Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town

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Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town

3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 · rating details · 4,915 ratings · 487 reviews

In Dark Star Safari the wittily observant and endearingly irascible Paul Theroux takes readers the length of Africa by rattletrap bus, dugout canoe, cattle truck, armed convoy, ferry, and train. In the course of his epic and enlightening journey, he endures danger, delay, and dismaying circumstances.

Gauging the state of affairs, he talks to Africans, aid workers, missionar...more

Paperback, 485 pages

Published April 5th 2004 by Mariner Books (first published 2002)

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Aug 23, 2007 Steph rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: development

This book was a great read for a student of international development/relations. I understand the author's cynicism, admire his risktaking, and appreciate his insight into the impact of decades of foreign intervention in Africa. I didn't feel he was overly arrogant for a journey of this depth and magnitude; it certainly added to the story, for better or worse. It was an enjoyable read, full of analysis, rather than simply description.

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Jun 29, 2007 Emily rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: arrogant tourists who think they're "not really white"

Shelves: booksofthepast

WHY do I keep reading books by this man? For some unknown reason I assume that I'll garner some great knowledge form his books or be more amused than frustrated. Thus far: not. Instead I'm annoyed by his arrogance and his assumption that he's different from other white people in Africa because he "knows" that the aide system is faulty or because he lived there in the 60's. Just because you have a backpack and a history with Africa doesn't make you an expert, and Theroux whining about the fact th...more

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Aug 24, 2007 W rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: africa reality readers

"Safari," in Swahili means "journey," and is Theroux’s reason for returning to Africa: to escape a life usurped by schedules, appointments, e-mails and cell phones. After 40 years, Paul Theroux returns to Africa where he began writing. At 60, no one has so conquered the genre like Theroux.

But this return to Africa is more rumination than entertainment, and it is depressing. His first years in Africa—as Peace Corps volunteer and University teacher—saw a continent full of hope and promise. Today,...more

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Jul 08, 2010 Tim rated it 4 of 5 stars

Near the end of Paul Theroux's north-south journey across the African continent, from Cairo to Cape Town, he allows himself the luxury of a swanky South African train trip, a rare mode of transportation for this usually spartan traveler in this fascinating trek on board cattle trucks, minivans packed to the roof with Africans, rickety matutus, canoes and proper boats. During a train stop a child begs in a prayerful way. Theroux, from the train, can't bring himself to toss food to her. After the...more Near the end of Paul Theroux's north-south journey across the African continent, from Cairo to Cape Town, he allows himself the luxury of a swanky South African train trip, a rare mode of transportation for this usually spartan traveler in this fascinating trek on board cattle trucks, minivans packed to the roof with Africans, rickety matutus, canoes and proper boats. During a train stop a child begs in a prayerful way. Theroux, from the train, can't bring himself to toss food to her. After the train starts, the girl flings stones through his window, just missing him. Such "What do you do?" moments in relation to charity are a big part of this journey for Theroux, who, as a white man, is descended upon by Africans of every age almost everywhere he goes. For the poor on the continent, begging is a way of life.

On a bigger scale, attempts to help Africans help themselves through endless charity is counterproductive. Money goes in the pockets of corrupt politicians, aid is resold. Foreigners had been helping them so long that Africans lost interest and motivation.

But there's much more to Theroux's travels than gripes about donor nations. And on this safari, it is people, not animals, Theroux seeks out. Thirty-five years after Theroux lived in Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer and teacher, he returns in 2000 (or thereabouts) to find the continent worse off than he left it. He finds countries poor and dangerous, mean cities of little hope.

Theroux's tale acquires more dark momentum the closer he gets to the equator. Starting out amid pyramids and Sudanese proving irresistible to European types ("We find Nubian banana"), he seeks people he knew from his Peace Corps days and ordinary strangers who have contempt for him because of the color of his skin or who want nothing more than to go to America; people trying to take advantage of him or treating him with real kindness. We do not love Theroux, but we cannot help but admire his courage in often taking the most difficult route possible and for his sharp way with words. His pace is leisurely; he doesn't have a schedule, and his family doesn't know where he is. He likes it.

Theroux covers many aspects of African life:

Waiting for a visa, waiting for transportation ("In a place where time seemed to matter so little, there existed a nihilism that was also a form of serenity and a survival skill."); ancient infrastructure, vehicles, buildings ("That's what happened in Africa; things fell apart."); dangerous types said to be around the bend ("'There are bad people there,'" the direst warning, heard time and time again); those trying to help, with varying degrees of real commitment ("Aid workers are the last to offer travelers assistance."); hopelessness of city life ("African cities became more awful — more desperate and dangerous — as they grew larger.")

It's not all hopeless (the journey has its funny and uplifting moments), and not all of "Dark Star Safari" is concerned with black Africans — there are white Africans too, of course, and the horrors of the government-sanctioned seizure of white farmers' land in Zimbabwe (and the brutal murder of whites) and the frustrations of whites in the new South Africa who now live in a far more just society but find themselves on the outside looking in, are touched upon.

Theroux likes all this, the grains of hope, the beauty of Africa, its contradictions and horrors: "I had fulfilled one of my fondest yearnings at the outset of my trip, for this was the territory I lit out for, and cruising down this empty river in a hollow log was pure Huck Finn pleasure."

It's a pleasure for us, too, but an often disturbing one.

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Jul 10, 2012 Megha Guruprasad rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book begins just the way you would want it to. Starting in Egypt, Theroux gives to this country a human face( AND body, for those of us who can only associate it with the Safeenkees (sphinx)). The description of the Sudan is just as vivid and satisfying , and that of Ethiopia pure genius. He writes here as a keen observer from the outside,beautifully interlacing his physical experiences with the accompanying thoughts in his mind. Sometimes recollections of works of prose, poems that apply t...more

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Oct 02, 2012 Osho rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

I so enjoy Theroux's writing, but this one goes beyond curmudgeonly. Read it for the descriptions of landscape and people, but ignore the opinions (as, at 7:47 in the audiobook, he appears to advocate for letting children starve rather than providing aid).

As a reader, Thoroux makes you feel damned if you do, damned if you don't. Damned if you visit Africa, damned if you don't. Damned if you try to be helpful, damned if you don't. But definitely damned if you fly somewhere rather than take a bus....more

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May 13, 2008 Glenn rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: travelers, travelers in Africa, aid workers, those interested in Africa

A great book which is entertaining, informative, and thoughtful. My travel book reading has been limited to Rick Steeves and Bill Bryson - Paul Theroux is a refreshing step toward the serious end of the spectrum, while still relying on a healthy dose of humor.

Theroux present himself as an intrepid traveler who is willing to brave any hardship for a story. Once he gets through Ethiopia, though, more of his personal story is revealed and I found the trip through eastern Africa to be much more rema...more

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Mar 10, 2009 Jody rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Theroux is a pompous ass. A just-compelling-enough pompous ass.

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Aug 07, 2011 Andrew Rosner added it

Theroux returns to a continent he first visited as a member of the Peace Corps at a time when many African countries were gaining their independence and optimism abounded. Sadly, that optimism appears to have been unfounded, or at the very least premature; the Africa he revisits is poorer and more dysfunctional in almost every way possible. Even though this book was published fairly recently (2003), Theroux missed the Darfur conflict and Zimbabwe's descent into hell (inflation ran at a comparati...more

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May 05, 2013 Louise rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: africa

I read this a chapter or two chapter at a time over a period of 2 months. It is a book to savor. There are not many books I read again, but this one is on my list.

This is a difficult journey and Theroux, traveling alone, might not have emerged from it alive. His advantages were years of travel and previous acquaintance with the continent.

The most interesting vignettes were his visit with Mahfouz in Egypt, the boat trip across Lake Victoria, entering any country, visiting friends from his former...more

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Apr 25, 2013 David Cupples rated it 4 of 5 stars

Engrossing modern day adventure story by an outstanding writer. Well worth reading.

I will direct further remarks to author's deriding of "agents of virtue" operating in Africa--his derogatory term for the so-called helping agencies. I believe author is owed both debt of gratitude for bringing out shortcomings of such agencies, as well as a figurative back of the hand for presuming to make sweeping evaluative conclusions about same; he admits it is not for him to judge, then proceeds to judge, me...more

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Mar 28, 2013 Christopher rated it 4 of 5 stars

Theroux's adventure is one that most people can only dream of, either through a lack of gumption for the adventure or a lack of time/money. What is most admirable about Theroux's trip is his unwavering bravery (at least what he relays to the reader) in the face of different shady characters that he meets along the way. He is not shy in sharing his opinions and perspectives on things (tourist experiences in Africa, modern Africa compared to the Africa he knew 35 years ago, homosexuality). Even th...more

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Jan 28, 2013 Jeff rated it 2 of 5 stars

Theroux is perhaps the most well known travel writer today. Since I've never read any of his work, I had high hopes for this one.

It was disappointing.

The premise had huge promise, as he travelled the length (north to south) of the entire continent of Africa, taking trains, buses, hired cars (only occasionally), spending months making the trip. He discusses each country he travels through and compares it (when possible) to trips he'd taken there years previously.

Essentially, the discussion in ea...more

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Nov 29, 2012 David P rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: current-events, travel

"Dark Star" in this book is Africa, a world apart from the rest of Earth. Africa--enormously diverse in cultures, languages, climates, religions, histories and traditions, yet united in poverty and in a desperation which only seems to get worse. Here is a lively travelogue of an overland trip from Cairo to Capetown (one break, a flight to bypass a war zone)--travel by train, ship, by rickety local buses, trucks, one segment even by dugout canoe.

Theroux is no stranger to Africa. He served here...more "Dark Star" in this book is Africa, a world apart from the rest of Earth. Africa--enormously diverse in cultures, languages, climates, religions, histories and traditions, yet united in poverty and in a desperation which only seems to get worse. Here is a lively travelogue of an overland trip from Cairo to Capetown (one break, a flight to bypass a war zone)--travel by train, ship, by rickety local buses, trucks, one segment even by dugout canoe.

Theroux is no stranger to Africa. He served here with the Peace Corps 35 years earlier, learned local languages, established enduring friendships and got to love the country. Through him we see crowded Egypt, Islamic Sudan, lawless northern Kenya, with him we ride by rusty ferry across Lake Victoria, and on and on--Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique (still riddled with land mines), Zimbabwe and South Africa. Too many encounters, too many personalities and stories to summarize easily, but one thing you can be sure of, you will not be bored.

One moment as a sample. In the desert between Ethiopia and Kenya the truck on which Theroux has hitched a ride is ambushed by "shifta," a pair of highwaymen. Shots are traded, the driver accelerates, and as they emerge from danger, the soldier clinging to the bars of the truck next to Theroux, the one who had fired at the robbers, shakes his head and laughs.

"I said: "Shifta?"
"Yah." He smiled at my grim face.
I said "Sitaki kufa." I don't want to die.
He said in English, "They do not want your life, bwana. They want your shoes."
Many times after that, in my meandering through Africa, I mumbled these words, an epitaph to underdevelopment, desperation in a single sentence. What use is your life to them? It is nothing. But your shoes--ah, they are a different matter. They are worth something, much more than your watch (they had the sun), or your pen (they were illiterate) or your bag (they had nothing to put in it). These were men who needed footwear, for they were forever walking."

It is a pilgrimage of sorts for Theroux. He returns to the school he helped establish in Malawi, once thriving but now a shell. He returns to Makerere University in Uganda, where he used to teach, also in dire straits now. Being a writer, he touches base with Naguib Mahfouz, Egypt's Nobel prize winner, with Nadine Gordimer, aging guardian of South Africa's conscience, also with the memory of Arthur Rimbaud, French poet of the 19th century who settled in Harrar, Ethiopia, and sold Emperor Menelik guns which helped him defeat the Italians.
Everywhere he sees Africa regressing. People were also desperately poor during his stay in the 1960s, but they were hopeful and willing to work for a better future. Today hope is in short supply. The institutions, railroads and roads built by colonial powers a century ago stand neglected and decaying, and cities are overwhelmed by an exploding population. Society still produces creative and enterprising individuals--to whom America is the promised land, watched from afar but attained by only a few--but governments are bloated and corrupt. Lack of hope may also be the reason for an appalling lack of sexual restraint in the middle of the world's worst AIDS epidemic.

What about the future? The great wave of European involvement in Africa, Theroux feels, has spent itself, and Africa of the 21st century is regressing back to the 19th. In rural areas, at least, the future may not be much different from the past, with poor people again scratching a marginal living from the land. One can wonder, though, about those giant city slums like Nairobi and Cairo.

And yet, this is not a sad book. Wherever Theroux goes, he finds likeable personalities, inspiring memories and interesting stories. There are many messages here worth pondering over, and some may even keep you up at night. Dark star or not, Africa is part of our world, too.
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Nov 29, 2012 Babak Fakhamzadeh rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: travel-literature, memoires

Theroux' travel literature is quite legendary, and Dark Star Safari is, too. Having worked in several African countries some 35 years prior, Theroux went back in 2001, before 9/11, but after the embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar, to revisit where he once lived and worked and to travel through places he had not yet seen.
The subtitle of the book is "overland from Cairo to Cape Town", but already on page 56 of this 500 page compendium does Theroux jump the first border he has to cross, from Egyp...more Theroux' travel literature is quite legendary, and Dark Star Safari is, too. Having worked in several African countries some 35 years prior, Theroux went back in 2001, before 9/11, but after the embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar, to revisit where he once lived and worked and to travel through places he had not yet seen.
The subtitle of the book is "overland from Cairo to Cape Town", but already on page 56 of this 500 page compendium does Theroux jump the first border he has to cross, from Egypt to Sudan, by plane. And, some 40 pages later, this is repeated for his second border crossing.

Today, as far as adventures go, fewer and fewer destinations or trips still maintain a vestige of mysticism, but a proper overlander across Africa is one of the few remaining. Not the full service overlander trucks that carry 22 year olds from, say, Dar to the cape, but a true journey from north to south with nothing but your own, or perhaps your partner's, wits to rely on.
Hence the sub title of the book; the publisher is just trying to sell more copies.

Last year, my girlfriend and I considered traveling overland from Dar to Europe, properly. But decided not to, as several of the border crossings might or might not be operational, and overland travel through Sudan is risky, at best.
There are no ferries plying the coast of the red sea and flying felt like a copout.

Anyway, what's sad about this disinformation, is that Theroux' writing shouldn't need to be sold by making it appear what it is not. His mix of travel experiences laced with historical information with, often a tongue in cheek style, is engaging enough. And though I suspect this is not his best work, he's got a reputation that doesn't need half truths on the cover.

That said, it ain't all perfect. Theroux regularly has his prose spill from one story into the next, discerning where one ends and the other starts not always that obvious until you're mildly confused and one paragraph in.
Also, there is little structure to the travelogue, except for the obvious central line of Theroux' journey, which should have made his editors a tad bit more alert.
The first time Theroux compares his journey into africa with falling off the side of a dark star, it's inventive. The dozen or so times after that, it becomes more and more tedious. And, as Theroux travels south, his constant mentioning and derision of the white aid jeeps gets tiring.
And his suggestive riling against international aid, blaming it, at least in part, for Africa's woes, is riding a current wave of international aid naysayers, but far from clear cut. Theroux says that Africans don't work in the aid sector themselves, but this is very far from true. To then put the blame on the few whities or the white funders is myopic at best.

It's only when Theroux enters Malawi, roughly where the man came of age, working, and being dismissed as, a Peace Corps volunteer, does his prose become interestingly insightful. It seems that Theroux feels ambivalent to 'his' africa, finding it in no better, significantly worse, condition than when he left 35 years before, at the same time being disappointed with what Africans made of it, while still loving the beauty of its nature.
But the author rehashing both these themes, too often, makes for too repetitive a text, even though he's able to word his grievances and joys nicely.

In the end, where the author's preferences reside, is exemplified by nearly the last 100 pages dealing just with Theroux' travels in South Africa, only one of the 11 countries on his trip. He's obviously enjoying the luxury South Africa offers, even though he implicitly berates those that seek the same in the east African countries.(less)

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Sep 10, 2012 Mamma23 rated it 5 of 5 stars

Let me fist say, Paul Theroux is an acquired taste, but I love his travelogues. Novels, not so much.

I've read most of his traveling books,on China, South/Central America, Russia, Europe in which he usually (is it always?) uses public transportation in each country to get a good look at the culture and the people. He is unwavering in his accounts and is NOT politically correct, which is honest and which I love. So rare these days.

If you don't understand why Africa is always in turmoil, the suffe...more

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Aug 26, 2012 Stuart rated it 2 of 5 stars

I had only read Mosquito Coast by Theroux, before, and I enjoyed his writing style. I'm sure I'll read them.

As for DSS, I found some things interesting, some annoying. I thought the author was a bit patronizing of the black citizens of the countries he visited, calling them all "Africans" while he called others "white Kenyans" or "white Tanzanians." He didn't call the black citizens of a country "Kenyans" or "black Kenyans", and only referred to their tribes when talking about them specifically....more I had only read Mosquito Coast by Theroux, before, and I enjoyed his writing style. I'm sure I'll read them.

As for DSS, I found some things interesting, some annoying. I thought the author was a bit patronizing of the black citizens of the countries he visited, calling them all "Africans" while he called others "white Kenyans" or "white Tanzanians." He didn't call the black citizens of a country "Kenyans" or "black Kenyans", and only referred to their tribes when talking about them specifically. He also seemed surprised that Egyptians weren't thought of as Africans (even by other Egyptians), even though they live on the continent of Africa. Does everyone who lives in North America think of themselves as North Americans? Even people living in southern Mexico who probably related more to Central and South Americans?

He was also absent minded and pompous at best, and a hypocrite at worst when he mocked tourists for comparing everything they saw in Africa to other places they had been, then turned around and did the same exact thing himself within a few pages. In addition, he was so condescending to tourists who were whisked from the airport to a posh safari; saying *he* would never so that, yet at the end of the book he went on a posh safari and a ride on the 'world most luxurious train." I suppose he thought he'd earned it for roughing it, or whatever, but who does he know what the other tourists did before their safaris?

He was most critical of the NGOs and missionaries, to the point of saying that they were in business for themselves and were causing more damage than good, other than the most self-sacrificing ones (like himself in the 1960s). He wrote that the "Africans" didn't have a history of being able to help themselves and so would never raise themselves above their current level as long as they received aid. He makes grand, sweeping generalities like that; and one should *never* make generalities. Plus, he didn't go to every country, yet he's pronouncing judgement on the entire continent's citizens.(less)

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Aug 04, 2012 Jan rated it 4 of 5 stars

To start with the conclusion Dark Star Safari is great travel writing. I found it hard to put Dark Star Safari down. This was partly because he has written great literature, partly because Theroux manages to find a rhythm moving you with him across the African continent. His first hand experiences and meetings with locals are many and short between. If you have the slightest suspicion that you might enjoy travel writing from Africa, give Dark Star Safari a shot!

The differences between Dark Star...more To start with the conclusion Dark Star Safari is great travel writing. I found it hard to put Dark Star Safari down. This was partly because he has written great literature, partly because Theroux manages to find a rhythm moving you with him across the African continent. His first hand experiences and meetings with locals are many and short between. If you have the slightest suspicion that you might enjoy travel writing from Africa, give Dark Star Safari a shot!

The differences between Dark Star Safari and 5 stars travel book are mostly unnecessary annoying remarks of the author - other reviewer have mentioned most of them. In the same way that you can argue that in the same way as that to appreciate Bob Dylan's music you have to accept the way he sings, you might argue that you have to forgive Theroux several annoying habits to appreciate his writing. Theroux underlines that he does not believe in humanitarian aid. Though other scholars have delivered much better reasons for their view on humanitarian aid, his view is of course ok. The third time he brings it up though, the reader has probably got the point. The reason why Theroux is tempted to do the mistake of bringing up his opinion on humanitarian aid in more or less every chapter, is probably that he keeps getting confronted by unsuccessful aid projects, African regimes doing nothing for their own population and exploiting humanitarian aid and local population that adapts to receivers foreign aid. These are important observations from his journey and the story. The problem is his underestimation of the intelligence of the reader. That is simply annoying. Other examples are the German couple on the safari, the Canadian keeps saying "this is a good day to die", the people from the cruise on the Nile and the NGO workers with flashy 4WDs that never, ever pick up other travellers along the way. Just observe and describe what the situation is like and we are quite capable of getting the picture and make up or own opinion...

Theroux have read up on novel writers - Conrad, Hemmingway, Gordimer etc, but has limited insights from history, social sciences etc -including literature on humanitarian aid. On the other hand one of the most important strengths with Dark Star Safari is all the interesting people he meets and a lot of interesting observations. The writer has evidently spent much time in Africa over a long time-span.

The weakest parts of Dark Star Safari is in my view the ending chapters from South Africa. As his movement through Africa makes up an important part of the rhythm and urge to see what happens next, those final chapters when he is already there but take a detour to postpone his return home. The book would probably get better if he moved on to Cape Town and ended the trip in a closing chapter after chapter 19 from Johannesburg. The first 60 pages from Egypt, chapter 1-3, are slightly under average, though I think that the way he let us wait and wait before he can pick up his visa for Sudan, makes us feel the same relief that he must have felt when he finally learns that his visa is ready. Sailing across lake Victoria (chapter 11) and Mozambique (last part of chapter 17 and chapter 21) was not very inspiring. The parts from rest of the countries are from very good to great. I was left with thinking "more, more" when he left Zimbabwe after just 1 chapter from there. Would the book be better if 100 pages shorter (or from Zimbabwe rather than Mosambique and South Africa)?

Some reviewers suggest that Theroux search for misery and focus on the hardship and negative impressions of his trip. I find this criticism unfair. First, if you have a problem with hardship and poverty, I suggest you skip Africa from your travel and reading plans and visit Switzerland or Canada instead. Second, if you have ever tried travel writing you will probably conclude that nice and harmonic experiences makes terrible travel writing while troubles, hardship, eccentrics and difficult people you meet along the way makes great travel writing. That is - as long as you don't take yourself too serious. I agree with the reviewers claiming that Theroux could take himself a little less serious sometimes...(less)

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Jun 08, 2012 Zack rated it 4 of 5 stars

Insightful book when it came to analyzing the decay in African Society. The author is more than equipped to tackle this issue as he lived in Malawi 30 years prior and compares the current state of the continent to when he used to reside there. As someone who has participated in NGO's in Africa I actually found his opinion on aid workers there interesting. I thought he made very valid points.

The only points that held this book back was the story did become stale at times and there were chapters...more

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Jun 08, 2012 Amy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: africa

Uneven writing about traveling in East Africa. I have loved Theroux's travel books before. He reminds me of a caricature of a tweed-jacket, Amis-novel professor. He shows off his knowledge, and he gets a little cranky sometimes on the road, but he takes me places I wouldn't go, and I always learn interesting things along the way.

There are interesting things here. Best example: a man who'd translated Gone With the Wind on the backs of thousands of cigarette pack foils while he was stuck for ten y...more

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May 27, 2012 C.R. Miller rated it 4 of 5 stars

His writing about Egypt and Sudan, including the cultural and historical reflections, I found fascinating. I found the section on Ethiopia useful, if a bit superficial. Theroux really hits his stride, though, when he gets into Kenya and Malawi, where he is able to draw comparisons between the places and peoples he knew from living and teaching there back in the 1960s and those of current-day Africa. His mounting critique of foreign aid and associated NGOs as he travels south is indispensable. At...more His writing about Egypt and Sudan, including the cultural and historical reflections, I found fascinating. I found the section on Ethiopia useful, if a bit superficial. Theroux really hits his stride, though, when he gets into Kenya and Malawi, where he is able to draw comparisons between the places and peoples he knew from living and teaching there back in the 1960s and those of current-day Africa. His mounting critique of foreign aid and associated NGOs as he travels south is indispensable. At first I only had minor quibbles (nothing that would have caused me to consider anything other than a five rating): referring to Ethiopian Orthodox Christians as "Copts;" referring too often to an "erotic story" he was writing while traveling, without sharing more than a tiny snippet of it in this text, and his tedious over-use of the seemingly meaningless words "African" and Africans" in a way that suggested that he simply meant "black" or "blacks" but avoided those terms by using even less specific ones.

In the end there were two big distractors, FIrst was his not unfamiliar penchant for flaunting his superiority (mocking NGO workers, regular tourists, and safari-goers for their habits and behaviors). Although he has a point, the fact that he isn't above helicopter rides, visits to exclusive game resorts, a gourmet meal at a luxury estate washed down by several glasses of sauvignon blanc, or drinking champagne in his private, high-end train compartment completely undermines it. He ought to admit in a more forthright way that he's a rich writer, but plays a budget traveler in this book. The other (and I'm going out on a limb here, but this is my essential reading of the book) is that the whole effort would have been more interesting and successful had he just admitted that the trip and the book revolved around his turning sixty, and all the psychological and physical issues that come with that.

Those issues aside, the writing is rich, detailed, and full of substantial reflections on history and politics. Highly Recommended.(less)

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Sep 16, 2011 Jrobertus rated it 4 of 5 stars

I do enjoy his travel books, although I have a few bones to pick with him in general. He does a great job of describing the people, places, and politics as he travels overland from Cairo to Capetown. Africa is a mess, and this narrative was informative. The place seems hopeless, and Theroux makes Western aid largely culpable for instilling a sense of entitlement amoung the natives. He generally feels a sort of subsistence life in rural villages has more dignity and joy than the chaos and crime o...more

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Aug 09, 2011 Ken rated it 5 of 5 stars

One of my favorite Theroux travel books. He is returning to Africa 30 years later after having spent several years teaching in Malawi and Uganda when he was in the Peace Corp. He finds things have not changed for the better and much worse is many cases. He finds the cities are really dismal and has a lot of questions about whether all of the aid and aid workers that have poured into Africa have been any benefit. He meets Africans from all walks of life and meets some really wonderful people as w...more

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Jun 14, 2011 Caleb rated it 5 of 5 stars

In reading reviews by others of Theroux's work, you get the sense people love him or hate him. This is my second book of his in the past few months and there will be (many) more to come. This travelogue recounts his journey overland from Cairo to Cape Town. He eschews the luxury safaris for the deathtrap buses and taxis and dugout canoes, and along the way ends up in some incredible interesting places in Africa. He's highly critical of aid organizations as doing little good, but certainly no apo...more

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May 01, 2011 Skipr rated it 3 of 5 stars

I like to travel, but it takes somebody with a lot bigger appetite for adventure (and danger and discomfort) than I have to do what Paul Theroux did. He sets out from Cairo and travels overland to Cape Town. He shuns all the easy, safe, tourist-friendly ways of making the trip, and essentially goes native. Crowded buses, broken down vans, smelly freighters, mosquito-assaulted canoes - Theroux takes the road less traveled by Westerners, so that he can take the roads taken by Africans themselves....more

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Dec 25, 2010 Jim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: travel

Quite timely reading this when Africa's plight is being highlighted in the news so much at the moment. Theroux travels overland from Cairo to Cape Town offering his jaundiced view on places and people along the way, reserving his most scathing attacks for aid agencies and workers. He can't resist noticing that the best cars are the white Land Rovers driven by the charities, that the best hotel rooms are stuffed full of aid workers paying more per night than the average African earns in a month o...more

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Oct 24, 2010 Alene rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: travel, nonfiction

My whole life I have dreamed of going to Africa, never as a tourist, but more as an aid worker or longer-term wanderer. So naturally, I was curious to hear Mr. Paul Theroux's account from whom I loved Mosquito Coast and the Great Railway Bazaar. Dark Star Safari was his story of being a long-term wanderer through Africa, avoiding planes and sticking to ground routes through borders and cross countries. I liked how raw it seemed and how he didn't romanticize it at all. I feel like he told it as h...more

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Aug 24, 2010 Al Swanson rated it 4 of 5 stars

First book by Theroux for me - but won't be the last. I've actually already ordered another.
My love of just about everything African led me to read this. I saw it sitting on a table of clearance items at a Borders in Reno and ordered it from Amazon when I got home (Sorry, Borders!). Since I've been wading through a large pool of economics books, this was a welcome reprieve.
The author starts out in Egypt and migrates his way down through East Africa, primarily by road (a difficult task given th...more

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Apr 20, 2010 Sabrina rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: travel-mad

I have been to Africa twice now and loved visiting a bold, big and beautiful country. The landscape constantly changes and it always draws you in to experience what can seem as something mysterious and wonderful. Having just read Paul Theroux's Dark Star Safari though I am now beginning to wonder: "Did I did see Africa?"

When I started reading the book I thought of the time when I went to Cape Town I organised to visit one of the townships and my mother asked me why I would want to do that...I ju...more I have been to Africa twice now and loved visiting a bold, big and beautiful country. The landscape constantly changes and it always draws you in to experience what can seem as something mysterious and wonderful. Having just read Paul Theroux's Dark Star Safari though I am now beginning to wonder: "Did I did see Africa?"

When I started reading the book I thought of the time when I went to Cape Town I organised to visit one of the townships and my mother asked me why I would want to do that...I just needed to stay home for that (that would be Jamaica where poverty is in some ways comparable). In the end I am not sure what I really did get out of visiting the township. In the end the tour for me was not about experiencing a different culture or getting to know the 'real' Africa. I was instead put in a position to purposefully feel sorry for and guiltily pushed into helping. The only feeling I had when we went inside one of the families houses was uncomfortable. There was a point where I refused to meet the witch doctor! There was some guarantee from the hostel owner who recommended this particular tour that the money we spent definitely goes back into the community. I must admit that I did love meeting the children in the local school as they are genuinely keen to meet you and hold your hand and in the end that did make it all worthwhile. Theroux though was pushing me even beyond this with his novel, that is of finding a way of immersing yourself in their way of life and not just running away and locking yourself into one the safe tourist hotspots.

He really does not have patience for the safari types. While reading it I did not know how guilty to feel about the money I spent on our honeymoon safari to Zambia. I have always wanted to go on safari to see these great animals in their natural environment. We went with Remote Africa Safaris which does a lot to support the local community so does this justify our trip in some way. But yes I was greeted at the airport and whisked away to a fantastic lodge where I ate the most amazing food and went on safaris to go big five spotting. There was the option of course to visit the local village which is sponsored by Remote Africa Safari's but we saved this for our later trip to Mozambique. Actually maybe I can claim to have done it right in Mozambique as I stayed at Guludo Beach Lodge renowned for it's sustainable model to relieve poverty in the area, so much so they have actually won awards for it.

Nema Foundation | Guludo Beach Lodge

So I guess the question should be before you go travelling, "What are you going travelling for?" To be honest though Theroux throughout his book does not even leave it open for you to have such debates. He has made up his mind about what he is travelling for and lets just say it's not your average tourist experience. Just for the sake of asking another question, "Is there anything wrong with just being an average tourist?" After all his experiences included being shot at, and that to be frank is not my idea of a holiday! His tour was in many ways also nostalgia for his days when he taught in the Malawi bush. I have read him described as the witty observant but sometimes his comments seemed rather harsh and judgemental but possibly truthful.

In the end would I recommend reading this book, yes. If for nothing else than enjoying reading about his experiences and feeling envious for the fact that I would just not be brave enough for travelling the way that he did. At the same time always questioning his judgements of the people and their way of life and asking 'Is that how they see their Africa?' One thing I do know Africa is always calling me to come back. (less)

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Jan 18, 2010 Linda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Dark Star Safari is indeed dark. The deep disappointment felt by the master of travel writing, Paul Theroux, pervades this heartbreakingly honest look at decaying societies.
The landscape itself though scarred with dilapidated human settlements remains beautiful in its vast immenseness, but a sense of hopelessness pervades the text. Paul travels overland from appalling dirty and dangerous Cairo to Cape Town where white farmers are being hacked to bits by liberated South Africans who feel the land...more Dark Star Safari is indeed dark. The deep disappointment felt by the master of travel writing, Paul Theroux, pervades this heartbreakingly honest look at decaying societies.
The landscape itself though scarred with dilapidated human settlements remains beautiful in its vast immenseness, but a sense of hopelessness pervades the text. Paul travels overland from appalling dirty and dangerous Cairo to Cape Town where white farmers are being hacked to bits by liberated South Africans who feel the land belongs to them.
From taxi’s that breakdown in bleak backwaters, to buses that are nothing more than rolling death traps, to trains that are rocking shells of their former selves the modes of transport he takes range from laughable to downright dangerous. The muddy villages along the way are filled with derelict populations who are often “bad people”.
I think Paul in his quest to unplug and go someplace his fans could not find him forgot the old adage that you can never go back. In his idealistic youth he served in the Peace Corp and taught at a school in Malawi. He feels sadness about the fact that not only have things not gotten better for the African people in the last forty years, they have gotten much worse! Corrupt leaders have milked millions from the generosity of countries trying to help the African people. They do not want real development to take place because children with distended bellies and flies in their eyes engender more sympathy and foster larger handouts than healthy communities.
I selected this book because I want to go to Africa to see the gigantic fireball sunsets, the herds of grazing beasts and the last of what can be considered wild, and because Paul Theroux ranks high on my top ten writers list. After reading it I feel silly and insincere because I am not going to see the suffering masses. I will be wearing the tourist kaki with birding glasses slung over my shoulder and be the safari slut Paul finds so insensitive to the plight of the African people. I will sidestep the atrocious slums of Nairobi on my way to the game parks and try like hell not to get killed or robbed in Joburg. Still, I do care and hope that Africa, the birthplace of mankind, will find a way out of the dark abyss of hopelessness and the people will stand tall in the sun once more.

www.lindaballouauthor.com
Wai-nani, High Chiefess of Hawaii-Her Epic Journey(less)

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About Paul Theroux

Paul Edward Theroux is an American travel writer and novelist, whose best known work is The Great Railway Bazaar (1975), a travelogue about a trip he made by train from Great Britain through Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, through South Asia, then South-East Asia, up through East Asia, as far east as Japan, and then back across Russia to his point of origin. Although perhaps best know...more

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Quotes from Dark Star Safari

“You go away for a long time and return a different person - you never come all the way back.” — 28 people liked it

“The wish to disappear sends many travelers away. If you are thoroughly sick of being kept waiting at home or at work, travel is perfect: let other people wait for a change. Travel is a sort of revenge for having been put on hold, or having to leave messages on answering machines, not knowing your party's extension, being kept waiting all your working life - the homebound writer's irritants. But also being kept waiting is the human conditon.” — 11 people liked it

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