Why read The Great Railway Bazaar?

Book cover of The Great Railway Bazaar

Book description

Fired by a fascination with trains that stemmed from childhood, Paul Theroux set out one day with the intention of boarding every train that chugged into view from Victoria Station in London to Tokyo Central, and to come back again via the Trans-Siberian Express. This is his story.

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Why read it?

2 authors picked The Great Railway Bazaar as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Matthew Stevenson

Author

In the early 1970s, the prolific Paul Theroux decided to ride as many trains as he could find between London and Japan, and to come back on the Trans-Siberian from Vladivostok. There are a few gaps in his rail line (Afghanistan isn’t well served by trains but he does manage to catch a Kyber Pass local), but otherwise he stitches together an itinerary that takes him across the Balkans, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, Southeast Asia, and finally Japan. He chats up everyone he meets, and the book is a cross between a compelling account of numerous train journeys and novelistic…

From Matthew's list on getting inspired to ride a train.

Jules Brown

Author

Theroux pretty much invented the genre with this ground-breaking travelogue, first published in 1975, that went on to sell millions and establish his reputation as a train-travelling travel writer. As an account of the overland trip from Europe through Asia and back on the Trans-Siberian railway, it’s surprisingly hopeless for anyone looking for inspiration for the journey itself – the destinations are given fairly short shrift in favour of the recording of chance encounters and random conversations with a cast of highly memorable characters. It’s a bit of a period piece – highly literary, often acerbic, occasionally grumpy – but…

From Jules' list on rail journeys.