Missive Book Club: "On The Plain of Snakes"

Legendary travel writer Paul Theroux traveled Mexico for 2 years researching this book

Paul Theroux is undoubtedly one of the best living travel writers — if not the best.

With a career spanning over five decades, Theroux has written some of the most critically acclaimed travel books of our time, including the timeless classic The Great Railway Bazaar, The Old Patagonian Express, and Dark Star Safari.

Theroux was an early inspiration when I was starting out as a travel writer. When I first read The Great Railway Bazaar about his journey around the world by train — from London to Istanbul via the Oriental Express, across Asia and through war-torn Vietnam, and back to London via the Trans-Siberian Railroad — I was stunned by his impressive attention to detail. Theroux is a diligent note taker, describing each interaction he has with locals in precise detail and (often) harsh judgement.

But what really inspired me was Theroux’s commitment to his process. Although he is often described as a “curmudgeon,” his hallmark grumpiness and merciless criticism is married to an undeniable dedication to understanding the places he visits. Theroux does his homework, reading both the essential history and notable literature from the culture in question.

Central to his travel reportage is his belief that to truly know a country one must, “stay longer, travel deeper.” Theroux travels low and slow for years at a time, getting into parts of countries few tourists venture. His latest travel memoir is no exception.

For On the Plain of Snakes, Theroux buys an old Buick and departs the United States during the Trump era and spends two full years weaving his way through his southern neighbor, emerging with a meticulously researched portrait of modern Mexico.

His journey begins in my hometown of San Diego, where he crosses over into Tijuana and begins to wind his way back and forth across the border as he travels from California to Texas. Along the way, he explores the geopolitics of the drug trade, hears the personal stories of the migrants detained on the Mexican side, and rebuts many of the myths espoused by those in the United States. And that’s just the first chapter.

Knowing the risks that migrants took emboldened me, and hearing nothing but ignorant opinion about Mexicans, from the highest office in America to the common ruck of barflies and xenophobes (maybe disinhibited by their bigoted leader), I decided to take a trip to Mexico.

From Brownsville / Matamoros, he plunges first along the coast and then deep into the heart of Mexico. In doing so, he explains this land of many contrasts:

Mexico is not a country. Mexico is a world, too much of a mundo to be wholly graspable, but so different from state to state in extreme independence of culture and temperament and cuisine, and in every other aspect of peculiar Mexicanismo, it is a perfect example of thatness.

Along the way, he goes from meeting “the fat cats and petrocrats in Mexico City, thirty listed billionaires…who together have more money than every other Mexican combined…” to the jungles of Oaxaca where “the campesinos… in terms of personal income, are poorer than their counterparts in Bangladesh.” He is fascinated by the Zapatista rebels while critical of the expats of San Miguel de Allende. And any notable author who has written about Mexico receives his trademark judgment as well.

As someone who has lived nearly three years in Mexico and who has also driven large swaths of the country — Tijuana to La Paz, then by ferry to Mazatlán and down to Puerto Escondido, up to CDMX and all the way to San Antonio, Texas, then along the Caribbean coast from Veracruz to Mérida — I’m very curious to see what this legendary travel writer reveals about my adopted homeland. And I’m even more impressed that he completed this trip at 78 years old.

I invite you to join me this month in reading On the Plain of Snakes by Paul Theroux. Grab your copy and comment below if you’ll be joining us. Have you ever read one of Theroux’s travel memoirs? Share your favorite in the comments.

And don’t forget, this Thursday is the live book club discussion for last month’s book club pick, Stay True by Hua Hsu. Get the Zoom details to join the call here.

Best,

Marko