The Japanese have perfected good manners and made them indistinguishable from rudeness.

Quote by Paul Theroux

Topics: Paul Theroux Quotes

I cannot make my days longer so I strive to make them better.

I cannot make my days longer so I strive to make them better.

Fiction gives us a second chance that life denies us.

Fiction gives us a second chance that life denies us.

As Calcutta smells of death and Bombay of Money, Bangkok smells of sex, but this...

As Calcutta smells of death and Bombay of Money, Bangkok smells of sex, but this...

Travel is glamorous only in retrospect.

Travel is glamorous only in retrospect.

You define a good flight by negatives: you didn't get hijacked, you didn't crash, you...

You define a good flight by negatives: you didn't get hijacked, you didn't crash, you...

Tourists don't know where they've been, travelers don't know where they're going.

Tourists don't know where they've been, travelers don't know where they're going.

It is usually expensive and lonely to be principled.

It is usually expensive and lonely to be principled.

There are probably more annoying things than being hectored about African development by a wealthy...

There are probably more annoying things than being hectored about African development by a wealthy...

Writing is pretty crummy on the nerves.

Writing is pretty crummy on the nerves.

The Australian Book of Etiquette is a very slim volume.

The Australian Book of Etiquette is a very slim volume.

Extensive traveling induces a feeling of encapsulation, and travel, so broadening at first, contracts the...

Extensive traveling induces a feeling of encapsulation, and travel, so broadening at first, contracts the...

Tourists don't know where they've been, travelers don't know where they're going.

Tourists don't know where they've been, travelers don't know where they're going.

Hawaii is not a state of mind, but a state of grace.

Hawaii is not a state of mind, but a state of grace.

Death is an endless night so awful to contemplate that it can make us love...

Death is an endless night so awful to contemplate that it can make us love...

Fiction gives us a second chance that life denies us.

Fiction gives us a second chance that life denies us.

Gain a modest reputation for being unreliable and you will never be asked to do...

Gain a modest reputation for being unreliable and you will never be asked to do...

The Peace Corps is a sort of Howard Johnson's on the main drag into maturity.

The Peace Corps is a sort of Howard Johnson's on the main drag into maturity.