5 option。
Claudia
，
Written nearly 50 years ago， Paul Theroux's odyssey across the continent of Europe and Asia - mostly by local train - undoubtedly lured many to jump on a train and follow the railway adventure he took 4 months and 6000 miles to complete。He met interesting， generous， friendly people - and a few odd fellows too - who helped him along the way and gave him insight into the people of the various regions he crossed。 It was a time without GPS and without the internet。 A true adventure at the time that Written nearly 50 years ago， Paul Theroux's odyssey across the continent of Europe and Asia - mostly by local train - undoubtedly lured many to jump on a train and follow the railway adventure he took 4 months and 6000 miles to complete。He met interesting， generous， friendly people - and a few odd fellows too - who helped him along the way and gave him insight into the people of the various regions he crossed。 It was a time without GPS and without the internet。 A true adventure at the time that could unlikely be replicated as political and religious tensions have made access difficult and even dangerous。 And the world is a great deal smaller today with social media and the web。But it still is an interesting experience although one must keep in mind the distance in time and changes in how people are viewed by outsiders。 Some of his commentary - although I believe not to be meant as rude or derogatory - would be unacceptable today。An odd little note: the book copy that I read has been a bit of a traveler itself - published in the UK， it had a London address and tube location on the inside back cover。 Maybe it was read by one inspired by Theroux。 。 。 。 2022-226 。。。more
Scott Constantine
，
Paul is one crusty curmudgeon。 But this is still a good， if ethnocentric， time capsule read。
Neil
，
India - in the late 20th century the author goes from London to Japan by rail。 Without ever leaving the railway， stations， or connecting busses， one can learn a lot about a place， and the people who live there。
Roger Allport
，
Excellent audio book with Frank Muller reading
Pedro Fornasier
，
Uma ótima companhia durante as minhas viagens para o trabalho e momentos de repouso。 Sem dúvida uma viagem incrível e cheia de uma fantástica realidade。
Andy Weston
，
Can’t remember exact date I read this， but it was quite inspirational， and more than likely just before one of my significant overland journeys。 I’m going to guess before my Liverpool - Melbourne without planes trip， which was in 1987。 For which I took a second （out of four） gap year。。
Eamon Doody
，
When Paul Theroux took his long train trip around Europe， North Africa and Asia in the mid 70s such slow and ponderous travelling must have already felt quite dated due to the explosion in air travel post war。The 50 or so intervening years to 2022 so not see to have added much more significantly to this sense of train travel being out dated - indeed for anyone who has taken a train between European cities with a backpack Theroux's experiences still speak volumes。There is something hugely appeali When Paul Theroux took his long train trip around Europe， North Africa and Asia in the mid 70s such slow and ponderous travelling must have already felt quite dated due to the explosion in air travel post war。The 50 or so intervening years to 2022 so not see to have added much more significantly to this sense of train travel being out dated - indeed for anyone who has taken a train between European cities with a backpack Theroux's experiences still speak volumes。There is something hugely appealing about someone embarking on what is essentially a long lecture tour - and arranging his travel as he goes - taking whatever standard of locomotive that gets him to his next talk - whether it is touted as Luxury （Orient Express） or as "Hard/Soft CLass" such as on the Trans Siberian。 Theroux is a wonderful writer - and the reader does feel like he is travelling with him - especially when Theroux is at his lowest moods on the journey。 Indeed the book is dominated by a general grottiness， a constant mental "sand in shoe" feeling - with the put upon narrator always too tired， too hungry， too thirsty， too drunk， too dirty， too bored， too over stimulated， too， too， too - everything。 The entire book is written on an un-even keel - as if the movement of the locomotives prevented Theroux from keeping his balance。But it is all quite wonderful - while he frequently seems at the end of his tether there is never a question of giving up - at least not until the very end when the final legs from Moscow to London can't be booked fast enough。 Most of the time Theroux closes one chapter and trudges to the station （usually early mornings） to make his booking for the next stage of his trip - and in this trudging he somehow finds - at least for a little while - his enthusiasm for the journey renewed。 Of course that enthusiasm rarely survives the locomotive pushing away from the station。I loved this book - made me wish to dust down the old back pack and head off again。Can I possibly do this at 53？ 。。。more
David Pires
，
É como uma viagem de comboio daquelas longas。 Tem ritmos diversos， a paisagem vai mudando， em cada paragem pensamos se poderia ser a nossa， por vezes dá o sono。 Mas vamos avançando， devagar， apreciando o que vai aparecendo。 No fim ficamos satisfeitos por ter acabado， mas vamos lembrar com saudade。
Jon
，
Insightful， beautifully written， but can't shake the feeling that Mr Theroux is just a bit of a pompous d*ck。 Insightful， beautifully written， but can't shake the feeling that Mr Theroux is just a bit of a pompous d*ck。 。。。more
Regine
，
Dark， lively。
Michael Reilly
，
In the early 1970s Theroux traveled mostly by rail from London to India to Indonesia。 He flew to Japan。 He railroaded and boated to Russia and took the Trans-Siberian railroad back to London。 That is the railroad version of an around the world voyage。 Most of the railroads he traveled on were in disrepair。 The food was so bad that he eventually gave up on meat all together。 The trains were either too hot or too cold。 The passengers were a random assortment of characters。 Most of the local passen In the early 1970s Theroux traveled mostly by rail from London to India to Indonesia。 He flew to Japan。 He railroaded and boated to Russia and took the Trans-Siberian railroad back to London。 That is the railroad version of an around the world voyage。 Most of the railroads he traveled on were in disrepair。 The food was so bad that he eventually gave up on meat all together。 The trains were either too hot or too cold。 The passengers were a random assortment of characters。 Most of the local passengers seemed to have kept to themselves。 Theroux has many encounters with odd ex-pats traveling the trains for mysterious reasons。Theroux enjoys complaining。 He is very good on the challenges of sharing a sleeping car with a stranger or on the necessity to bribe conductors to get treated decently or on the difficulty of getting food at station stops without missing your train。 I wonder what a similar trip would be like today。 I think many of those trains have been upgraded but I expect that many of the trains he traveled on no longer exist。 。。。more
Mohamed Belghmi
，
A highly entertaining railway odysey
Marta Vieira
，
This is a great trip but Paul’s slightly dismissive perspective is not the lens I like for travel writing。
Lindsay
，
An epic travelogue documenting Paul Theroux’s journey from London Victoria to Tokyo， and back again via the Trans-Siberian railway。 Charting adventures through Europe， India， Asia， the Middle East and more， it gives you a warts n’ all glimpse of life on the tracks。 Each leg of the trip unearths interesting customs， weird and wonderful meals， strange characters and at times perilous situations。 Theroux shares it all with a cynical， somewhat grumpy take， not particularly warming to and appearing m An epic travelogue documenting Paul Theroux’s journey from London Victoria to Tokyo， and back again via the Trans-Siberian railway。 Charting adventures through Europe， India， Asia， the Middle East and more， it gives you a warts n’ all glimpse of life on the tracks。 Each leg of the trip unearths interesting customs， weird and wonderful meals， strange characters and at times perilous situations。 Theroux shares it all with a cynical， somewhat grumpy take， not particularly warming to and appearing mostly irritated by anyone he meets！ The book was written in the mid-70s and in places its close to the bone and hasn’t aged especially well。 What it does do excellently however is capture the magic of travel to and through the world’s most intriguing destinations by rail。 My next Cross Country service to Birmingham has much to live up to！ 。。。more
Kartikey Singh
，
This is a journey of a writer going around the world meeting other writers and collecting stories from the fellow passengers。The book will give you vivid details to imagine the place， book recommendations， and historical snippets of the places he visits。Although the author is slightly narcissistic and does complain from moment to moment about something that is slightly out of his own accepted cultural values。Some quotes that I liked:1。 “The difference between travel writing as fiction is the dif This is a journey of a writer going around the world meeting other writers and collecting stories from the fellow passengers。The book will give you vivid details to imagine the place， book recommendations， and historical snippets of the places he visits。Although the author is slightly narcissistic and does complain from moment to moment about something that is slightly out of his own accepted cultural values。Some quotes that I liked:1。 “The difference between travel writing as fiction is the difference between recording what the eye sees and discovering what the imagination knows。 Fiction is pure joy - how sad that I could not reinvent the trip as fiction。”2。 "It is the simplest fact of Indian life: there are too many Indians。"3。 "A society without jaywalkers might indicate a society without artists。" 。。。more
Rich Saskal
，
The Great Railway BazaarThis is a re-read， though the first read was long enough ago that I've lost all the details。The book of course profoundly influenced the travel writing genre， including people perhaps more generous in spirit than Mr。 Theroux。But the hook is a good one and the book， probably fascinating four decades ago for taking readers to distant parts of a world that is far less connected than ours， is fascinating today for the time-travel aspects。 Though some things are perhaps not as The Great Railway BazaarThis is a re-read， though the first read was long enough ago that I've lost all the details。The book of course profoundly influenced the travel writing genre， including people perhaps more generous in spirit than Mr。 Theroux。But the hook is a good one and the book， probably fascinating four decades ago for taking readers to distant parts of a world that is far less connected than ours， is fascinating today for the time-travel aspects。 Though some things are perhaps not as changed as one would wish （The Ceylon of 73-74 is in economic and food crisis driven by bad governance， just like the Sri Lanka of 2022） much of what Theroux documents is a world that is lost。 Places irrevocably changed by politics and technology， for better or worse， generations that have long passed on。Should note that the some of the attitudes Theroux embodies in the 70s （People of race/culture X have characteristic Y） and the obsessions （there's a lot of speculating/discussing the sex work business that he comes across） are anachronistic in an off-putting way。 。。。more
Mai Đào
，
📒 Cuốn sách kể lại cuộc hành trình qua châu Âu và châu Á của tác giả bằng tàu hỏa。 Ý tưởng khá tốt， cuộc hành trình tuyệt vời， và là người có năng khiếu kể chuyện。 Nhưng bản thân tác giả lại là một người thô lỗ， nóng nảy và dễ mất bình tính， ông lạm dụng những người ngẫu nhiên và đưa ra những đánh giá nhận xét thiếu tế nhị về người khác。📒 Ngoài ra tác giả còn có khuynh hướng phân biệt chủng tộc và chủ nghĩa đế quốc khá rõ ràng， nhưng ông lại không hiểu nguyên nhân sâu sa của tất cả những điều mà 📒 Cuốn sách kể lại cuộc hành trình qua châu Âu và châu Á của tác giả bằng tàu hỏa。 Ý tưởng khá tốt， cuộc hành trình tuyệt vời， và là người có năng khiếu kể chuyện。 Nhưng bản thân tác giả lại là một người thô lỗ， nóng nảy và dễ mất bình tính， ông lạm dụng những người ngẫu nhiên và đưa ra những đánh giá nhận xét thiếu tế nhị về người khác。📒 Ngoài ra tác giả còn có khuynh hướng phân biệt chủng tộc và chủ nghĩa đế quốc khá rõ ràng， nhưng ông lại không hiểu nguyên nhân sâu sa của tất cả những điều mà ông coi thường ấy。 Không hiểu tác giả thực sự ngu ngốc hay đang cố tình tỏ ra nguy hiểm。📒 Nếu không có những hành vi khó chịu của tác giả thì có lẽ cuốn sách đã là một cuốn tiểu thuyết tuyệt vời đối với cá nhân mình。 Theo mình tác giả nên loại bỏ những hành vi ghê tởm của mình ra khỏi tác phẩm nhiều nhất có thể nếu muốn cuốn sách của mình được yêu thích hơn。 。。。more
KennyO
，
IIRC This was a Book of the Month Club selection when it was published in 1975。 I know that’s how I heard about it and that’s where I got it。 So， as we approach 50 years since its publication and it being that long since I read it， I sure can’t in good conscience write about it in any detail。 In light of what some here have written， I’ll remind you all that it is a book of its time， reflecting its time。 The world was different then。 Actions and views taken in stride in the 1970s trigger cries of IIRC This was a Book of the Month Club selection when it was published in 1975。 I know that’s how I heard about it and that’s where I got it。 So， as we approach 50 years since its publication and it being that long since I read it， I sure can’t in good conscience write about it in any detail。 In light of what some here have written， I’ll remind you all that it is a book of its time， reflecting its time。 The world was different then。 Actions and views taken in stride in the 1970s trigger cries of offense today。 I therefore propose that if you’re going to read The Great Railway Bazaar you should do so in awareness that we have changed， grown， moved on。 Theroux depicted us as we were。 。。。more
James Coggins
，
Seeing half the world through the window of train - the premise alone almost sells the book， yet the colourful diversity of people and places put to the page here make this description insufficient。 It's a gigantic odyssey relayed without the frills and hyperbole another author would have added。 Theroux tells things as they are， or as he experienced them， beautifully， honestly， cynically and with the wry humour of an American out of place everywhere away from home。 It's the globe in a pin-prick。 Seeing half the world through the window of train - the premise alone almost sells the book， yet the colourful diversity of people and places put to the page here make this description insufficient。 It's a gigantic odyssey relayed without the frills and hyperbole another author would have added。 Theroux tells things as they are， or as he experienced them， beautifully， honestly， cynically and with the wry humour of an American out of place everywhere away from home。 It's the globe in a pin-prick。 。。。more
richard homan
，
Book reads like fictionA bazaar story of Paul，s travel a thru Asia and Russia。 This book is from 1973 when he was a young man。
Cheryle McDaniel
，
Was 。。。 good。 Will be back to finish， which I don't do usually Was 。。。 good。 Will be back to finish， which I don't do usually 。。。more
Dylan Valine
，
A book only interesting in parts， probably not worth sifting through。 The only part really worth it was the section on India。 There were parts outside that， the section of a Turkish writer or the epilogue but otherwise the author is quite overbearing in its prose。 Often feeling self centered though not in a way that adds to the travel dialogue until the very end。 The cultural elements are mostly shallow and there are better ways to get that （most of the value of travel books being a snapshot of A book only interesting in parts， probably not worth sifting through。 The only part really worth it was the section on India。 There were parts outside that， the section of a Turkish writer or the epilogue but otherwise the author is quite overbearing in its prose。 Often feeling self centered though not in a way that adds to the travel dialogue until the very end。 The cultural elements are mostly shallow and there are better ways to get that （most of the value of travel books being a snapshot of a culture for a portion of time）。 。。。more
Elizabeth
，
1
bom。dia
，
Alternei entre gostar da escrita sentindo-me num daqueles comboios do outro lado do mundo e achar o livro aborrecido por apenas descrever que tipo de bebida era bebida， e colocar defeitos em tudo o que observava。
Mafalda
，
Bom livro de viagens。 Para reler quando for para fazer viagem estilo interail。。
Spencer
，
Deserves its place As a classic of travel writing with its wit and intelligent observations。 Really enjoyable reread/listen for me。
Blake Barnes
，
Beautiful。 Will become a lifelong friend。
manika
，
I doubt I’ll be reading another travel book by Paul Theroux。 Best way to sum this up- a travel book by a travel author who I think hates travelling。 It makes sense this book was written in 1975 when white men could get away with being their whiniest， snootiest and most offensive selves and call it humour， cheek， and even literature。 Theroux is dull， uninteresting， and most of all， uninisghtful。 This is my first book by him and I doubt I’ll be giving this pompous author another read- frankly shoc I doubt I’ll be reading another travel book by Paul Theroux。 Best way to sum this up- a travel book by a travel author who I think hates travelling。 It makes sense this book was written in 1975 when white men could get away with being their whiniest， snootiest and most offensive selves and call it humour， cheek， and even literature。 Theroux is dull， uninteresting， and most of all， uninisghtful。 This is my first book by him and I doubt I’ll be giving this pompous author another read- frankly shocked that he’s considered a good travel writer at all。 Here are a few glaring flaws to his travel writing that I’d like to highlight- 1。 Close to no history or socio-cultural context is provided to the many places he visits。 These are rich cultures with interesting histories that Paul Theroux decided to skip instead focusing on how filthy bazaars are， how late trains are， or how much baksheesh or bribe he had to pay。 2。 I really questioned why this man travels because he did not enjoy one single place he visited。 There was limited curiosity， and no sense of adventure at least that came across in his writing。 He seemed to enjoy none of the food， none of the sites， and none of the people either。 3。 He reduced the locals of each country to be caricatures。 This perhaps was this books biggest flaw。 At its core this book is written by a supercilious smart ass。 Theroux’s tone while describing interactions with locals in each country is nothing short of colonial nostalgia， with superior condescension being passed off as dry humour。 No。 It’s just racist。 And pretty boring。 。。。more
Ashley Watson
，
After reading Paul Theroux's The Great Railway Bazaar， and then further reading the critical reviews of him as a moaning pessimist， I feel simply that his perspective is something truthful and beautiful， and that he was misinterpreted。 People traveling very quickly adapt the 'been there， done that， bought the t-shirt' attitude towards a place or its people。 There are ways in which to spark up the joy of travel， but living in a suitcase you soon become worn， tired and critical。 Theroux sustained After reading Paul Theroux's The Great Railway Bazaar， and then further reading the critical reviews of him as a moaning pessimist， I feel simply that his perspective is something truthful and beautiful， and that he was misinterpreted。 People traveling very quickly adapt the 'been there， done that， bought the t-shirt' attitude towards a place or its people。 There are ways in which to spark up the joy of travel， but living in a suitcase you soon become worn， tired and critical。 Theroux sustained a profound optimism within what seemed a daunting amount of travel。 It takes a stupid amount of curiousity to talk to the countless strangers， being an amiable， charming conversationalist in several continents。 I found myself full of admiration， he made witty sceptical complaints where most others would have called it a day and went home。 I think his keen eye and humor also show a wonderful， positive sense of character。 He sums up cultures very quick and cutthroat， and despite some old-fashioned whims and premature remarks， his honesty was a breath of fresh air。 I had written down my favourite passages， to then suddenly realise they were clear examples of how wonderfully pessimistic he is， destroying my argument totally。 （Take this example of him seeing the packs of starving wild dogs in Burma）'"'Burmese think it is wrong to kill animals。' "Why not feed them then？"He was silent。 I was questioning one of the cardinal precepts of Buddhism， the principle of neglect。 Because no animals are killed， all animals look as if they are starving to death， and so the rats， which are numerous in Burma， co-exist with the dogs， which have eliminated cats from the country。 The Burmese - removing their shoes and socks for sacred temple floors where they will spit and flick cigar ashes - see no contradiction。"Obviously this book contains much more than just complaining brutally about other cultures， but some of them I found so jarring not to write down。 In Iran， he talks about capitalism and the treatment of women。 "Money pulls the Iranian in one direction， religion drags him in another， and the result is a stupid starved creature for whom woman is only meat。"I laughed several times throughout， the book was never repetitive and each chapter had a clever arc which gave the reader the satisfaction of a fiction， never feeling like a travel blog loaded lazily with fun facts。 The unique part of this travel book was that the places were not important， moreso the characters that he met in them。 Sightseeing bored him， but he found beauty in the locals' anecdotes， how the people fit into their surroundings。 This last quote I found especially resonating。 "It is possible at a distance to maintain the fiction of former happiness - childhood or school days and then you return to an early setting and the years fall away and you see how bitterly unhappy you were。 I had felt trapped in Singapore; I felt as if I was being destroyed by the noise - the hammering， the traffic， the radios， the yelling- and I had discovered most Singaporeans to be rude， aggressive， cowardly， and inhospitable， full of vague racial fears and responsive to any bullying authority。 I believed it to be a loathsome place: many of my students thought so too and they couldn't imagine why anyone would willingly stay there。 At last I left， and on this return I could not imagine， watching this gecko， why I had stayed three years there; perhaps it was the deceived hesitation I had called patience， or maybe it was my lack of money。 I was certain that I would not make the same mistake again， so after seeing a few friends - and everyone told me he was planning to leave soon - I flew out。" Overall immensely enjoyable。 You could compare his bitterness and will for creature comforts with the guy from 'An Idiot Abroad'， but Theroux put strenuous effort into learning about the cultures， （reading their books， reciting the phrasebooks） going alone and not alienating the locals with a camera team， but just a notebook and a smile。 I think that's the difference。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Great Railway Bazaar
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Great Railway Bazaar&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft