The Old Patagonian Express cover art

The Old Patagonian Express

 Preview

Audible Standard 30-day free trial

Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Standard auto renews for £5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Old Patagonian Express

By: Paul Theroux
Narrated by: Norman Dietz
Try Standard free

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £18.71

Buy Now for £18.71

About this listen

The Old Patagonian Express tells of Paul Theroux's train journey down the length of North and South America. Beginning on Boston's subway, he depicts a voyage from ice-bound Massachusetts to the arid plateau of Argentina's most southerly tip.

Shivering and sweating by turns as the temperature and altitude rise and plummet, he describes the people he encountered - the tedious Mr Thornberry in Limón and reading to the legendary blind writer, Jorge Luis Borges, in Buenos Aires.

©1979 Cape Cod Scriveners Company (P)1986 Recorded Books Inc Adventure Travel Travel Writing & Commentary Adventure Latin American

Critic reviews

"One of the most entrancing travel books written in our time." (Financial Times)

"Travel writing at its most accomplished." (Sunday Telegraph)
All stars
Most relevant
Nicely performed but with a few little audio glitches. I enjoyed it. And it really did make me want to go on a long journey...

Not sure I loved it but was sad when it ended!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A unique travel experience that is so vibrant and vivid its as if your there.

Unique travel experience

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I liked the overall premise but, as the book progressed, I became increasingly concerned about the accuracy of the narrative. While berating other tourists for their minimal interest and lack of curiosity, Theroux often exhibits these very characteristics. However, overall it was an interesting perspective into the state of mind of someone undertaking such a journey.

Unreliable Narrator?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
No complaint about the book, its a good read but every sentence you can hear the reader clicking his lips together and it is relentlessly annoying.

Awful reader

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I wish I had made this journey through North and South America before privatisation when the trains were still running as a joined up system but having come late to the party the next best thing is this book. You accompany the author on a beautifully recounted tale of the ups and downs of an adventure that - although it has a clear destination - has many uncertainties along the way. The narrator does justice to the book but there are some occasional issues with the recording. However these seem to belong to the time the book was written and for me they simply bring the tale to life. I particularly enjoyed his intelligent account of Buenos Aires’ culture and his literary conversations with Jorge Luis Borges.

Wonderful romantic tale of a great train journey

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews