The Kingdom by the Sea - Paul Theroux

Paul Theroux undertook his journey round the coast of the United Kingdom exactly 25 years ago, in 1982. Even more than normally, his book is very slight on information, strong on description and dominated by the author's perceptions, feelings and judgements. Being his usual miserable persona, Theroux doesn't spare the locations he visits and the people he meets just because they happen to be British. Wry, observant and always seeing the empty half of the glass (unless it's filled with sludge), he travels the length of the coast of the UK by train and on foot, avowedly skipping castles and cathedrals and under-sampling cities. He is, of course, frightfully ...  Read the complete review

############################################# The Great Railway Bazaar is magic and so is this. I wish I could write like Mr Theroux (father of Louis) because he has that way of describing bits of Britain that make you think : Gosh, that's just how it is (at least, if you're feeling in a Theroux-sort-of mood), and isn't it fascinating. ############################################# MARGATE - "Margate had never been fashionable. It had never even been nice.... "Skinheads and chip-shops and rain...." Theroux walks round Britain's coast (just occasionally taking a train) and describes the ...  Read the complete review