Customer Reviews

Bruce Chatwin: A Biography

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Before I started the book, I'd read a great deal about it, and heard Nicholas Shakespeare on the radio. I had great expectations, and they were fulfilled.

It is interesting how little one can learn of Bruce Chatwin from reading his books, but Shakespeare fleshes out his subject wonderfully well. You get the feeling, "So this is what Bruce Chatwin was really like.", and, "So this is what Bruce Chatwin really meant."

But what impressed me most was how occasionally I would be stopped cold and forced to think, not about Bruce Chatwin, but about my own (albeit far less spectacular) life. Shakespeare not only knows Bruce Chatwin well, he also knows something of the human condition.

Finally, a definitive Chatwin biography! I waited years for this -- and I wasn't disappointed. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about this fascinating writer. The thing to remember about Chatwin is that he was a very English character and I think this may frustrate some non-English readers who -- forgive me for saying so -- may lack the taste or patience to appreciate him (as some of the petulant comments from previous reviewers suggest). He was such a difficult man to figure out even to his friends and I am not surprised that he ultimately comes across as unknowable in this otherwise thorough, valuable book.

I feel a certain ambivalence about this book. It is extremely well written, obviously painstaikingly researched and detailed, but I am still left a little outside the Chatwin myth. What I wanted from it was a feel for who Bruce Chatwin was - one hears so much about him, and if, like me, you have not read his books, this was my entree into his world. I was left feeling that BC needed a good smack and spent his life being indulged by all those closest to him. But then, we do tend to indulge people we love; it's obvious that he had great charisma and spent most of his life surrounded by adoring fans.

It also made me cross that he wouldn't admit to his sexuality - perhaps I should feel sad for him that he was unable to.

I was rather thrown by how much knowledge the reader is presumed to have (French without translation and many names I knew the sound of but could not place). Also the lack of substance in Elizabeth's portrayal was rather maddening.

However, it certainly is a brilliant book, and it did make me think - that surely is what it's about.

It's hard to know if my reaction to this biography is due to the subject himself or is the fault of the biographer. Nicholas Shakespeare's "Bruce Chatwin" is long, well-researched, & has the full cooperation of Chatwin's family. Yet, all throughout the book, I never really got a sense of who Chatwin was, & why his family & friends (even casual aquaintances) viewed him so adoringly despite his cavalier treatment of them.

Admittedly, this may be due to Chatwin himself. An ambiguous, intensely guarded man, it's hard to tell even from his writings such as "In Patagonia" exactly what he thinks about a place or person. Personally although "The Songlines" is one of my favorite books, I never have cared for the other Chatwin's I have read ("In Patagonia", "On the Black Hill", "What Am I Doing Here"). Reading "Bruce Chatwin" has even made me lose some of my admiration for "The Songlines" as it turns out to be fiction, not the well-researched ethnological treatise I had believed it to be! However, this review should be of the biography, not the subject's writings, so among faults I found in Nicholas Shakespeare's "Bruce Chatwin" are:

1)The author assumes knowledge the reader may not have; if a quote is in French he offers no translation. If discussing Malvert or Osip Mandelstam, no explanation of their work or significance is given.

2)Although we are told Chatwin's wife Elizabeth was the instigator of this book & cooperated fully, her presence in the book is that of a shadowy background figure. Her feelings, reactions, methods of dealing with Chatwin's neglect of her, all are ignored or glossed over. Another interviewee mentions they once saw great tenderness between the Chatwin's yet Elizabeth herself never gives any indication this was more than a one-way relationship. There is not even a clear photo of her in the book!

3)Names are mentioned, travels listed, yet there is never a feeling of connectedness to Chatwin. When we are told so-and-so thinks this about that, we don't know how close they were to Chatwin, when they met, why this person is even being quoted about this particular subject. The author mentions "That October & November Bruce & Elizabeth went to the Himalayas" but that's the end of journey. No further information is given as to why they went, what happened while there etc.

In sum, I ended up as frustrated after reading this biography as I did after reading "In Patagonia" & I still don't know if it's Chatwin's fault, Nicholas Shakespeare's fault, or if I'm just not intelligent (or is that pretentious?) enough to grasp Chatwin's writing. Unless you live & breathe Chatwinia, this book is probably a waste of time!

Shakespeare clearly started off worshipping Chatwin and admiring his writings deeply. As he went on with his research the hero worship is tempered by the reality he uncovers, particularly Chatwin's fictionalisation of so much of his life and work. For all his supposed charms, Chatwin comes across as a rather horrible person, sad, desperate, lonely, unable to come to terms with his sexuality and perfectly willing to make people suffer for it. This book has something of the widow's revenge about it as his wife comes across as a saint who put up with a monster of a husband. Chatwin was a good novelist, a good writer of travel fiction and a great stylist but intellectually his work is mired in the 19th century. As a person he seemed unhappy and ultimately destroyed by that. Shakespeare uncovers all the facets of this complex life in a fascinating, well constructed biography and neither builds up or diminishes Chatwin.

Nicholas Shakespeare got to the very essence of the man in this superb portrait. Bruce Chatwin, complex to the extreme, could not have been an easy subject, yet Shakespeare managed, in a totally non judgemental way, to give the reader a revealing insight into the life and times of this late, great writer. The good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly, he told it as it was, which is what will make this excellent biography endure. After satisfying my cravings for knowledge of all things Chatwin, and savouring every last powerful word that Shakespeare wrote, I was left with one overwhelming question: "Who is this Elizabeth woman - when are we going to hear her story?"...

This is a fascinating read that I could not put down. Shakespeare tackles a difficult subject in masterful way. There is a lot of detail here, and it takes a while to get the flow of the book. But I certainly felt I understood Chatwin's motivations and his complex personality. This book is a must for any fan of Chatwin and explains in depth the reasons behind his books. This is definitely a five star book. Those who love the lives of writers will love this book.

This is a long book and a tedious one. I kept reading it in the hope that I would "get into it," but when it was finally over I hadn't. Perhaps not liking it was my problem; perhaps my expectations were too great. I knew this man was a controversial but interesting figure, whose book "In Patagonia" had moved me deeply years ago; I expected great things from his biography.

Was it Nicholas Shakespeare's prose? I don't know. It is hard to believe that one could be bored reading about such a hyperactive, outrageous and exciting adventurer. Much as I hate putting down the author's obviously monumental effort, I look forward to the day when Bruce Chatwin's life will be written about with the same vibrancy, intensity and verve with which he lived it.

There is no doubt that the book is of great value as a reference and a resource about Chatwin and his life. But a good read it is not.

I loved this book. I thought it was the best biography I have ever read. But, like shakespeare, I am biased, coming into the reading of it already captivated by Chatwin's writings and personality. Those who are of a similar disposition must read this book, each line is carefully researched and laid out to present the complex facets of Chatwin's life in all its glory.

People who are not Chatwin fans will probably find this book so so, and may feel annoyed by the selfish, arrogant, insensitive and, at times, brutal attitude of Chatwin's personality - exemplified over issues such as his explotation of people in Patagonia and Australia to generate his own unique material for 'In Patagonia' and 'The Songlines' and his frequent betrayal of his devoted wife. Some people I know even think Chatwin deserved his premature death in 1989 from Aids.

Although Shakespeare is obviously in the former category- in a review of Utz he calls Chatwin 'the greatest stylist writing in England today'. But he does consider all the sides of Chatwin's remarkable personality and left me at the end shaking my head at what a remarkable life he led, wishing I could have met him in the flesh.

I can't recommend this book highly enough. Shakespeare has constructed the finest biography I have ever read. At times, it even seems that Chatwin's merely a supporting cast member to Shakespeare's storytelling. I found mself limiting how many pages I could read a day so that I could drag it out as long as possible. It's not just for Chatwin fans either. I went into the bio with no knowledge of him.