Book recommendation: _On the Plain of Snakes_, by Paul Theroux

[doncoulter]

I'm a longtime fan of Theroux's writing, especially his travel books, so I was excited to see a long excerpt from this latest book in the New York Times a couple of months ago. One thing I've liked about his work is that he generally gets "off the beaten path," well away from the tourist zones, and introduces us to the locals. I was thus quite disappointed to read, in the excerpt, this sentence: "In the dark back streets of Matehuala, looking for a place to stay, I remembered the friendly motel, Las Palmas, where I’d slept on the way south...." He makes Las Palmas sound humble. It's not. And far from being on "the dark back streets" of the town, it's right on the main highway, and it's about as "friendly" as your typical Courtyard by Marriott. It's the sort of place where all the San Miguel expats stay on their border runs. So it's convenient, yes, but it's also very pricey, and you'd be unlikely to encounter any Matehualans there, outside of the help. I've never stayed there myself, but I stopped to have a look once: it looked quite nice, with a large, lovely pool, a place to walk your dog, an overpriced restaurant, and so on. Instead of Las Palmas, I've always driven a mile or so into the heart of Matehuala. It's a pretty town, genuinely friendly, with few tourists, and with many lodging options that one would think would appeal more to the sort of traveler Theroux paints himself as being.

In short, that one sentence of Theroux's made me wonder whether the rest of his book would be equally dishonest.

Well, Bob and Colleen, let us know what you think after you finish the book.