On The Plain Of Snakes: A Mexican Journey

Paul Theroux drives a Buick across the entire 2000-mile border from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico, bouncing back and forth between the US and Mexico, where the first world fights to block out the third world, and great cruelty and vengeance takes place on both sides as hundreds of thousands seek sanctuary and hope. From there he goes deep into Mexico (“stay longer, travel deeper” is his ethos), driving through and meeting people along the way in places like San Luis Potosi, Mexico City, San Miguel de Allende, Oaxaca and Puebla, and all the way to the southern border of Chiapas, where he surveys the country’s poorest state and where the long migration from Guatemala to the US begins. While in Chiapas, he also convenes with the Zapatista army. Theroux writes eloquently and introspectively about Mexico’s history, culture, and people. He finds common cause with the people and their plight, he makes friends, and seems to develop a genuine love and adoration for the country and especially its working class people. Through Theroux’s lens, the book also serves as a pretty good survey on Mexican literature. He leads a 10-day writing workshop and spends time with contemporary Mexican artists and writers such as Francisco Toledo, Guadalupe Nettel, and Juan Villoro. He seems to have read nearly everything there is to read on Mexico, including all of the gringo writers who have spent time in the country and were profoundly impacted by it. The writing on Oaxaca is some of the best I’ve read. He views that beautiful but impoverished state through the eyes of artist activist Francisco Toledo and its vast indigenous population. There’s also humor in parts. He doesn’t hold back in his criticism of San Miguel de Allende and how it's been taken over by rich old gringos and their liberal guilt, essentially casting aside the local population. He also, somewhat surprising to me, is not a fan of Carlos Fuentes. Overall, it's an excellent read if you want to learn about Mexico and its rich history and contradictions.

I get that the writer is a respected and award-winning but his writing style, while certainly soild, has a feel of arrogance to it. He seems to be a bit full of himself. Putting that aside, it is a very interesting look at Mexico and I give him two thumbs up on his integration of Mexico's history into the narrative. There were some sections where he detoured into a long-winded journey into citing other literary works regarding Mexico and by Mexican writers. I felt obliged to skip over these sections. Otherwise, an enjoyable romp through the Mexican landscape. He is a much braver man than me. I would never have had the cojones to travel into the Mexican hinterland land alone. I was terrified for him.

Another gem from Theroux. Read at the risk of gaining empathy, knowledge, and enlightenment. Smoothly written, as usual, this time with some photos.

Great overarching look at Mexico. He is a very captivating writer - and this weaves between a personal narrative and aspects of analysis of culture and history. It captures, pretty well, why we Americans are lucky to have such an interesting, multi-faceted neighbor to the south.

I'll preface this by saying that Theroux is one of my favorite authors and I've read most all of his non-fiction travel books - and loved them all. This one is a let-down. In the first part of the book Theroux travels along the border, going back and forth across it multiple times. He expresses shock and surprise about the violence, danger, and degradation that he finds on the Mexican side, as though the situation in Mexico has not been extensively described for decades now. Of all people, how could a professional travel writer like Theroux been taken by surprise? I too drove my car through much of Mexico in 1981, and much of Theroux's route mirrored my own, so the first half of his book was of especial interest to me in his descriptions of the places I had experienced almost forty years earlier. But about halfway through the book Theroux stays in Mexico City for a period of time, teaching a writing seminar, and the book starts to bog down right there. He ultimately continues his drive to the southernmost areas of Mexico, mostly indiginous and extremely primitive and poor. And it began to feel that Theroux had contracted to write X number of pages and he was going to do it even though the content didn't justify it, kind of like when you stretch pizza dough a little too far. I dutifully finished the book (a habit I can't seem to shake), but it felt like work. I'm sorry to have had to write this about one of my favorite writers.

I enjoyed being an armchair adventurer, following the author on his long trek via automobile visiting mostly small villages in Mexico. It’s an eye opening travelogue particularly as regards life among the very poor. I was not so interested in long passages critically evaluating literary works set in Mexico by other authors. Theroux has an unfortunate tendency to show off his erudition, which feels pedantic and gets tiresome.

Theroux paints a vivid picture of Mexico, veering away from the big cities for the most part. While his determination to understand the reasons why the people he meets do (or occasionally don’t) want to go to the US does lead to a repetitive feel at times, by the end of the book such a vivid picture emerges of people who have a life that romantics would consider idyllic but who would willingly swap that for work as an illegal immigrant in a Chinese restaurant in LA or somewhere. Of course, Theroux breaks through that and presents the romantic view for what it really is. What I really like is that the author seems far happier than in some of his other recent travel writing. He seems to have arrived in his dotage well and truly content with his lot. But his writing has lost none of its edge. He remains the master of this sort of thing.

A wonderfully woven book of encounters. Theroux's meandering trip through Mexico is fantastic and is as close to real travel as reading about a trip can get you.

I can now say that I've read Paul Theroux's entire travel book catalogue. I guess the only thing to do is go back to the first book and start all over again.

Paul Theroux at hia best. The travel from 🇺🇸 to 🇲🇽 through the border and from Pacific to Gulf. All those histories related to those 3000 km that divides us. The amazing writers and 📚 that he's quoting along the way, I had to find some authors and add them to my list. By the way the photographs are peerless. Thanks Mr Theroux to carry me over my country on my imagination.

An excellent tale of a fascinating journey “south of the border”. This gringo found Theroux’s journey both fascinating and sad. Sad because of the very difficult lives so many of the Mexicans live with great dignity.