25 December 2016

Book Log 2016 #29: Deep South by Paul Theroux

Theroux turns his wanderlust inwards, trading international train travel for long drives into Dixie, where he turns his usual inquisitiveness on his fellow Americans. Theroux displays his usual ability to connect with locals and pull their stories out of them, helping to give definition to living in the modern US south. The decision to revisit locations and people during the four seasons of the book provided added depth as well.

On the down side, I did find the book lapsing too close to stereotype at times, and the variety of asides only served to slow down a narrative that was already taking its time. Still, I would much rather have new travel writing from Paul Theroux than none at all.

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