Along the way he notes the writers who have passed before him, Robert Groves who lived at Deya with his WHITE GODDESS, Lawrence Durrell who knew Gaul well, the ancients including Herodotus. He stops to talk with living writers and reflect on the conditions of the areas he visits.

Theroux has written about his travels in many parts of the world, and though I've read some of his other works, I enjoyed PILLARS the most--probably because I am familiar with some of the places he describes along the coast of the "sea in the midst of the land" and I maintain a connection to the area.

Beginning in Cadiz Spain, founded by the Phoenicians 4,000 years ago on the Atlantic--where the real Pillars of Hercules probably existed--Theroux follows the coast from Spain to Italy to the Dalmatian Coast onto Greece the Levant, Egypt and then across North Africa. He relates his pleasure with one of the modern pillars of Hercules--Gibralter--the huge limestone rock jutting from the coast of Spain into the Straights of Trafalgar. Hundreds of British sailors and marines from the Napoleonic Wars are buried on this little spit of land England bought with blood and Spain wishes to reclaim.

Theroux takes the train up the Spanish coast, catches a ferry past the islands of Mallorca and Corsica and onto the Italian coast. He continues by train along the Italian coast which he notes becomes progressively more sordid as one travels southward toward Naples. On the Dalmatian Coast, he travels by car (taxi) for a while and notes the thriving stolen automobile business. He passes by the pillboxes built for war and abanoned that now serve as housing for the poor Albanians. He comments on Hoxha's ruthless abuse of the Albanian people.

He passes through Thessalonika, an ancient Greek city where hundreds of Jews lived for centuries before the rise of facism in Italy and the creation of the death camps. He leaves the Mediterranean for a while at this point, and when he resumes his journey he is on a yacht to Istanbul--the fabulous port once known to the Romans as Constantinople.

Finally, he is on land again, in the Levant, traveling by bus through god-dominated and god-forsaken areas fought over since the dawn of time. On his long trek through Turkey, Lebanon, and other war-torn terrain he notes a huge Crusader fortress that still stands almost a millenium after it's constuction, Palestinian refugees, Israeli roads paved with U.S. taxpayer money, and the grinding poverty on all sides in spite of oil wealth. His journey through the Muslim dominated countries of Western Asia and Northern Africa are difficult and at times dangerous. He skirts Libya and moves onto Tunisia.

Theroux's writing is reflective, even sardonic at times. He a critical observer, but not untruthful. Most travel books are designed to advertise the countries, places, cities they describe--and therefore by nature dishonest. Theroux is not selling the places he visits. No, this is not a travel book in the strictest sense, but it is a book for the armchair traveler who wants to know the world a little bit better. Given the ancient history of this area and the relevance of this part of the world this is not a book to be missed.


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.


TALENTED WRITTING OR POLITICALLY WRONG?: BOTH   June 22, 1998
 14 out of 16 found this review helpful

Mr. Theroux is making an attempt to achieve something very difficult; to make a trip through lands of different culture, history and political status and describe their people, mentality and way of life. I followed his path step by step. Sometimes feeling like a secret fellow traveler somewhere hidden in the same bus, the same train the same ship. I passed through lands I have never visited and his eyes became my eyes. I was discovering paths and myths I had never encountered. New worlds revealed to me: Spain, Sardinia, Croatia, Albania, Turkey. Apart from that, I was expecting to cure my homesickness; to virtually visit my motherland Greece and walk together with Paul Theroux into the same streets I had grown up, look the same sunsets and smell again a scent, just a scent, of the classical dream.

On the contrary his view on our country frightened me. Through his eyes the sun became black and the people ugly, aggressive, illiterate and dirty. Through his descriptions monuments became pissed stones. In his 200 Km bus trip, only shepherds existed.

It is not my intention to judge a famous and distinguished writer whose writing always excited me. The writer has the freedom to reflect his thoughts into the paper and his eye is always valuable and welcomed whatever unfair we feel it is. I would only like to discuss certain parts which I find to be politically incorrect and kindly contribute some ignored information.

In page 326 the author claims that 'The Greeks were not Greek, but rather the illiterate descendants of Slavs and Albanian fishermen (sic!)' and 'Beyond the headland was the Greek island of Chios, where Homer was born - if there was a Homer (sic!)' (p.355) According to that, not only the modern Greeks do not exist, but probably not even the ancient ones. The above is a surprising statement since it is very difficult for a two day village visitor to conclude on the cultural and historical continuity of a whole nation during the centuries. It is also notable and rather unexpected ! for an educated man like Mr. Theroux, that his travel to Greece he does not even visit one of the 1614 museums, or at least a theater performance and an exhibition.

'many words that we think of as distinctively Greek are in fact Turkish: kebab, doner, kofta...' : all Turkish.' (p.332) In fact most of these Turkish food nouns are not used at all in Greek and in any case, it can not eliminate the contribution of the Ancient Greek in thousands of words of the western languages. The above especially applies in science and medicine or words starting with (ana, anti, para, ev, syn)- (i.e. anaesthetic, antithesis, paranoia, parameter, evangelist, synopsis, apart from other words such as economics, electronics, stereotype, geography or Europe) - the tasteful kofta cannot change that.

'After almost two thousand years of neglect, during which Greek ruins had been pissed on ...- the ones that were not hauled away (indeed rescued for posterity) by people like Lord Elgin...' It is true that the marbles started attracting scientific attention after 1821 when Greece became an independent state after a four century rule of the Ottoman Empire. The motives of Lord Elgin though, who 'hauled' two statues from the Parthenon were indeed impressive. He sold them to the British Museum where they are still exhibited. A huge discussion is open at the moment in the United Kingdom about the feasibility of their return to Acropolis. The new archaeological museum of Athens which is already built for the Olympic Games of 2004 has kept a place for them.

' The litter in Greece was remarkable- the roadsides, the beaches ...' Apart from the fact that the author did not visit any beach, the Greek seas were voted as the second cleanest in Europe for 1998 after Belgium. (by the European Commission relevant authorities). They are also 'voted' every year by more than six million tourists.

'The average Greek was just as pathetic as the average Albanian' (p.288) and 'Greece was a successful version of Albania' (p.339). On th! e contrary, the total income per capital for Albania (C.I.A. factbook , 1997) is almost the 10% of the Greek one and no serious comparison can be made.

'They boasted in their glorious past , but were selective... in the 1960s these passionate democrats had welcomed a military coop.' (p.332) No coop in the history was welcomed - otherwise it would take on power through elections. In fact, after seven years of difficulties and fighting, a stable democracy was reestablished in 1974. Seven years later the country became a full member of E.C.. It is also interesting that during the last 50 years all the Mediterranean countries had a period of dictatorship. (Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey)

During the author's visit in Cyprus , an always difficult objectivity test, the northern of the two divided parts is treated as having the same legal status although it is the result of the 1974 Turkish invasion and it is not recognized by any country in the world (including U.S.). It is obvious that I agree that the visit of the author in both sides is helpful and also that simple people are usually the victims of politics. Nevertheless the care given to the people talking about the Greek-Turkish 'differencies' is substantially disproportional (pages 341-416 vs. only 465-469).

Apart from the above I would recommend the 'Pillars of Hercules' and I did not abandon the journey due to its inaccuracies. It is very well written , very human, and the 'Therouxish' type of humor is remarkable. Besides, the Greek people will never feel insulted by a writer. They can only welcome another visit of Mr. Paul Theroux, probably together with less prejudice and more information. But even if this is not feasible, the invitation is still valid.


It put me off   November 24, 1999
 13 out of 18 found this review helpful

Started the book and realised that Mr Theroux has a keen eye for uglyness. His trip around Spain is really sad. I am sorry he couldn't find any of the wonderful towns and people on this coast. For his satisfaction, I can reassure him, he would be able to find his translated work not only in Barcelona, but in other coastal and inland cities and towns in Spain. Sorry to contradict, but there is not a bull fight on TVE everyday. I have found these chapters so misleading that I couldn't carry on with the book.