Riding the Iron Rooster by Paul Theroux - ISBN: 9780140112955
Paperback
A year, a country, a rooster: Theroux’s wild Chinese train adventure.

Riding the Iron Rooster

By Train Through China

$40.95

  • Paperback

    512 pages

  • Release Date

    25 January 2001

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Summary

Paul Theroux left Victoria Station on a rainy Saturday in April thinking that taking eight trains across Europe, Eastern Europe, the USSR and Mongolia would be the easy way to get to the Chinese border - the relaxing way, even. He would read a little, take notes, eat regular meals and gaze contentedly out of windows. The reality, of course, was very different.

In fact, Theroux experienced a decidedly odd and unexpected trip to China that set the challenging tone for his epic year-long…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9780140112955
ISBN-10:0140112952
Author:Paul Theroux
Publisher:Penguin Books Ltd
Imprint:Penguin Books Ltd
Format:Paperback
Number of Pages:512
Edition:1st
Release Date:25 January 2001
Weight:359g
Dimensions:32mm x 130mm x 197mm
A-Format
Riding the Iron Rooster by Paul Theroux - ISBN: 9780140112955
130 × 197 mm
B-Format
C-Format
A4
mm / in
What They're Saying

Critics Review

”[Theroux’s] books have enriched the travel literature of this century…China, with its guard down, its buttons undone, and its fingers greasy, looks even more magical with a little of its mystery revealed.” USA Today

”[A] very funny, beautifully written, wonderfully observant, and deeply insightful description of the vagaries of life and politics in China.” – Conde Nast Traveler

“Fascinating…the portrait that emerges is a luminous, almost uncanny, and situationally accurate one. Theroux is particularly good at catching the surreal quality of China.” The Miami Herald

“Theroux’s genius is in his clear-eyed rendition of a fresh world and the deeper observations he attaches to it.” The Chicago Tribune

About The Author

Paul Theroux

Paul Theroux was born in Medford, Massachusetts, in 1941.

Publications:

  • 1967: Waldo (novel)
  • After five-year stay in Africa:
    • Fong and the Indians (novel)
    • Girls at Play (novel)
    • Jungle Lovers (novel)
  • During three years teaching at the University of Singapore:
    • Sinning with Annie (short stories)
    • Saint Jack (novel)
  • 1974: The Black House (novel)
  • 1975: The Great Railway Bazaar: By Train Through Asia (travelogue)
  • 1976: The Family Arsenal (novel)
  • 1977: The Consul’s File (novel)
  • 1978:
    • Picture Palace (novel; Whitbread Literary Award winner)
    • A Christmas Card (short story)
  • 1979: The Old Patagonian Express (travelogue)
  • 1980:
    • World’s End and Other Stories (short stories)
    • London Snow (novel)
  • 1981: The Mosquito Coast (novel; Yorkshire Post Novel of the Year, joint winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize)
  • 1982: The London Embassy (novel)
  • 1983: The Kingdom by the Sea (travelogue)
  • 1985:
    • Doctor Slaughter (novel)
    • Sunrise with Seamonsters (essays)
    • The Imperial Way (travelogue)
  • 1986: O-Zone (novel)
  • 1988: Riding the Iron Rooster (travelogue)
  • 1989: My Secret History (novel)
  • 1990: Chicago Loop (novel)

Paul Theroux is married with two children and divides his time between London and Cape Cod.

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