Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town

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But Theroux also offers a sobering, contemporary look at the social and political morass in which much of Africa is mired.

There's little of southern Sudan (where most of the fighting is going on) or, for example, even much mention of Eritrea (which he also by-passed) beyond some war-talk, and while it is understandable that Theroux focusses on what he does see it would have been interesting to hear more, for example, about why he avoids certain areas. We use Google Analytics to see what pages are most visited, and where in the world visitors are visiting from.In discussing the disease growth of African cities, Theroux demonstrates how a traveler's finely wrought observations of people and landscape sometimes offer the best political and social analysis. Theroux's view of humanity is becoming increasingly bleak even as he stretches his reach with this novel that brilliantly depicts the world as it may become. Hoping for a fatwa (Theroux was always competitive), he describes the posture of a praying Muslim as like a dog hugging a soccer ball.

Dark Star Safari is, however, a very enjoyable read, and it does present a good picture of aspects of Africa. Cape Town,under Table Mountain has some of the most beautiful mansions and some of the most desperate squatter settlements.In the walled city of Harar, a Maltese nun cooks him a gourmet meal and beguiles him with tales of the lover she left for God. Theroux finds reference points, to that and other books, but on the whole he prefers to dwell simply on the simple, day-to-day, the encounters and small experiences and hardships along the way. Theroux (Hotel Honolulu) draws on personal experience and literary antecedents (think Heart of Darkness) for his latest adventurous tale. Travelling across bush and desert, down rivers and across lakes, and through country after country, Theroux visits some of the most beautiful landscapes on earth, and some of the most dangerous.