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Pillars of Hercules | 
 enlarge | Author: Paul Theroux
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy Used: $0.61
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Avg. Customer Rating:  36 reviews
Sales Rank: 336364
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 528
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.4
ISBN: 0449910857
Dewey Decimal Number: 910.91822
EAN: 9780449910856
ASIN: 0449910857
Publication Date: October 29, 1996
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Amazon.com
Paul Theroux has developed one of travel writing's most identifiable styles: always the foreigner, always a bit apart, slightly irascible, but perfectly observant. At last he has ventured to one of the most traveled places on earth, and returned with his most exhilarating, revealing, and eloquent travel book. In this modern version of the Grand Tour, Theroux sets off from Gibraltar, one of the fabled Pillars of Hercules, on a glorious journey around the shores of the Mediterranean.
Product Description
"DAZZLING."
--Time
"[THEROUX'S] WORK IS DISTINGUISHED BY A SPLENDID EYE FOR DETAIL AND THE TELLING GESTURE; a storyteller's sense of pacing and gift for granting closure to the most subtle progression of events; and the graceful use of language. . . . We are delighted, along with Theroux, by the politeness of the Turks, amazed by the mountainous highlands in Syria, touched by the gesture of an Albanian waitress who will not let him pay for his modest meal. . . . The Pillars of Hercules [is] engrossing and enlightening from start (a damning account of tourists annoying the apes of Gibraltar) to finish (an utterly captivating visit with Paul Bowles in Tangier, worth the price of the book all by itself)."
--Chicago Tribune
"ENTERTAINING READING . . . WHEN YOU READ THEROUX, YOU'RE TRULY ON A TRIP."
--The Boston Sunday Globe
"HIS PICARESQUE NARRATIVE IS STUDDED WITH SCENES THAT STICK IN THE MIND. He looks at strangers with a novelist's eye, and his portraits are pleasantly tinged with malice."
--The Washington Post Book World
"THEROUX AT HIS BEST . . . An armchair trip with Theroux is sometimes dark, but always a delight."
--Playboy
"AS SATISFYING AS A GLASS OF COOL WINE ON A DUSTY CALABRIAN AFTERNOON . . . With his effortless writing style, observant eye, and take-no-prisoners approach, Theroux is in top form chronicling this 18-month circuit of the Mediterranean."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
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| Customer Reviews: Read 31 more reviews...
 Vintage Theroux August 24, 2007
As expected, another wonderful travel book from a master, this time spiced with some biting observations of the moneyed tourist class.
A gorgeous bit of writing. March 21, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have read five of Paul Theroux's travel books: The Great Railway Bazaar, The Kingdom by the Sea, The Old Patagonian Express, Travel Fiend and now The Pillars of Hercules. I can say without a doubt, that this is my favorite travelogue of his. The book is concise and knowledgable and shows erudition lacking in most travelogues.
It is a total learning experience. I have looked up more words in this book than in most books I read. And I really appreciate that. He doesn't write books for people who are looking to read about the surface of a culture, or who just want the interesting bits revealed to them. He writes books for people that are truly interested and will take the time to learn all that he supplies the reader.
And I think this is his crowning achievement!
Filled with great stuff March 9, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Well, I just enjoy listening to (reading) what this guy talks (writes) about in his travels. An example (just one of many, many) is about the Mafia Monks. Seriously! Their nefarious activities "never prevented their hearing confessions, saying masses, or preaching at funerals - in one case, the monk in question saying a funeral high mass and preaching piously over the body of a man he had ordered killed." And I like the way he talks to ordinary people on the street and gets their point of view. Yes, it's a topsy-turvy world, but it sure beats the artificial world of fiction. I just visited Las Vegas. People wasting their lives chasing the jackpot, the fantasy world. Well, to each his own. But Paul Theroux tells it like it is - nutty, maybe, but that's the reality.
Terrific January 14, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Paul Theroux's travel books are a unique delight, and "Pillars of Hercules" is one of his best. In it, he travels from Gibraltar to Tangier, the long way, around the Med Sea. It's compelling reading: The places he visits and the people he meets; his 'take' on things. I had never even considered wanting to travel to Croatia or Albania or Syria or Tunisia, but now I'd like to go. But it's PT's take on places I've been to - Spain, France, Italy - that were most enjoyable, for he usually travels to out of the way places. I was pleased that he also noticed how much dog crap is on the sidewalks in France. His conversations with famed writers Naguib Mahfouz (after being stabbed by a fanatical Muslim)in Cairo and with Paul Bowles in Tangier are two of the books best parts. I highly recommend this book.
Excellent travel narrative August 17, 2005
15 out of 16 found this review helpful
This is the first of a few Theroux books I have read. I absolutely loved it. The book provides an excellent portrayal of people in the context of their history and culture. He travels to cities and regions along the Mediterranean that many of us wouldn't otherwise give a thought. One really gets a feel for what life is like in each town. This book, like his others, highlight the difference between a traveler and being a tourist.
I've given the book only 4 stars because your ability to enjoy the book will depend on how you feel about Theroux's voice. As other reviewers have indicated, he is a critical individual with a huge ego. If you find this tone off-putting, you may not enjoy the book. He does seem more annoyed in this book than in others, probably because there are more tourists around. Personally, I was so wrapped up in Theroux's excellent prose that I hardly noticed.
I am not sure why reviewers complain about this not being a good guide - it isn't meant to be a guidebook. Look to Fodor's, Frommer's, Rick Steves, or Lonely Planet for European guidebooks.
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