- Hardcover: 384 pages
- Publisher: The Harvill Press; 1st Edition 1st Printing edition (1 April 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1860465447
- ISBN-13: 978-1860465444
- Product Dimensions: 25.2 x 16.4 x 6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 446,356 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Bruce Chatwin
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More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Bruce Chatwin was the golden child of the contemporary English novel; by the time he died of an AIDS-related illness aged 49 in January 1989 he had produced the startlingly original masterpieces that made his name. Chatwin came late to being a published writer; In Patagonia, his instant classic of what can loosely be termed "travel literature", came out in 1977. In the preceding years this precocious, intense figure had been an art specialist at Sotheby's, a journalist with the Sunday Times, an archaeologist and a restless, questing traveller. By the time his novel of studying the Aboriginal dreamtime in Australia, The Songlines, was published, he had gained a worldwide audience.
An obsessive art collector, Chatwin also acquired people as he did fabulous objects. He took both male and female lovers while continuing to remain married to his wife Elizabeth, seemingly the most enduring relationship of his life. It is her cooperation and tenacity which enabled this biography to come about, as well as Nicholas Shakespeare's exhaustive research (the book was eight years in the making), and his countless interviews with friends and acquaintances from all corners of the globe. It is the international span of Chatwin's experiences that make the reader appreciate his desire to know all cultures and disciplines.
There is some excellent, evocative writing here, particularly in Shakespeare's account of Chatwin's last weeks, his disappointment at not winning the Booker Prize for Utz lifting when a friend told him of acclaimed Italian novelist Alberto Moravia's glowing review of the book in a newspaper. In particular, the detailed passage describing Chatwin's awful, miserable death surrounded by friends and family is harrowing yet moving to read. There are a plethora of adjectives used to describe Chatwin; the list generally includes words such as "elusive", "mercurial", and "charismatic". Yet what Nicholas Shakespeare brings across in this immense, excellent life of Chatwin is the complete aloneness of the man, an at times almost impenetrable solitude. He was a flamboyant fabulist, an unparalleled conversationalist, yet, as the Australian poet Les Murray is quoted as saying: "He was lonely and he wanted to be. He had those blue, implacable eyes that said: "I will reject you, I will forget you, because neither you nor any other human being can give me what I want".--Catherine Taylor
Product Description
A biography of Bruce Chatwin, based on private notebooks, diaries, letters and hundreds of interviews. It illuminates the many sides of Chatwin, from Sotheby's director, archaeologist, "Sunday Times" journalist and traveller to devoted husband and active gay, socialite and loner.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Shakespeare's Chatwin surpasses anything Bruce ever wrote,
By
This review is from: Bruce Chatwin (Paperback)
A few years back I indulged myself in a marathon reading of every Ernest Hemingway biography that came to hand. Not all were top-notch, but a few were so good that I will forever after prefer to read a Hemingway bio to anything by Papa himself. And so with Nicholas Shakespeare's lovely masterpiece of a biography of Bruce Chatwin. Chatwin's own works are scoured for biographical data, but most of Shakespeare's research involved 8 years of painstaking interviews and worldwide travels to Afghanistan, India, Patagonia, New York and elsewhere. Simply put, this is a more enjoyable book than anything Chatwin himself ever wrote, and maybe it's better than anything Chatwin could write. The parallels to Hemingway can be expanded. Chatwin's life was more varied and exciting than anything he was able to commit to his tight, crystallised prose. He was a much greater man than the sum of his works, and he's a very very lucky dead author indeed to have had someone like Nicholas Shakespeare take the first crack at a full-length treatment of the Chatwin life. Again like Hemingway, Chatwin was brilliant, charismatic, generous--and often supercilious, nasty and a downright selfish bastard. He was so dedicated to his craft that he appears never to have felt a pang of guilt over his readiness to sponge off friends and his long-suffering wife. Anyone who thinks he wants Chatwin as a role model will give the idea second thoughts before finishing this marvelous book!
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This must be definitive.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Bruce Chatwin (Paperback)
The best way to annoy Bruce Chatwin would probably have been, on the basis of this biography, to file his books under the Travel section, or the Gay Author section. Which is ironic, since his bisexuality and wanderlust are two key themes in this immaculately researched and skillfully written biography. Nicholas has been granted access not only to most of Bruce's friends, associates and relations, but also his extensive notebooks, at one time thought to be so scandalous that they were to be held in the Bodleian library away from the public until 2010. This book is a journey in its own right though - Shakespeare travels in the footsteps of Chatwin through Africa, Argentina and Australia, but never lets his subject over take him - this is a well paced and balanced book. Chatwin was never a prolific writer - he wrote marginally less than Jane Austen, and never had a strong reputation as an author until his final years. In an ideal world, this book would be read as a companion to Chatwin's own work. However, whether you have read all, or some, of his writing, I can definitely recommend this book.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Engaging biography of a remarkable literary figure,
By A Customer
This review is from: Bruce Chatwin (Hardcover)
The seven or so years spent researching and writing this book is clearly evident in this thorough, well-written biography. Obviously, the late Bruce Chatwin would make a challenging candidate for any biographer to tackle, but in Nicholas Shakespeare the right choice was made. The admiration Shakespeare has for his subject is paramount, and his enthusiasm is reflected in the lucidly written pages, but without necessarily overdoing it. But Chatwin was a man who generated almost magical interest in those he came in contact with, and like myself, through reading his work, although he kept himself well out of it. Having read most of the Chatwin ouevre, I found the biography doubled as a reference aid too, as it cleverly described the background work and processes Chatwin was engaged in before he set out to write a particular book. More importantly, it managed to shed more light on the development of Chatwin's complex character, his unconventional marriage and his secret sexuality. It was also intriguing to read about the struggle and sacrifices he had to make to produce his beguiling art. Shakespeare has managed to unearth everything imaginable: from ideas jotted down by Chatwin himself in his safeguarded moleskin notebooks, to interviewing endless family, friends and acquaintances from all over the world. The transformation of Chatwin from a Sotheby's high-flyer to a restless writer is the driving force behind the book. It is a joy to read, but the final chapters describing his falling victim to AIDS are ultimately the most fascinating, and are penned with careful dignity. It is still hard to believe that he was only 48 years old, having died only a decade ago. Nevertheless, the weighty 550 pages make a relatively light, but highly absorbing read when his life is injected into them. For those of you who need yet to discover the real Bruce Chatwin, this biography could be read as a possible starting point. It will give you a thorough insight into one of the most colourful and intriguing literary figures of the late twentieth century. And believe me, after having read it, it will spark your interest to read Bruce Chatwin's own dazzling output of work, which are all very different in their own right.
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