OUR BOOK OF THE WEEK...

Ghost Train to the Eastern Star
by Paul Theroux (Houghton Mifflin)

Sweeping changes have occurred in the thirty years since Paul Theroux invented the modern travel narrative in his book The Great Railway Bazaar, and in his new book, he repeats the odyssey that took him from Eastern Europe to Asia. These changes are both political and personal in nature; while the Soviet Union fell and China became a nation on the rise, Theroux lived half a lifetime and saw one marriage dissipate and a new relationship flourish. Fans of Theroux's prolific career are sure to appreciate his most recent effort—he writes with as much imagination and sense of adventure as ever. -E. Ehrlich