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alleseter 's review for:
The Songlines
by Bruce Chatwin
The Aborigines' way of navigating, communicating and negotiating by 'Songlines' is absolutely intruiging, and I thank this book for shedding some light on this subject. For example, between chapter 14 and 15 there's a beautiful creation myth. I wish Chatwin had written more text like that.
However, most of the book is not about the songlines, but about Chatwin himself, eating and drinking with Australians, most of which have nothing to do with the Aborigines and their plight. Chatwin paints a vivid, if very shallow picture of the inhabitants of the outback, but is often close to simplification (racist white trash vs. noble savages). Moreover, as he insists this book is a work of fiction, I cannot grasp why he didn't write anything more interesting than this plotless book.
But it gets worse: after 160 rather aimless pages, the book suddenly disintegrates in loose jottings, as if Chatwin had lost interest in making something more ambitious out of his travel notebooks himself. At that point I left it, without finishing it.
However, most of the book is not about the songlines, but about Chatwin himself, eating and drinking with Australians, most of which have nothing to do with the Aborigines and their plight. Chatwin paints a vivid, if very shallow picture of the inhabitants of the outback, but is often close to simplification (racist white trash vs. noble savages). Moreover, as he insists this book is a work of fiction, I cannot grasp why he didn't write anything more interesting than this plotless book.
But it gets worse: after 160 rather aimless pages, the book suddenly disintegrates in loose jottings, as if Chatwin had lost interest in making something more ambitious out of his travel notebooks himself. At that point I left it, without finishing it.