The good: "To the Ends of the Earth" by Paul Theroux
The bad: "Life is a Trip" by Judith Fein
The difference: Fein keeps trying to tie her stories up in a nice little bow. Theroux doesn't. Things don't make sense sometimes when you travel. Embrace it! Life is easier if we don't have to worry about things making sense all the time.
Theroux makes me a little crazy. I love to read his stuff, he writes beautifully, but sometimes, I get the feeling he's not happy unless he's delayed in rail cabin with smelly locals, cheap booze, and barely palatable food.
ReplyDeleteHe's a bit cranky, and his stories do tend to be one crummy thing after another. But then, most of travel is kind of crummy and/or awkward at the time, and I appreciate the fact that he's honest about that instead of glossing over it and highlighting only the peaks. Plus, he goes to places I've never heard of, so that's interesting.
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