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Under the Sun: The Letters of Bruce Chatwin [Hardcover]

Bruce Chatwin , Nicholas Shakespeare
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

Price: $35.00 & FREE Shipping. Details
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Book Description

February 17, 2011
The definitive collection of correspondence from a legendary writer, providing new perspectives on his extraordinary life.

The celebrated author of such beloved works as In Patagonia and The Songlines, Bruce Chatwin was a nomad whose desire for adventure and enlightenment was made wholly evident by his writing. A man of intense energy and chameleonlike complexity, he was, in his life as in his art, forever in quest of the exotic and the unexpected. He moved at ease within diverse art, literary, and social circles, and his lifelong travels took him to the farthest-flung corners of Asia, Africa, South America, and Australia.

This marvelous selection of letters-to his wife, Elizabeth; to his parents, Charles and Margharita; and to friends, including Patrick Leigh Fermor, James Ivory, Paul Theroux, and Susan Sontag-reveals a passionate man and a storyteller par excellence, spinning the narrative of his life from his first week of school to his untimely death. Written with the verve and sharpness of expression that first marked him as a writer of singular talent, Chatwin's letters provide a vivid record of his changing interests and concerns, as well as chronicling his lifelong restlessness and the gestation of his books. Under the Sun is the closest readers will get to an autobiography by this exceptional literary talent.


Frequently Bought Together

Under the Sun: The Letters of Bruce Chatwin + What Am I Doing Here? + In Patagonia (Penguin Classics)
Price for all three: $59.47

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Celebrated English travel writer and novelist Chatwin (In Patagonia) died of AIDS 20 years ago; he was only 48. His letters—from such far-flung locales as Sweden, Afghanistan, his beloved Greece, Turkey, Africa, and, of course, Patagonia—are lovingly compiled and thoroughly annotated, with indispensable narrative (explaining, for instance, Chatwin™s sudden conversion to Eastern Christianity) by Chatwin™s widow and his biographer. Given to impulsive life and career changes, Chatwin discusses the full range of life from the mundane to the spiritual, from his writing to his dislike of his own œpretty boy looks. He charmed or intimately knew such cultural movers and shakers as Christopher Isherwood, Susan Sontag, Jasper Johns, Edmund White, and many others. There were at least two serious long-term relationships with men (one with filmmaker James Ivory). Yet the Chatwins remained married and always intellectual partners; toward the end of his life, Chatwin writes, despite marital difficulties, œneither of us have loved anyone else. (Feb. 7)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* This compilation of correspondence is aptly titled. British travel writer and novelist Chatwin traveled widely, constantly, and obsessively—everywhere under the sun, in other words. He possessed a restless soul, to be sure. And to a large degree, he was secretive; information about his homosexuality and his affliction with the AIDS virus was closely guarded. He cast a personal spell with his charm and a lasting one through his works, which are so imaginative they are pure excitement to read; at the same time, however, it can be confusing to determine whether to see them as fiction or nonfiction. Nevertheless, beginning with his first published book, In Patagonia (1977), Chatwin maintained a reputation among discerning readers for his riveting characters—invented or not is unimportant, even in his travel books—and his rigorously precise writing style. Chatwin’s wife and his biographer (Bruce Chatwin, 2000) combined efforts over a two-decade period to retrieve more than 90 percent of Chatwin’s correspondence from childhood to immediately before his untimely death at 48. Chatwin’s many appreciators will see the compilation in its overall significance as a personal visit with one of their literary heroes, as much as that is possible now. --Brad Hooper

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 560 pages
  • Publisher: Viking Adult; First Edition edition (February 17, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0670022462
  • ISBN-13: 978-0670022465
  • Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #915,394 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bruce Chatwin reinvented British travel writing with his first book, In Patagonia, and followed it with many travel books and novels, each unique and extraordinary. He died in 1989.

Customer Reviews

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Who really was Bruce Chatwin? February 4, 2013
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I had read most of Chatwin's books. The best are utterly poetic and mesmerizing, i.e., "Songlines" and "In Patagonia." The writer however revealed very little of himself. This (probably) final posthumous collection of letters by his wife fills in the details of Chatwin's life, from school days onward to his death from AIDS and gives an interesting picture of what he was like in a microscopic yet indirect way.

He comes off on a personal level as being not very likeable, snobbish, and opinionated, sometimes quite shallow. A lot of his energy revolved around dealing in antiquities, which he loved and had great knowedge about. Yet in the end he seems petty, often foolish, and I felt I was done with Bruce Chatwin, finally. And oh, his cloaked life as a closet case continued to the very end. What was the point of that?
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3.0 out of 5 stars Quite disapointing February 27, 2013
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Considering all the fascinating books writte by Chatwin, this is a complementary reading for his fans, but it does not present anything very new or very relevant. Interesting but not necessary.
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8 of 20 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Ambrosia for a thirst that will never be quenched . . . February 17, 2011
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I learned of Bruce Chatwin's death while staying in a guest house in Indonesia, on my way, slowly, through Indonesia, Bali, Singapore and India, and ultimately Pakistan. I was carrying The Songlines at the time.
I have only begun the Kindle Edition (and have the book on order as well) but all I can say is that it's been too long. Too long between words from Chatwin. I've read them all, all of him, and am still left (and will remain so) half a sip short of my thirst for him being quenched. This book will help.
All I can say is that Chatwin is very much for me as India is: it is, he is, everything that everyone has written about him. His life, as Nicholas Shakespeare's wonderful biography has shown, is equally as fascinating as the places he wrote about. As I also say about India (and the same, again, echoes my feelings for Bruce Chatwin): you may love it, you may hate it, but you will never be the same for having gone.
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