Interview With Paul Theroux: Invisible Man on a Ghost Train

Travel Interviews: Jim Benning asks the author of "Ghost Train to the Eastern Star" about his new book, aging and the challenge of disappearing in the age of the BlackBerry.

Does that mean we may see “The Old Patagonian Express” Redux at some point?

I don’t think so. This was an interesting one because it was the first trip, the longest one. No, I’d like to go to a new place, to places I’ve never been before, of which there are many.

Any places you have in mind?

Well, the Northern Hemisphere. I’ve never been to Scandinavia, I’ve never been to Greenland, I haven’t traveled in Canada, I’ve never been to Alaska. And plenty of other places. I’ve visited Brazil but I’ve never written about it.

You note in the new book that many of the great travel writers never embarked on a return trip, to retrace their steps. You were very aware that you were doing something many writers haven’t done. Did that present any new challenges for you in the way you wrote about the trip?

I had never written a travel book before when I wrote my first book, so I didn’t know what it would be. I know what a book is now, or I know what a book ought to be. And so I’ve learned a lot in that time. If you compare the two books, you’ll see that in the earlier book I wasn’t interested in politics. I might have mentioned the king of Afghanistan or the Shah of Iran, or something like that, but I never took much notice of political life. But I did in this book quite a lot. There’s a difference.

In the new book you write that “being invisible is the usual condition of the older traveler.” Do you find that you’re regarded differently in your travels now than you were, say, 35 years ago?

Oh sure, yeah. Older people are kind of invisible. It is a fact. The older you get, the less you’re taken any notice of. But it’s a great advantage to be invisible. It always has been for me as a writer. I didn’t know that older people were invisible when I was younger. Say an older man is talking to a woman. She actually doesn’t see him. When you’re young, you’re thinking, maybe she’s the one for me. And the woman’s thinking, maybe he’s the one for me. Maybe we can get it together. There’s a thought that runs through the mind of a younger person, it’s the DNA of it, it’s the mating instinct. With an older person, that doesn’t factor into it. An older person buys something, and the woman looks past him and doesn’t see anything. But you don’t know that until you’re older.

I found that interesting. I’m in my 30s and haven’t, I don’t think, experienced that yet.

It happens to everyone, it will happen to you in the fullness of time.

I’m sure it will. On the other hand, I’m not sure this will happen to me. While you may be more invisible because of your age, you’re better known than you were on your first journey. Were you recognized on this recent trip? Did that factor into things?

Uh, no—for various reasons. Not many people read. If I was Stephen King I’d probably be recognized. But I don’t think people stop him on the street and say, “I loved your latest book.” Writers don’t have faces. But I think that’s a good thing. I’m all for it. I would hate to be Harrison Ford, Laurence Fishburne, an identifiable person. I would find it very tiring, very wearying. They can’t come and go as they wish. That’s a tough thing.

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6 Comments for Interview With Paul Theroux: Invisible Man on a Ghost Train

Eva 08.18.08 | 11:43 PM ET

Great interview, Jim.

I loved Theroux’s quote about globalization, and the bit about “Go to Billings, Montana” - I used to argue with my British roommates all the time about whether there was actually “anything to see” in North America, because they felt they knew it all from TV, movies, etc. And I was like, I bet you’ve never seen Moose Factory, Ontario, on TV…

Also, the discussion about “A Journey Around My Room” reminded me of an essay that made the Best American anthology a few years back: “The Lonely Planet Guide to my Apartment.”

Sophie 08.19.08 | 12:46 PM ET

Wonderful and thought provoking. Thank you both.

In my travel writer-hack biz, the trip I got the most mileage out of sales-wise was Lubbock, Texas. I love going places other people don’t think about. Personally, I enjoy reading about Billings, Montana more than the Congo.

There are plenty of places between the U.S. coasts that are worth visiting, understanding and writing about. I could travel in the U.S. for the rest of my life and never get bored. I grew up in NYC but I’m in love with the flyover states.

JJ 08.21.08 | 9:54 AM ET

What about travel blogs? Being connected doesn’t make it natural to writeas you go, even in context?

Ketill 08.21.08 | 6:23 PM ET

This is one of the most interesting interviews with Theroux I have read. Years ago I and my wife tried to persuade him to come to Iceland. Unfortunately without success. Would be interesting if Theroux went to Scandinavia and the Nordic countries and wrote about it. Not much good travel writing about these countries the last 100 years or so.

Terry Ward 09.01.08 | 12:53 PM ET

To me, Theroux is the modern master of the genre. So cool to read this interview, Jim. I can’t wait to read his new book.

Timothy Smith 09.27.08 | 2:16 AM ET

One of the things that impresses me about Paul Theroux is his physical courage. I first got that impression when reading him on kayaking, in The Happy Isles of Oceania I believe it was. Not many writers, not many travel writers would be able to writea book such as Dark Star Safari. He alludes to this, as when praising his son, but I believe is too modest to talk much about it.

Physical courage often recedes with age. But apparently not with Theroux.

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