Book Log 2009 #8: Ghost Train to the Eastern Star by Paul Theroux

I've been neglecting to update the Book Log, what with all the Lentorama postings, so time for some catching up.

This book sees Theroux go back through Asia, retracing the route he took over 30 years ago that became his first travel book, The Railway Bazaar. It's not totally exact - he detours into central Asia after he can't get a visa to enter Iran, and he skips other parts of the voyage where it'd be too dangerous (Pakistan) or not of enough interest for him to justify a return.

The resulting voyage is a nice mix of the new (such as his first-hand account of life in Turkmenistan, the former Soviet republic where the leader renamed days and months after family members) and updated looks at some of his favorite places (many of which, to his dismay, haven't changed for the better, if at all).

My favorite parts, though, reveal more about Theroux's personal life. He writes a bit about the circumstances surrounding the original trip and the results of going on it (the end of what was, even when he left, a problematic marriage). There are a number of places where he writes about getting older, and in a few places we clearly see how being older changes the way he travels (for example, he decides not to enter a sex club which he knows, in his younger days, he'd have stopped into). I also think there's less of an edge to the writing, which I ascribe to age-related mellowing.

I enjoyed the return trip immensely, though I did think the return trip through Russia and eastern Europe was too short. Worth a read, though I'd suggest reading The Railway Bazaar first if you haven't yet.