Title: A Theroux adventure of epic proportions . . .
Review: "Riding the Iron Rooster" is a large scale adventure pursuing the elusive national character of the people and lands of China. Theroux bumps about in assorted steam locomotives, brewing his tea and peering out the window at dramatic landscapes passing by, from molten deserts to majestic lush green agricultural lands. He freezes in seedy northern hotels, which supply no heat, and mulls among desert dwellers shooting pool in the streets in the extreme western part of the country. Theroux convinces the reader that China is not one country, but many cultures forced to coexist in an artificial political arrangement. Vivid Theroux descriptions abound as usual, about the people, their habits, and the rickety, antiquated world they inhabit halfway around the globe. Highly recommended
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