About book The Last Train To Zona Verde: My Ultimate African Safari (2013)
I have never read Paul Theroux before this book and I agree with what many people have already said here. He seems a bit grumpy and disappointed that today's Africa is not the Africa of his youth. Having only ever been to North Africa (Morocco), I don't have a point of reference or understanding outside of commercials of what Southern and Eastern Africa are like. It was a dismal, but also seemingly realistic description. I appreciated that he acknowledged early on that he was truly a voyeur and he often would do the very things he said tourists/travelers shouldn't do. The reason I only gave it three stars is because I don't think there's any real way for a white, older man to truly grasp/infiltrate African culture (that said, I wouldn't be able to either). I think many times the people he talked to just told him what he wanted to hear. Can’t decide if Bill Bryson or Paul Theroux is my favorite travel writer. One is so funny and the other so elegant.What is sad about this trip through Africa is it may be Theroux’s last and we will all be worse for it.It’s like David Attenborough said he was giving up documentaries.With that in mind, the tone of this book is sweetly sad. The last hurrah as it were. The subject is also sad, as Theroux travels through desperate poverty and corrupt states.A sad but heart touching story.
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Good book. Kind of depressing to read how horrible life is in Angola for the poor people
—iffat
Learned a lot about Angola and Namibia - really informative and interesting
—Sindy
as always, I admire Theroux's honest portrayals.
—LissieFeylover
