Paul Theroux Quotes

A collection of quotes by Paul Theroux.

Paul Theroux is an acclaimed American travel writer and novelist, born on April 10, 1941, in Medford, Massachusetts. He attended the University of Massachusetts before moving to Africa in the early 1960s as a Peace Corps volunteer. This experience laid the foundation for much of his future writing career. Theroux has published numerous travel narratives, capturing the essence of his journeys to remote and exotic destinations around the world.

One of his most famous works is "The Great Railway Bazaar" (1975), where he recounts his four-month train journey across Asia. Theroux's writing style, often described as vivid and evocative, masterfully captures the cultural nuances and human stories he encounters during his travels. His ability to observe and engage with people from different walks of life has earned him widespread acclaim.

Beyond travel writing, Paul Theroux has also penned several critically acclaimed novels. "The Mosquito Coast" (1981), adapted into a film starring Harrison Ford, explores themes of idealism, disillusionment, and isolation. Other notable novels include "The Lower River" (2012), "The Stranger at the Palazzo d'Oro" (2004), and "The Elephanta Suite" (2007).

Throughout his career, Theroux's work has garnered recognition and numerous awards, including the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Whitbread Prize for Best Novel. Today, he continues to write and travel, captivating readers with his unique perspective on the people and places he encounters.

You define a good flight by negatives: you didn't get hijack

You define a good flight by negatives: you didn't get hijacked, you didn't crash, you didn't throw up, you weren't late, you weren't nauseated by the food. So you are grateful.

Tourists don't know where they've been, travelers don't know

Tourists don't know where they've been, travelers don't know where they're going.

Winter is a season of recovery and preparation.

Winter is a season of recovery and preparation.

I have always disliked being a man. The whole idea of manhoo

I have always disliked being a man. The whole idea of manhood in America is pitiful, in my opinion. This version of masculinity is a little like having to wear an ill-fitting coat for one's entire life (by contrast, I imagine femininity to be an oppressive sense of nakedness).

Life Contrast Man Masculinity

Friendship is also about liking a person for their failings,

Friendship is also about liking a person for their failings, their weakness. It's also about mutual help, not about exploitation.

Friendship

When I started writing, I did have some idealised notion of

When I started writing, I did have some idealised notion of my dad as a writer. But I have less and less of a literary rivalry with him as I've gone on. I certainly don't feel I need his approval, although maybe that's because I'm confident that I've got it.

Dad

The amount of hassle involved in travel can be overwhelming.

The amount of hassle involved in travel can be overwhelming.

Travel

The people of Hong Kong are criticized for only being intere

The people of Hong Kong are criticized for only being interested in business, but it's the only thing they've been allowed to do.

Business

Mark Twain was a great traveler and he wrote three or four g

Mark Twain was a great traveler and he wrote three or four great travel books. I wouldn't say that I'm a travel novelist but rather a novelist who travels - and who uses travel as a background for finding stories of places.

Travel

When I began to make some money, I really wanted to have a h

When I began to make some money, I really wanted to have a home.

Home

The Peace Corps is a sort of Howard Johnson's on the main dr

The Peace Corps is a sort of Howard Johnson's on the main drag into maturity.

Peace

It's only when you're alone that you realize where you are.

It's only when you're alone that you realize where you are. You have nothing to fall back on except your own resources.

Alone

The moment that changed me for ever was the moment my first

The moment that changed me for ever was the moment my first child was born. I was happy, filled with hope, and thought, 'Now I understand the whole point of work, of life, of love.'

Hope

A travel book is about someone who goes somewhere, travels o

A travel book is about someone who goes somewhere, travels on the ground, sees something and spends quite a lot of time doing it, and has a hard time, and then comes back and writes about it. It's not about inventing.

Travel

If you're a misanthrope you stay at home. There are certain

If you're a misanthrope you stay at home. There are certain writers who really don't like other people. I'm not like that, I don't think.

Home

When I was in the Peace Corps I never made a phone call. I w

When I was in the Peace Corps I never made a phone call. I was in Central Africa I didn't make a phone call for two years. I was in Uganda for another four years and I didn't make a phone call. So for six years I didn't make a phone call, but I wrote letters, I wrote short stories, I wrote books.

Peace

Extensive traveling induces a feeling of encapsulation, and

Extensive traveling induces a feeling of encapsulation, and travel, so broadening at first, contracts the mind.

Travel

The realization that he is white in a black country, and res

The realization that he is white in a black country, and respected for it, is the turning point in the expatriate's career. He can either forget it, or capitalize on it. Most choose the latter.

Exile

Death is an endless night so awful to contemplate that it ca

Death is an endless night so awful to contemplate that it can make us love life and value it with such passion that it may be the ultimate cause of all joy and all art.

Death

You define a good flight by negatives: you didn't get hijack

You define a good flight by negatives: you didn't get hijacked, you didn't crash, you didn't throw up, you weren't late, you weren't nauseated by the food. So you're grateful.

Pessimism