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Paul Theroux Quotes

born 1941 United States

Paul Edward Theroux (born April 10, 1941) is an American travel writer and novelist.

United States
Academics
Non-fiction authors
Novelists
Short story writers

Also known as: Theroux, Paul

Random Paul Theroux quote

18 quotes

Tightfisted people are as mean with friendship as they are with cash--suspicious, unbelieving, and incurious.

The Old Patagonian Express (1979)

Extensive traveling induces a feeling of encapsulation, and travel, so broadening at first, contracts the mind.

The Great Railway Bazaar (1975)

Hawaii is not a state of mind, but a state of grace.

Animal lovers often tend to be misanthropes or loners, and so they transfer their affection to the creature in their control.

Fiction gives us a second chance that life denies us.

Death is an endless night so awful to contemplate that it can make us love life and value it with such passion that it may be the ultimate cause of all joy and all art.

Fogeydom is the last bastion of the bore and reminiscence is its anthem. It is futile to want the old days back, but that doesn't mean one should ignore the lessons of the visitable past.

The Japanese have perfected good manners and made them indistinguishable from rudeness.

The Great Railway Bazaar (1975)

Even the most distant and exotic place has its parallel in ordinary life.

Fresh Air Fiend (2000)

The trouble with cameras is that people see them a mile away.

Picture Palace (1978)

Travel is glamorous only in retrospect.

The realization that he is white in a black country, and respected for it, is the turning point in the expatriate’s career. He can either forget it, or capitalize on it. Most choose the latter.

You must not judge people by their country. In South America, it is always wise to judge people by their altitude.

The Old Patagonian Express (1979)

The Peace Corps is a sort of Howard Johnson’s on the main drag into maturity.

Sunrise with Seamonsters (1985)

I have always disliked being a man. The whole idea of manhood in America is pitiful, in my opinion. This version of masculinity is a little like having to wear an ill-fitting coat for one's entire life (by contrast, I imagine femininity to be an oppressive sense of nakedness).

Being a Man (1983)

You define a good flight by negatives: you didn’t get hijacked, you didn’t crash, you didn’t throw up, you weren’t late, you weren’t nauseated by the food. So you are grateful.

The Old Patagonian Express (1979)

I sought trains; I found passengers.

The Great Railway Bazaar (1975)

I don't look down on tourism. I live in Hawaii where we have 7 million visitors a year. If they weren't there, there would be no economy. So I understand why a tourist economy is necessary.

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Paul Theroux (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.