Comments on: Famous travel writers I don’t like

By: Antonia Malchik

Antonia Malchik — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:10:59 +0000

Great comments, Pam! >>Every time I read Theroux, it underscores both my suspicions of his misogyny and my respect for his skill as a writer. I hate that.<< That statement of yours pretty much nails my relationship with his books, too.

I’ve been talking more with various neighbors of mine, who’ve all read Eat Pray Love, and the consensus is pretty much that they were disappointed in the quality of the writing and narrative, but what kept them reading it was that filling of a spiritual hole. Or maybe it’s exposing the spiritual hole, a new way for them of viewing their own lives. NOT emotional porn, though!

By: pam

pam — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 16:15:56 +0000

I’ve had a rather rocky relationship with Theroux from the get go. I’ve always suspected he’s something of a misogynist, but I find myself suckered in by his skill in taking you somewhere. I read Hotel Honolulu recently and all the women in it, jeez, the pretty much fell into two categories, awful or sex objects, but the book also really made the seedier side of Hawaii tourism a real thing. Every time I read Theroux, it underscores both my suspicions of his misogyny and my respect for his skill as a writer. I hate that.

I enjoyed the first section of Eat Pray Love, after that, wow, I was SOOOO bored.

By: Antonia Malchik

Antonia Malchik — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 13:37:13 +0000

Caitlin, Tim’s right that you should read at least one Theroux. I might not like his personality, but he is a great writer. Just one I think I’ve read quite enough of ;)

By: Tim

Tim — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 16:54:56 +0000

Caitlin, you need to read at least one Theroux book, preferably one of the earlier ones—or Kowloon Tong, which unlike the Wendy above, I thought was pure brilliance. (It’s shorter than most of his too.) Like V.S. Naipaul or Salman Rushdie, he may drive you crazy but there’s no denying the dazzling talent. Reading people like that make you a better writer. Plus Theroux gets kudos for truly changing the genre. Before he started, there wasn’t much dialogue in travel books and few had the permanence of a novel.

By: Antonia Malchik

Antonia Malchik — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 14:27:07 +0000

I haven’t read Brigitte Muir, Caitlin, but it sounds like one I’ll have to pick up. Why is it that we don’t see more widely published Australian travel writers? As a population, Australians seem to travel more and longer than Americans or Brits, but don’t seem to produce as many travel narratives. Or do we just not get them published in this hemisphere? I’m on a one-woman mission to spread AB Facey’s “A Fortunate Life” around the globe, though :-)

Jack, I’m kind of with you on Bill Bryson — I give him half a pass because there are sections of books like A Walk in the Woods that are really sterling writing. And hey, I wish I were notorious enough to make my list, too!

Wendy, that’s the thing that burns about Theroux — he really is a good writer, whether or not I like him as an observer. I had to grudgingly admire Sir Vidia’s Shadow, for example, even as the personality behind it made me cringe.

And about Americans’ vacation time — why would any sympathetic person, travel writer or traveler or not, begrudge people with so little free time a little escapism? I know we all make fun of the whirlwind “It’s Tuesday, it must be Paris” ten-day European tour that Americans of a certain age make, but with a maximum of two weeks a year holiday (which one would usually use spending time with family) they don’t really have many options. I’m very lucky in that a) I work for myself, and b) my husband works for an international firm that has a four-week minimum vacation allowance. Most people aren’t so fortunate.