“Unless there is a strong sense of place there is no travel writing, but it need not come from topographical description; dialogue can also convey a sense of place. Even so, I insist, the traveler invents the place. Feeling compelled to comment on my travel books, people say to me, "I went there"---China, India, the Pacific, Albania-- "and it wasn't like that." I say, "Because I am not you.”

American novelist and travel writer

Paul Theroux is an American novelist and travel writer. He is known for books that move between fiction and travel writing, including the travelogue The Great Railway Bazaar. His work has reached beyond the page as well. The Mosquito Coast won the 1981 James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and some of his fiction has been adapted for film and television, including versions of The Mosquito Coast.