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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
Loses a star for the bits where I need to write the book. Fairly sure I read this some years ago but pleased to return to it
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
I really liked the first half of the book. The narrative is well composed, the plot is moving, and the characters are compelling. However, at some point it sort of feels like Chatwin gave up on actually integrating his perspectives and insights? a big portion of each chapter of the back of the book is excerpts from the main character's notebook, which is just unorganized anecdotes and quotations. These are a real damper on the book's momentum, and what narrative is left also also suffers accordingly. It feels like an effort to do what Daniel Quinn did in the Story of B, where a device allows the main character to grand stand more directly to the reader, but I think Chatwin doesn't handle it as well. The result is an otherwise great main character is made into what just feels like an author's self-insert.
A great insight into what the Songlines are, but a bit ruined in the final third by him inserting his notes from previous notebooks - all somewhat relevant, but it's very confusing as it's just a collection of linked anecdotes, reflections and quotes.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I had great expectations about this book, it is one of the favorites of my wife and for years it stood temptingly staring at me in our library. But I'm afraid it turned out to be a disappointment. As in "In Patagonia" Chatwin reports about one of his journeys, a meandering quest, not in Fireland this time but in Australia where he went looking for the key to the Aboriginal-culture. This is a quite interesting topic of course, and the information he gives about the Songlines and everything that's related with them, is very intruiging and challenging. But Chatwin has made a very dull affair of his report, it is not more than a chronicle of his interviews with Aboriginals and other people. It could not charm me, especially because it was so self-centered: Bruce Chatwin is all around, and his seemingly easy way to gain the confidence of the Aboriginals wasn't really credible to me. And of course it doesn't help when you read in other reviews that he had the habit of inventing some of the stuff he wrote about (also in other books). Already before page 100 I noticed I began to read diagonally, and that is lethal. What a pity. But if I ever succeed in getting to Australia, perhaps I'll make another attempt.
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Profound, funny, touching. The characters are really strong.
A reread where I was surprised by which parts I loved and which I found frustrating/useless. The intro of the edition I have by Rory stewart (as a side note, THIS guy is a Tory MP? What the fuck is going on over there?) is perfect for explaining why you would or wouldn't want to read it. I could read his weird hyper educated probably partially fabricated travel anecdotes all day, he has some really terrific prose. For whatever reason his grand hypothesizing about the course of human evolution and his tea with Konrad Lorenz really pissed me off this time around, like he simultaneously took his ideas more and less seriously than he ought to have. I got a few chuckles at how often the characters he interacts with tell him "wow that's a good point, how perceptive" or whatever. For whatever reason I still love this book in spite of how fatally flawed and self indulgent it is. Surprisingly the random quote/anecdote bits are some of my favorites.