Book Review: I’ll Never Get Out of this World Alive by Steve Earle

Title: I’ll Never Get Out of this World Alive
Author: Steve Earle
Publisher: Harvill Secker, Random House UK
Genre: Literary Fiction
ISBN: 978-1846555084
PP: 256 pages
Price: £12.99
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5/5

Doc Ebersole is a disgraced physician, who lost his license and is rumored to have given Hank Williams his fatal does of morphine. He spends his days performing abortions, patching up knife and gunshot wounds while trying to earn enough to keep his own heroin habit afloat during the early 1960′s in a down and out area of racist San Antonio. He takes care of a young Mexican girl, Graciela, who almost dies from blood loss and she stays with him long after her recovery. Doc is haunted by the ghost of Hank, who goads him into his continuing drug use, but now finds that Graciela can see him and helps cure Doc from his addiction. There are more miracles at the hand of Graciela where people are uplifted and their maladies cured quickly. The local priest gets wind of the miracles and begins to investigate which leads to the an interesting conclusion.

I am just amazed that this first novel from Steve Earle is so tightly paced and cleverly written. It reminded me a great deal of the wackiness that appears in Christopher Moore’s books through the ghostly voice of Hank Williams. There are also the magical properties like in Sarah Addison Allen’s stories where under-the-radar miracles occur quietly in the form of Graciela. The story mixes Catholicism with Mexican folklore during the early Sixties where social change is so prevalent and ties it all to the shooting of JFK. This work helps you understand why Steve Earle is such a successful songwriter since this book is so lyrically alive and paints a wonderful picture with an economy of words. This is the perfect book for any one looking to expand their paranormal horizons with a bit of magic and ghosts.

Earle has written a masterful reflection on loneliness, addiction, despair and redemption. With the hand of a seasoned writer he weaves in abortion, liberation theology, Mexican theological mysticism and an indictment on the moral bankruptcies of the priesthood.

This is not an easy tale. It is grit and dirt and despair. But oh, is it beautifully written and chock full of characters worth remembering. Read it.

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Book Review: In the Sea There Are Crocodiles by Fabio Geda

Title: In the Sea there are Crocodiles
Author: Fabio Geda
Publisher: Harvill Secker, Random House UK
Genre: Non-Fiction
ISBN: 978-1846554766
PP: 224 pages
Price: £10.99
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5/5

The first thing I thought of when I completed this book was how easy most kids have it in our part of the world. That’s not a bad thing, but perhaps it would be good for our pampered children to see how the real world is, and how an alternate reality is the case for most of the children worldwide.

The novel starts out explaining that it’s fictionalized, as the experiences told were based on true recollections that had to be verified. For the most part, though, it’s true as to what he remembers of his childhood. That makes sense, because it starts with a ten-year-old boy, and how clearly can their recollections be from their youthful perspective?

Akbari’s mother takes him across the border and out of his village and leave him there. She leaves him to a life of the unknown, hoping it is better than what is in store for him with the Taliban in power. We often hear the word and shrink of its visage, get angry with its connotation, or conjure of an image of a turbaned warrior with dusty skin and a Soviet automatic weapon. In reality- the Taliban play a very small role in this book- they are offered up as a reason for escape, but nothing more.

Akbari makes his way across the middle east and into Europe, eventually settling in Italy. Over the course of his journey he relates a sea crossing, getting deported multiple times, run ins with the police, and finding friends, kindness, and hope along the way. The story is stark- details are not really fleshed out with the insistence that they don’t matter- he is trying to tell a story, trying to capture the essence of his journey and has no time for the subtle nuances we come to expect in situations like this. Not deeply philosophical, this might be a turn-off for some.

Along the way there are false friends, painful losses, and some agonizing choices. It’s hard to imagine this is just a kid. What he has to go through is too much for an adult, much less a child.

In the narrative, there are pauses when the storyteller and the Italian author who writes it converse. These sort of bring you to present day. It’s an interesting presentation. They sort of help you digest what you just read. There’s very much a sense of “once upon a time” to this.

Some facts that astonished me was that the Taliban is made up of members that are of many ethnic groups, not just Afghanistans. I knew they were bad but their oppression is senseless. Also, I was amazed at his resilience. The way he kept going despite being abandoned.

A really good read, and I think it would be valuable for some spoiled kids to read and get a clue how well they have it. I know I’m making one of my kids read it, just for the reality check. There is violence but nothing outrageous.

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Book Review: River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh

Title: River of Smoke – Ibis Trilogy
Author: Amitav Ghosh
Publisher: Penguin India
Genre: Literary Fiction, Series
ISBN: 9780670082155
PP: 568 pages
Price: Rs. 699
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5/5

I can say with certainty that River of Smoke will and does not disappoint fans of the Ibis saga. Ghosh has crafted a book that draws the reader into the personal stories of his characters, while giving us a rarely-described perspective on history. In some ways, this is a fabulous piece to read with books like Heart of Darkness (what did the communities on the shore think?) or even Confessions of an Economic Hitman (when did this Economic Assassination begin?).
River of Smoke conjures up Canton, around 1838/9, particularly the foreign merchants’ enclave and the Pearl River: both inextricably linked to the opium trade. Aboard the Anahita, Bahram Modi is in danger of losing his biggest shipment of opium yet, whilst on the Redruth, Paulette and Mr. Penrose are plant hunting for a very special Camellia. Paulette and Penrose are aided in Canton by Paulette’s childhood friend and artist Robin Chinnery. Their disparate stories are drawn tighter and tighter as the Chinese Emperor, desperate to face his ancestors with a clean conscience when he dies, seeks to banish forever a drug that has enslaved his people.

Deeti’s shrine in Mauritius opens the novel, and its portraits, drawn on the walls by visitors, and introduced to curious children, draw the reader neatly in. It’s a fine device, allowing for a brief recap and a filling-in of sorts, from when we left the storm-stricken Ibis at the end of Sea of Poppies. The novel is subdivided into 3 sections: Islands, Canton and Commissioner Lin, and further subdivided into two main threads: the opium traders and the plant hunters.

Though no part is free from opium’s pernicious influence, our plant hunters’ narratives posit that the spirit of exploration and free trade can flourish legitimately. Here Chinnery’s presence, epistolary in form, is a delight. His effusive missives bring moments of humour and pathos that counterbalance the novel’s darker side perfectly. Opium pervades the other main thread, smuggled in by a Committee of merchants who are blinded by greed to greater or lesser extents. Ghosh takes on the complex matters underlying the trade, and probes the reader’s conscience too, ostensibly by using our sympathies for Bahram as leverage against our own better judgment. Those familiar with the history of the first Opium War will recognise the book’s events as its catalyst, and the author has fleshed out this historical background in meticulous detail.

What sets this book apart from other novels, but also what tends to be the most tiring aspect, is Ghosh’s grasp of history, in this case the development, effects and trauma of the European opium trade with China. He makes no attempt to hide his feelings on this one, nor is he very subtle when making the clear connections between that era and the globalization era today. His characters deliver some wonderful lines like Bahram’s one-liner, “Democracy is a wonderful thing. It is a marvellous tamasha that keeps common people busy that men like ourselves can take care of all matters of importance” or the frequent hypocritical declarations by various European tradesmen on Free Market when it comes to opium trading.

As in Sea of Poppies, Ghosh regales us with a mix of languages, scenes, smells and tastes. He is happy to spend paragraphs on the cuisine served at each meal, while freely adding mix-up, mash-up words on every page. There is so much to learn from this book, and not just the ancient trade relations that pre-dated European imperialism. I, for one, learned the history behind the Hindi word for sugar, and the term pidgin to describe a mixed, functional language. Or that the original European settlement in China was called Fanqui-town (yes, as in “Won’t you take me to …”)

My only complaint is that there are far too many segments that become repetitive or don’t add much to the story. While the visit with Napoleon (indeed, even he makes an appearance) is well-captured and adds another perspective on the main issue, I could have done without it.

In a trilogy, the second book suffers the fate of a middle-child. It is too late to be intrigued by new characters, but neither is it time for the climactic scenes. This book floats along for pages faced with this problem. While nothing in the book is as tedious as a visit to the Ents, there were times I was ready for the end. Having said that, I am looking forward to the next installment.

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River of Smoke: A Novel (Ibis Trilogy)

Book Review: The Petting Zoo by Jim Carroll

Title: The Petting Zoo
Author: Jim Carroll
Publisher: Penguin Viking
Genre: Literary Fiction
ISBN: 0670022187
PP: 336 pages
Price: $25.95
Source: Publisher
Rating:5/5

A young artist runs from his exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum Of Art in New York City , only to find himself in the city zoo at the petting zoo location. It is nigh time and the zoo is closed ,but Billy climbs the fence and goes to the Noah’s Ark exhibit of the petting zoo. He tries to calm down after leaving the art show abruptly. On leaving the ark ,Billy hits his head and gets quiet a gash. A raven speaks to him and Billy is off and running. The raven tells him where a ladder is so he can climb back out. Billy stumbles along the streets of New York in a daze and finally winds up in the back of a police car on his way to the mental hospital. He meets a whole different group of people.

Billy has a break down after leaving the hospital and can not finish paintings he needs to do for another show. The raven periodically comes to visit Billy with sage wisdom .

This book is psychological , metaphysical and spiritual . You decide how you wish to approach this book. Carroll is a master of the lyrical and poetry of words. Some phrases are so beautiful it hurts.

Writers have cast themselves or their fictional alter egos as artists before, Hemingway and Vonnegut to name a couple. It seems a good simile for a writer especially a poet to identify with. Poets have to use words thickly like the painter’s colors, words thick with meaning, and Carroll doesn’t waste any words, each seems carefully chosen. I usually read fast but I found myself slowing down to enjoy the lyricism of Carroll’s writing, enjoying the sensation of Carroll’s words soaking in like a drug.

There’s almost a tactile feel to Carroll’s imagery. He remembers sensations and translates that sense memory very ably to the reader. I rarely highlight passages in books or make annotations, but I found myself doing both throughout the book, finding passages either strikingly insightful or poetic. Such as the story of why a baby cries upon being born is mesmerizing and a beautiful perspective. This is a book I didn’t want to finish, not because it was bad but because I wanted to savor, to maximize the ecstatic state the writing put me in.

Book Review: The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht

Title: The Tiger’s Wife
Author: Tea Obreht
Publisher: Hachette
ISBN: 978-1780220796
Genre: Literary Fiction
PP: 352 pages
Price: Rs. 325
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5/5

In my earliest memory my grandfather is as bald as stone and he takes me to see the tigers. He puts on his hat, his big-buttoned raincoat, and I wear my lacquered shoes and velvet dress. It is autumn, and I am four years old. The certainty of this process: my grandfather’s hand, the bright hiss of the trolley, the dampness of the morning, the crowded walk up the hill to the citadel park. Always in my grandfather’s breast pocket: The Jungle Book, with its gold leaf cover and old yellow pages. I am not allowed to hold it, but it will stay open on his knee all afternoon while he recites the passages to me. Even though my grandfather is not wearing his stethoscope or white coat, the lady at the ticket counter in the entrance shed calls him “Doctor.”

Sometimes it takes a while to get into a book, to find yourself hooked and unable to put the book aside for long lest you find your thoughts returning to it. At other times, a book might snatch up your interest from the very beginning and drag you forward without mercy. The Tiger’s Wife is the latter sort. It hooked me with the opening paragraph and I struggled to avoid sitting there for hours, consumed by the book until the last page was turned.

Obreht’s style is the culprit, encouraging you to read just a little more before putting the book down and taking a break or sleeping. The prose is immensely readable without feeling underwhelming and lends to a swift pacing. The book flies by, which is never a bad thing unless you want to take it slow and savor the read. Unfortunately for me, that is just what I wanted to do.

At the tender, sensitive heart of Tea Obreht’s stunning debut novel, The Tiger’s Wife: A Novel, is a moving story of love between a granddaughter and her grandfather. The grandfather is a physician and a man of science. He is also a storyteller who uses the power of storytelling to guide and instruct his granddaughter. “…and my grandfather might say, `I once knew a girl who loved tigers so much she almost became one herself.’ Because I am little, and my love of tigers comes directly from him, I believe he is talking about me, offering me a fairy tale in which I can imagine myself—and will, for years and years.”

The granddaughter is the narrator, Natalia Stefanovi, a young doctor following in her grandfather’s footsteps as a physician in an unnamed Balkan country, a country torn brutally apart after its most recent war. When the story opens Natalia is en route to a medical mission of mercy at an orphanage in a remote seaside village. The mission is to administer to the medical needs of the orphans there as well as to inoculate the children against measles, mumps, rubella and other diseases they were subjected to during the war. It is a tense time just following the latest round of wars in the Balkans and while crossing a new border which now redefines her country (most likely the former Yugoslavia), Natalia learns of the death of her beloved grandfather.

“Everything necessary to understand my grandfather lies between two stories: the story of the tiger’s wife, and the story of the deathless man.” These stories are dominant in Natalia’s mind as she tries to understand what happened to her grandfather and how he came to die alone in the village of his birth, a village where his two fantastical stories also have their origin.

Natalia must go to the village to collect her grandfather’s belongings and in doing so she must not only come to terms with the end of her beloved grandfather’s life, but with the end of her country as well. The journey back to the village of her grandfather’s birth and death provides a grim perspective of life in the war-torn Balkans. It also gives more substance to the stories of the deathless man and the tiger’s wife, reaching beyond reality to draw on the energy of folklore to maintain strong personal and social relevance – personal relevance for Natalia and social for Eastern Europe.

Mostly, we learn about war. It runs in the background, a perpetual nightmare that inspires a range of reactions from the surreal to the horrific. People sit in cafes, sipping coffee and chatting as the war drops bombs around them. Everything breaks down as people stop caring–why do this or that when there is a war on? A village is whipped into paranoid superstition, the tiger lurking in the hills as dreadful as the war lurking on the horizon. The tiger is present though, something real and tangible that they can focus on if only to forget about the war coming for their out of the way mountain home. The Tiger’s Wife is tinged with war that has seeped into the lands, villages, and cities that the characters and stories inhabit. In the midst of the horror that it brings, we see the bits of wonder–the strange behavior that comes to the forefront and the strange little events that become the stories that we keep to ourselves.

To say that Natalia is the main character of this story would be false. She is our narrator and we learn about her life in some small fashion, but the story only involves her, it is not about her. The same might be said of her grandfather, whom the book revolves around. He is almost always there, in frame and a part of the events happening, but there is one other thing that sits in frame, hiding at times and coming into the foreground at others. There is no main character to this tale, at least no living, breathing being as a character tends to be. As I said before, we learn mostly about war. The characters, these living breathing beings that we have a habit of getting attached to, are unimportant. They are parts of the story, but the story is not about them… it is about the war and about the unnamed Balkan country that it seems to have perpetually settled upon, occasionally going dormant for a cease fire or short bout of peace.

This highly involved novel shifts back and forth, chapter by chapter, between the past and the present; between superstition and science; between folklore and realism; between the fantastical and Natalia`s present predicament . The Tiger’s Wife: A Novel does not have a linear structure with typical plot advancement and this might be off-putting for some readers but I found it engaging.

The Tiger’s Wife: A Novel is a complex but rewarding reading experience which brings together historical and contemporary themes with haunting images and rich symbolism. It seems to me that Obreht was striving for a heightened awareness of life`s hidden meanings and I think she succeeded brilliantly.

The Tiger’s Wife is a fantastic read that lures you in, traps you, and proves hard to escape from. Tea Obreht is a talented young author, who has crafted a brilliant story of stories and wrapped it up in a beautiful style that I could not help but fall in love with. The book is one of the best I have read this year and certainly one of the best debuts, possibly the best, that I have ever had cracked into. I cannot recommend The Tiger’s Wife highly enough and cannot wait to get my hands on more of Obreht’s work. You need to read this.

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Book Review: A Spark of Death by Bernadette Pajer

Title: A Spark of Death
Author: Bernadette Pajer
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
ISBN: 978-1-59058-907-6
Genre: Crime, Thriller, Detective, Historical
PP: 250 pages
Price: $14.95
Source: Publisher via Bookpleasures.com
Rating: 5/5

This is the season of mystery and crime when it comes to the kind of books I have been reading. Mystery is on the top of the reading list and frankly I am enjoying the experience. A Spark of Death by Bernadette Pajer is one amongst such books which kept me up all night. It had me going from the first word and has been quite a ride. It is one of those historical mysteries that you might be skeptical about; however, it is a great read.

A Spark of Death is the first in the Professor Bradshaw Mystery series. This also happens to be the writers’ debut book. The novel is set at the dawn of the 20th century in Seattle, Washington. Bradshaw is a young professor at the University of Washington who is accused of murdering his colleague through an electrified metal contraption on campus. Bradshaw then sets off his investigation in the true-blue Arthur Conan Doyle fashion where everyone is a suspect. This coincides with the trials and experiments to discover electricity, which is portrayed brilliantly throughout the book. At one point the locals are scared of technology and that rings true on so many levels – primary being the idea of rejecting anything that is new.

As a primary character, I found Dr. Bradshaw quite affable. He is a man of logic who is also trying to deal with his emotional demons, and yet not losing sight of the case. For readers, who enjoy the historical fiction genre, there is the side-plot of the discovery of electricity which is written in a detailed manner.

The secondary characters were also efficiently crafted- my favourite being, “Missouri Fremont.” Someone that is bold, brash and exactly the type of woman every girl would like to be. There is not a dull moment in the entire book. For a first book, Bernadette has ensured that the plot is tight and makes you want to keep turning the pages to get to the end faster than the blink of an eye. The research that is undergone to write the book is lucid in its pages and the reader can tell that the writer knows what she is talking about. Bernadette Pajer makes the reading come alive with her descriptions and keen eye-for-detail. For instance, when you read about electricity and its beginning, you can actually see and experience it take place right before your eyes.

I would highly recommend the book for someone that loves a good mystery mashed with good old historical fiction.

I would like to thank the publishers and agent Mary Glenn for sending me this wonderful book via bookpleasures.com

Book Review: On China by Henry Kissinger

Title: On China
Author: Henry Kissinger
Publisher: Penguin USA
Genre: Non-Fiction
ISBN: 978-1846143465
PP: 608 pages
Price: Rs. 899
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4/5

Recently, for the obvious reasons there have been many books published about China. Especially since China’s meteoric rise has accelerated in the last dozen years. Gargantuan economic growth. This obviously leads to an increase in geo-political and diplomatic power and influence that we are witnessing today. As the world enters the “Age of China” and Chinese domination in East Asia and other areas of the world, it’s necessary to be informed and knowledgeable as much as possible about China.

As for Kissinger, he has supporters, neutral observers, and those who oppose him and loathe him. But if a reader solely focuses on the book as a piece of work about a nation and concept, “One China” appropriately delves sufficiently into different and important areas of China: this book examines China historically, contemporarily, and pontificates about the future.

The common questions of today can be better pondered with more knowledge acquired in this book: what ramifications if any, will there be with China as a/the global leader, as the United States declines? This question is likely the reason for the publishing of this book by Kissinger (and others in the first) Many of these book hit the best-seller list. But what makes this lengthy work by Kissinger unique is that it’s a historical account written by a man (Kissinger) who’s met Mao, Zhou Enlai, Deng, and others personally.

As the author and Nixon initiated Detente, Kissinger’s comprehensive historical focus on China in its foreign policy is a significant positive of this book. From the very beginnings to the 20th Century, at length covering Mao and Zhou Enlai, China’s relationship with the Soviet Union, and its role in the Korean war, to Deng Xiaoping, to today. This book (common with Kissinger books) contains numerous citations and is primarily a historical piece of work.

The period of Deng Xiaoping is given adequate attention as it was Deng who made many of the moves to transform China into what it currently has become (not saying they were all necessarily good). Is the China of today better because of Deng’s changes? This is another topic, and a hypothetical one. Kissinger does not mention the human rights issue however, as Kissinger avoids this negative aspect and other criticisms.

Admittedly having only read a few book about China, Kissinger’s book is comparable to some of the other well-known books released in recent years about China. As with most books of this genre, if someone already knows more than the basics of Chinese history and in particular China’s history of the 20th Century, he/she may not gain much new knowledge.

Book Review: The Tunnel by Ernesto Sabato

Title: The Tunnel
Author: Ernesto Sabato
Publisher: Penguin Modern Classics
ISBN: 978-0141194547
Genre: Modern Classic, Literary Fiction
PP: 160 pages
Price: £8.99
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5/5

This is a succinct novel told from the point of view of a man obsessed. The reader follows the narrative through the eyes of the main protagonist, a jailed artist, Juan Pablo Castel, explains why he murdered a woman. He recounts the story of his intense, destructive relationship with Maria: it begins with a fleeting, seemingly inconsequential moment but turns in to an obsession which consumes him completely.

This is written in sparse and succinct sentences which makes this easy to read but nevertheless the reader can relate totally with the narrator. You the reader start to understand and share his obsessions and frustrations.

The narrative voice is aggressively intellectual, but almost delirious, as Castel veers between self justification and self loathing, whilst trying desperately to fight against his own destructive impulses. But it’s also funny, and planted enough in reality that you can identify with his painful shyness, his jealousy, and his compulsion to find this woman and somehow ‘possess’ her. Anyone who has ever admired someone from afar, yet felt completely paralyzed when in their company will appreciate how brilliantly written these parts are.

Castel is well-named: he is an artist whose intellectual arrogance creates a castle in which his own psyche runs wild, uncompromised by the views of others. We follow him through the cold, hard passages of his mind as thoughts and fantasies feed on themselves and paint an increasingly perverted view of the world. Sabato creates another metaphor in the book’s title The Tunnel, referring to Castel’s sense of going through life cut off from everyone else.

The imagery is subtle yet satisfying, and the story echoes Camus’ The Outsider, although Castel is very much an Insider too, trapped in his own mind. There is irony too: as an abstract painter he cannot deal with the abstract responses of Maria, demanding empirical truth and solid facts. Denied them, he creates them for himself.

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The Tunnel

Book Review: AM/PM by Amelia Gray

Title: AM/PM
Author: Amelia Gray
Publisher: Featherproof Books
ISBN: 978-0977199273
Genre: Flash Fiction, Short Stories
PP: 144 pages
Price: $12.95
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5/5

I haven’t read Amelia Gray prior to this book and I was wondering Why Not and honestly I could draw only one conclusion: I was a fool but not for long as I have discovered her writing and she is beyond excellence. AM/PM takes you to areas and places you can’t imagine. I had a tough time writing this review, because this book is not an easy read as well. It is challenging and it stretches your mind and imagination, so for one: Be prepared.

This book looks like flash fiction, and that’s a shame because I think it may turn off some people who would enjoy this book. Rather it’s just a bunch of short kind of interconnected little episodes from a recurring group of peoples’ lives. From the banal to the outright absurd; to I guess what would be harsh rules for cats followed by a cats argument for why they should have ownership over something they have made warm with their body and cozy with their claws.

AM/PM is a collection of 120 micro stories, all only about 100-200 words. Many may dismiss such short stories, but truly, these quick reads had more heart than a lot of other short stories I’ve read. Each story in AM/PM is a study in excellent sentences. Gray chooses her words carefully, and the result is sentences that hit you in three places all at once, sentences that can be funny, sad, and absurd. I read most of these stories at least twice, sometimes three times. These aren’t vague, self-indulgent stories written by some trend-watching wannabe. They are real, and they pack a punch.

Certain characters have their own stories while also mingling with characters from other stories, which lends the book a neat interweaving thread. We get glimpses into the most private aspects of other people’s lives, their secret loves, joys, and desperation.

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Book Review: The Tao of Travel: Enlightenments from Lives on the Road: Edited by Paul Theroux

Title: The Tao of Travel: Edited by Paul Theroux
Author: Paul Theroux
Publisher: Hamish Hamilton
ISBN: 978-0241145258
Genre: Non-Fiction, Travel,
PP: 256 pages
Price: Rs. 499
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5/5

I have read many of Theroux’s previous travel books, have enjoyed all of them, and have learned something from each of them. Therefore it was with considerable anticipation that I read this book. I knew before I read it that it would be a compendium or compilation of travel musings from Theroux and others, and I was not sure whether I would enjoy it. I am happy to say that I enjoyed the book thoroughly and that it quite exceeded my expectations.

It is true that there is very little that is original in this book. So what? What is there is marvelous, and even though Theroux quotes from himself a good bit, it is also quite true that it is highly unlikely that I would ever have come across most of the reflections on travel by other authors that Theroux includes here. That alone makes this book a gem. For example, here is this pearl from Hans Christian Andersen, right on page 1: “Homesickness is a feeling that many know and suffer from; I on the other hand feel a pain less known, and its name is ‘Outsickness.’” Is there any true traveler with whom that quote won’t resonate? I am very much like Theroux in that, like him, I have felt a wanderlust, and urge to travel, at least from childhood or early adolescence, and it is exactly that wanderlust that Andersen is referring to when he mentions “Outsickness.” For me the urge to travel began when I read Richard Halliburton’s books as a teenager, and I was happy to see that Theroux mentions and quotes from Halliburton here. This is especially gratifying because, although Halliburton is remembered and revered by people of a certain age, he is almost forgotten today.

Theroux does not shrink from differentiating between travelers and tourists. I had to chuckle at one of Theroux’s own comments: “Choose your country, use guidebooks to identify the areas most frequented by foreigners–and then go in the opposite direction.” This is very similar to something I have always said to acquaintances that I consider serious travelers–if, when you tell people where you are going and their response is “what the hell do you want to go THERE for?”–then you know you’re going to the right place. Theroux also mentions other essentials of travel if it is truly going to be the learning experience or epiphany that you want it to be: travel alone, don’t overplan, and above all, leave your electronic equipment at home.

This book is unlike anything that Theroux has written before in that it seems to be a distillation of everything essential to be said about travel–hence, I suppose, the title. But it also caused me to wonder, given that Theroux recently turned seventy: is this Theroux’s swan song? Is this his goodbye to travel writing? Is this his way of saying “that’s all there is; there is no more?” Will we be seeing any more travel books from Paul Theroux? If that is indeed the case, then this book is a very worthy ending to an illustrious career. If you love travel, and if you haven’t done so already, I urge you to buy a copy posthaste.

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