Former Punk Paul Theroux in India

Perhaps the most anticipated travel book this year—or at least the one I’m most looking forward to—is Paul Theroux’s Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, due out in September. It’s an account of his journey through Europe and Asia, retracing the route he followed in the 1975 classic, The Great Railway Bazaar. He’s been talking it up recently in India, popping up in press accounts here (on “human architecture”), here (on beekeeping and whether he’s “a hack”) and here (on India’s soul).

He told an audience in Chennai, speaking about “Great Railway,” “I was a punk back then.” But on his recent trip, “I had changed,” he said. “I was older, I won’t say wiser but I had lived longer, and I was able to sit and judge.”

Related on World Hum:
* No. 3: ‘The Great Railway Bazaar’ by Paul Theroux

©2026 World Hum, All Rights Reserved