Paul Theroux’s The Old Patagonian Express is a manifestation of the idea that travel is about the journey, not the destination. It details his journey – primarily by rail – from Boston, Massachusetts to Esquel, Argentina. This was a trip undertaken in the late 1970s, during the Carter administration. And so this book offers a glimpse into another time as well as – to me – entirely different geography.
Theroux outlines the contrast between the rich and the deeply impoverished he encounters in this book and one meeting with three homeless boys sleeping in a doorway in Colombia is particularly moving. They’d be in their sixties today if they still live and I have my doubts that they do.
The book also strangely echoes the contemporary world, highlighting the debate in Panama over the Torrijos–Carter Treaties of 1977, which placed sovereignty over the Canal Zone in 1999. With Donald Trump now threatening to annex the Panama Canal, this period becomes ever more relevant.
Theroux is fairly acerbic when it comes to tourists and backpackers in South America, especially the budget travellers who count every penny.
Finally, the book has a general literary tone. Theroux reads Lovecraft, Poe, Boswell and Kipling through his journey. And insofar as the book has a climax, it’s his experience with Jorge Luis Borges in Buenos Aires.
This was an enjoyable read and leaves me wondering if I should try learning some Spanish.