Bruce Chatwin : The Definitive Life of One of the Most Extraordinary Writers of the 20th Century [Import] [Paperback]

Nicholas Shakespeare (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 580 pages
• Publisher: Random House of Canada, Limited; not noted. first published in UK. then by Vintage, this ed. edition (2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0099289970
• ISBN-13: 978-0099289975
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 1.4 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,178,243 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More than a biography, March 20, 2000

By 

John Owen (Victoria, BC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bruce Chatwin: A Biography (Hardcover)

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.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended, May 1, 2000

By 

James Osborne (London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bruce Chatwin: A Biography (Hardcover)

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.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mixed feelings, June 29, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Bruce Chatwin: A Biography (Hardcover)

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.