In Patagonia (Penguin Classics)
Selected Book Details
- Paperback
- Author: Bruce Chatwin
- Publisher: Penguin Classics
- Release Date: March 2003
- ISBN-10: 0142437190
- ISBN-13: 9780142437193
- List Price: $15.00
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Summaries and Customer Reviews provided by Amazon
SummaryIn Patagonia is Bruce Chatwin's exquisite account of his journey through "the uttermost part of the earth," that stretch of land at the southern tip of South America, where bandits were once made welcome and Charles Darwin formed part of his "survival of the fittest" theory. Chatwin's evocative descriptions, notes on the odd history of the region, and enchanting anecdotes make In Patagonia an exhilarating look at a place that still retains the exotic mystery of a far-off, unseen land. An instant classic upon publication in 1977, In Patagonia remains a masterwork of literature. |
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
A MASTER OF TRAVEL
Rating:
Chatwin captures the essence of Patagonia page after page, and I really enjoyed how he described the bleakness of the land but also how he found and described interesting people along the way. His adjectives were wonderful. He's right up there with best travel writers of all time, including some of the early explorers into lands unknown to Europeans. A classic to be read every couple of years, and also one to have in your packsack when you venturing into Chile and Argentina. Paul Theroux and Graham Greene liked his writing - that's a message in itself. Very enjoyable afternoon read...
Another view
Rating: 
Chatwin's "In Patagonia" continues to sell well and is widely appreciated as good writing, widely quoted, as if the book had some sort of value as a proper work on the history of the region. "In Patagonia" is great writing, some say, where style and entertainment are more important than the veracity of the content. And therein lies one of the curious issues surrounding good travel writing (though Chatwin reportedly did not like to be called a "travel writer.") Author Dan Buck was charitable when he wrote of Chatwin's book, "He narrated, but he was not necessarily telling the literal truth in every instance...." Writers from the region superficially visited by Chatwin often describe his work as something on the order of "full of inventions, but good writing." For tourists visiting Patagonia it may be sufficient to be amused and entertained by Chatwin's famous book. The cafés of Puerto Natales seem to be full of tourists reading and quoting from Chatwin's book as if it were the emblematic work on Patagonia. Fact-checkers, on the other hand, will seek other sources.
For Those With Wanderlust
Rating:
My passion for travel and discovery made this man and his writings a great addition to my library. In Patagonia is a great introduction to Chatwin's style and stories of exploration, and the delivery is pleasant. He goes beyond the tourist venues to become immersed in local culture, and then shares his experiences in such a way as to make me grateful he did.
What makes his writings more than simply a travelogue is the ability to make culture and perspective not only accessible, but fun!
For those that want to go everywhere and do everything, Bruce Chatwin is a great example: he did. He did, and his writings are a beautiful tribute to that passion to go off the beaten track.
The Best Travel Book Ever Written
Rating:
Of all the travel books I've read over the years, this is the one I always come back to. It's an extraordinary work: a brilliant mix of journey, revelation, history, people of another land, another time. I marvel at Chatwin's gift of language, his insights into the ways and means of how the people in this ancient land of South America live, and have lived for centuries. There's a kind of authenticity to the storytelling techniques that Chatwin employs: it makes everything personal, almost private. And as a reader, you're drawn into his world, his engagement with the locals, with their roots and the richness of their history. The book is, quite simply, a masterpiece.
-Tom Maremaa, Author of the Forthcoming Metal Heads: A Novel from Kunati Books in Spring 2009
genius or attention deficit disorder?
Rating:
Befitting of a genius with an active and wide-ranging mind, Bruce Chatwin has a charm and intensity that might lead you to believe he has attention deficit disorder. Drifting from one narrative thread to the next between chapters (each just a few pages long), he delves deep into the story of each person he meets, and substantiates these stories with literary and/or historical references. Though a few themes recur (e.g., the search for the lost mylodon and the story of Butch Cassidy's escape to Argentina), this is a book that is easy to put down between fragmented sections. And yet, it is still overall an enjoyable work.
Travelers are far more likely to go to Patagonia to avoid people than to learn about them, but Chatwin gracefully pulls of this challenge. Selflessly, he leaves himself out of the story- though Nicholas Shakespeare's introduction notes that Chatwin had a noteable love affair and was arrested in Chile. Unfortunately, Chatwin's narrative is short on dialogue and his description of people is typically terse and short on details, which prevents characters from coming to life. However, Chatwin shows traces of poetic brilliance ("music ghosted from the piano as leaves over a headstone"), an eye for metaphor (noting that in the obscure Yaghan language the word for depression is the same as the word for a crab's vulnerable phase after sloughing off a shell), persistence (evidenced by his uncovering of the origin of the name Patagonia), and bits of dry humor ("The Indian settlements were strung out along the railway line on the principle that a drunk could always get home.").
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