''The Great Railway Bazaar: By Train Through Asia'' is a

travelogue Travelogue may refer to: Genres * Travel literature, a record of the experiences of an author travelling * Travel documentary A travel documentary is a documentary film, television program, or online series that describes travel in general or ...

by American novelist

Paul Theroux Paul Edward Theroux (born April 10, 1941) is an American novelist and travel writer who has written numerous books, including the travelogue, '' The Great Railway Bazaar'' (1975). Some of his works of fiction have been adapted as feature films. He ...

, first published in 1975. It recounts Theroux's four-month journey by train in 1973 from London through Europe,

the Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europea ...

, the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

, and his return via the

Trans-Siberian Railway The Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR; , , ) connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway line in the world. It runs from the city of Moscow in the west to the city of Vladivostok in the ea ...

. The first part of the route, to India, followed what was then known as the

hippie trail Hippie trail (also the overland) is the name given to the overland journey taken by members of the hippie subculture and others from the mid-1950s to the late 1970s between Europe and South Asia, mainly from Turkey through Iran, Afghanistan ...

. It is widely regarded as a classic in the genre of

travel writing Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel c ...

. It sold 1.5 million copies upon release. In the book, Theroux explored themes such as

colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...

American imperialism American imperialism refers to the expansion of American political, economic, cultural, and media influence beyond the boundaries of the United States. Depending on the commentator, it may include imperialism through outright military conques ...

, poverty, and ignorance. These were embedded in his accounts of sights and sounds he experienced as well as his conversation with other people such as his fellow travelers. It included elements of fiction such as descriptions of places, situations, and people, reflecting the author's own thoughts and outlook. Contemporaneous reviews noted how his background allowed him the breadth of insights to authoritatively describe people even when there are instances when he committed ethnic generalizations. Prior to the publication of ''The Great Railway Bazaar,'' Theroux lived in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In a 2013 article, Theroux outlined several inspirations that led him to embark on his journey and publish his experiences. These include his fascination for trains, which offered what he described as an opportunity to break monotony as well as a respite from work. He wrote:

I could think clearly on the London trains and when, on the rare occasions, I travelled out of London – on the Exeter line via Sherborne, Yeovil, and Crewkerne, to visit my in‑laws, or on the Flying Scotsman on a journalistic assignment, my spirits revived and I saw with clarity that it might be possible to conceive a book based on a long railway journey.

Sequel

In 2006, Theroux retraced the journey, finding that people and places had changed, and that while his earlier work was known in many places, he was not recognised in person. His account of this second journey was published as ''

Ghost Train to the Eastern Star ''Ghost Train to the Eastern Star'' is a 2008 train travel literature, travel book by Paul Theroux. In this book, he retraces some of the Travel, trip described in ''The Great Railway Bazaar''. He travels from London, through Europe on the Orien ...

''.

References

American travel books 1975 non-fiction books Books by Paul Theroux Tourism in India Books about India Houghton Mifflin books Transport culture of India Railway culture {{india-book-stub