Declare Out Of Books The Pillars of Hercules
| Title | : | The Pillars of Hercules |
| Author | : | Paul Theroux |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 509 pages |
| Published | : | October 29th 1996 by Ballantine Books (first published 1995) |
| Categories | : | Travel. Nonfiction. Cultural. Greece |
Paul Theroux
Paperback | Pages: 509 pages Rating: 3.93 | 4277 Users | 192 Reviews
Representaion During Books The Pillars of Hercules
"DAZZLING." --Time "[THEROUX'S] WORK IS DISTINGUISHED BY A SPLENDID EYE FOR DETAIL AND THE TELLING GESTURE; a storyteller's sense of pacing and gift for granting closure to the most subtle progression of events; and the graceful use of language. . . . We are delighted, along with Theroux, by the politeness of the Turks, amazed by the mountainous highlands in Syria, touched by the gesture of an Albanian waitress who will not let him pay for his modest meal. . . . The Pillars of Hercules [is] engrossing and enlightening from start (a damning account of tourists annoying the apes of Gibraltar) to finish (an utterly captivating visit with Paul Bowles in Tangier, worth the price of the book all by itself)." --Chicago Tribune "ENTERTAINING READING . . . WHEN YOU READ THEROUX, YOU'RE TRULY ON A TRIP." --The Boston Sunday Globe "HIS PICARESQUE NARRATIVE IS STUDDED WITH SCENES THAT STICK IN THE MIND. He looks at strangers with a novelist's eye, and his portraits are pleasantly tinged with malice." --The Washington Post Book World "THEROUX AT HIS BEST . . . An armchair trip with Theroux is sometimes dark, but always a delight." --Playboy "AS SATISFYING AS A GLASS OF COOL WINE ON A DUSTY CALABRIAN AFTERNOON . . . With his effortless writing style, observant eye, and take-no-prisoners approach, Theroux is in top form chronicling this 18-month circuit of the Mediterranean." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)Mention Books Supposing The Pillars of Hercules
| Original Title: | The Pillars of Hercules: A Grand Tour of the Mediterranean |
| ISBN: | 0449910857 (ISBN13: 9780449910856) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Rating Out Of Books The Pillars of Hercules
Ratings: 3.93 From 4277 Users | 192 ReviewsJudge Out Of Books The Pillars of Hercules
Reminded myself why I swore off of Therouxs travel books years ago. Although I finished this one, like the others, it was not so much travel as a report on the four inches between his ears while going to the ports of the Mediterranean. Hoped to get a kind of update on many of the same places I had beenespecially in Turkeyand was disappointed to get Therouxs egotistical and misanthropic attitude towards everything. My recommendation: avoid his travel books (there are vastly more palatable travel
If you like travel books, and I do, Paul Theroux is hard to beat. In this book he travels around the entire coast of the Mediterranean by bus, train, and boat, no airplanes. He gets the difference between traveling and being a tourist. He is interested in the places he visits and the people he meets, and very critical. He doesn't suffer fools gladly and touristy places annoy him. He can be sarcastic and cutting, but he also provides many unexpected insights. For example, I have a whole new
I am a big fan of Paul Theroux. And this is one of his earlier books. What a great book. Enjoyed it thoroughly.
At his best, Theroux is a lovable grump, at his worst a poster person for #whitepeoplesproblems.At a certain point, reading this book became an ordeal. Can someone edit this man, please?And by the way the "portuguese" saying he quotes near the end? "Quando con Levante chiove, las pedras muove" isn't portuguese and rather a strange combination of spanish and italian (funny he wouldn't notice, since he keeps pointing out how fluent he is in italian), which made me doubt every single turkish
I'll confess from the start that a travel memoir is just not my kind of thing and so I probably started reading this book rather resentfully. I just so desperately wanted to be proved wrong. Sadly I was not. This book delved into the dull minutiae of his trip to the extent that I was simply bored by it. The book contained sweeping generalisations about the countries, cultures and people he encountered on his travels and there were no great insights that I could glean. I suppose now is the time
This is another excellent travel book and unusual in its approach as he circumnavigates the Mediterranean, never straying from the coastal route, examining the cultural similarities and differences between all the countries who share one common border - the Middle Sea. The book is very well written, amusing and insightful. Theroux also thoughtfully introduces us to a hefty reading list as he quotes at length from other travel books which have already dealt with each country. A must for any arm
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