I've been busy lately uploading pictures from Iowa, Colorado, and Arizona (if you want to check them out, click on the place names), so I've not had a chance to write trip reports or book reviews in the last few days. I've also been reading, though, and I came across a passage in Paul Theroux's The Old Patagonian Express that I thought was interesting. The book is from the 1970s, and it's about a train trip he took from Boston to Patagonia. I'm only on page 50 or so, but it's very entertaining so far. He really does write about traveling and the trip itself, while most writers would just focus on the destination. On page 4 he says:
"My usual question, unanswered by these--by most--travel books, is, How did you get there? Even without the suggestion of a motive, a prologue is welcome, since the going is often as fascinating as the arrival. [...] we have become used to life being a series of arrivals or departures, of triumphs and failures, with nothing noteworthy in between. Summits matter, but what of the lower slopes of Parnassus? We have not lost faith in journeys from home, but the texts are scarce."
In any case, I've run across quite a few quotes already, and I'll share more of them with you when I'm done with the book. In the meantime, have you read other books by Theroux? If so, which ones do you recommend?
Thanks for reading!
365: Picture a Day Project 365 Leftovers All My Pictures Sitzbook
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