> Skip to content
  • Published: 1 December 2020
  • ISBN: 9780241977521
  • Imprint: Penguin General UK
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 464
  • RRP: $22.99
Categories:

On the Plain of Snakes

A Mexican Road Trip




Master travel writer Paul Theroux immerses himself in the fascinating, rich and troubled culture of modern Mexico

Nogales is a border town caught between Mexico and the United States of America. A 40-foot steel fence runs through its centre, separating the prosperous US side from the impoverished Mexican side. It is a fascinating site of tension, now more than ever, as the town fills with hopeful border crossers and the deportees who have been caught and brought back. And it is here that Paul Theroux will begin his journey into the culturally rich but troubled heart of modern Mexico.

Mexico is a country that has captured literary imaginations from D. H. Lawrence and Graham Greene to Aldous Huxley. Now Paul Theroux, master of travel writing, immerses himself, attending local language and culinary schools, driving through the country, getting under its skin.

  • Published: 1 December 2020
  • ISBN: 9780241977521
  • Imprint: Penguin General UK
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 464
  • RRP: $22.99
Categories:

About the author

Paul Theroux

Paul Theroux was born in Medford, Massachusetts, in 1941, and published his first novel, Waldo, in 1967. He wrote his next three novels, Fong and the Indians, Girls at Play and Jungle Lovers, after a five-year stay in Africa. He subsequently taught at the University of Singapore, and during his three years there produced a collection of short stories, Sinning with Annie, and highly praised novel Saint Jack. His other publications include The Black House (1974), a novel; The Great Railway Bazaar: By Train Through Asia (1975), an account of his journey by train from London to Tokyo and back; The Family Arsenal (1976); The Consul's File (1977); Picture Palace (1978; winnner of the Whitread Literary Award); A Christmans Card (1978; The Old Patagonian Express (1979); World's End and Other Stories (1980); London Snow (1980); The Mosquito Coats, which was the Yorkshire Post Novel of the Year for 1981 and the joint winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize; The London Embassy (1982); The Kingdom by the Sea (1983); Doctor Slaughter (1985); Sunrise with Seamonsters (1985); The Imperial Way (1985); O-Zone (1986); Riding the Iron Rooster (1988); My Secret History (1989) and Chicago Loop (1990).

Paul Theroux is married with two children and divides his time between London and Cape Cod.

Also by Paul Theroux

See all

Praise for On the Plain of Snakes

Theroux's work remains the standard by which other travel writing must be judged

Observer

[Theroux's] ability to sum up a people or a city in a few lines is undiminished

Daily Telegraph on 'Deep South'

The world's most perceptive travel writer

Daily Mail

[A] dark-edged but ultimately hopeful travelogue... Armchair travelers will find an astute, familiar guide in Theroux

Publisher's Weekly

Countless lovely descriptions of Mexico's landscapes and insights into the country's history and literature... Illuminating, literate, and timely-a must-read for those interested in what's going on inside Mexico

Kirkus

Filled with compassion and wit, this is a warm and insightful account of contemporary Mexican culture, politics and everyday life.

Sunday Times
penguin pop image
penguin pop image