Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town, by Paul Theroux
Dark Star Safari offers readers a raw, unfiltered glimpse into the heart of Africa. Paul Theroux's journey across the continent is no tourist's holiday, but a deeply personal exploration that strips away romanticized notions of the "Dark Continent."
Forty years after his Peace Corps stint teaching in rural Malawi, Theroux returns to Africa. His goal? To witness firsthand how decades of foreign aid have shaped the land he once called home. From the bustling streets of Cairo to the vibrant markets of Cape Town, Theroux's keen eye misses nothing. The author's encounters paint a vivid picture of a continent in flux. In Sudan, he shares tea with weathered nomads, their traditions slowly fading in the face of modernity. Ethiopia's ancient churches stand in stark contrast to the poverty surrounding them. In Uganda, Theroux revisits his old school, now a crumbling shell of its former self.
Theroux tackles difficult realities head-on. He openly questions whether foreign aid has truly helped, pointing to concrete examples like an abandoned water pump project in Malawi, its parts stripped away and sold for scrap. Yet, amidst the challenges, moments of joy and resilience shine through. A group of Kenyan schoolchildren eagerly sharing their dreams with the aging traveler reminds us of Africa's enduring spirit.
Dark Star Safari is more than a travelogue; it's a love letter to a complex continent. Theroux's straightforward prose and rich storytelling bring Africa to life, warts and all. For anyone seeking to understand the real Africa – beyond safaris and stereotypes – this book is an essential read.
“Travel is transition, and at its best it is a journey from home, a setting forth. I hated parachuting into a place. I needed to be able to link one place to another. One of the problems I had with travel in general was the ease and speed with which a person could be transported from the familiar to the strange, the moon shot whereby the New York office worker, say, is insinuated overnight into the middle of Africa to gape at gorillas. That was just a way of feeling foreign. The other way, going slowly, crossing national frontiers, scuttling past razor wire with my bag and my passport, was the best way of being reminded that there was a relationship between Here and There, and that a travel narrative was the story of There and Back.”
Interesting Facts & Links:
Renowned for his sharp observations and occasionally acerbic depictions of global cultures, Paul Theroux stands as a preeminent figure in American travel literature and fiction. Over the course of his extensive career, which has spanned more than half a century, Theroux has cemented his status as a prolific and impactful author. His works offer readers penetrating insights into diverse societies worldwide, often challenging conventional perspectives and sparking debate. Theroux's contributions to the genre have earned him recognition as one of the most significant travel writers not only of his era but potentially in the history of the craft. Click here to learn more about this amazing travel writer.
The Last Train to Zona Verde is the account of a follow up trip that Theroux took to Africa, ten years after the expedition summarized in Dark Star Safari. Even in his seventies, Theroux's thirst for travel is as adventurous as ever, in what he calls “my ultimate Africa safari”. The writing is as compelling as ever, and perhaps one of his most autobiographical.
The book's title "Dark Star Safari" is a reference to Joseph Conrad's novel "Heart of Darkness". Theroux uses this allusion to draw parallels between his journey and Conrad's exploration of Africa, while also subverting some of the earlier work's colonial perspectives.
During his travels for this book, Theroux deliberately avoided using air travel, opting instead for local transportation methods including cattle trucks, bush taxis, and dugout canoes. This decision significantly extended the duration of his journey but allowed for more authentic interactions with local people and cultures.
In one particularly harrowing incident not widely discussed, Theroux narrowly escaped a potentially life-threatening situation in northern Kenya when his vehicle was attacked by armed bandits. He credits local travelers for helping to defuse the situation, an experience that shaped his views on the kindness and resilience of ordinary Africans.
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