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Bruce Chatwin

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The Songlines Kindle Edition

by Bruce Chatwin (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.4 761 ratings

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International Bestseller: The famed travel writer and author of In Patagonia traverses Australia, exploring Aboriginal culture and song—and humanity’s origins.

Long ago, the creators wandered Australia and sang the landscape into being, naming every rock, tree, and watering hole in the great desert. Those songs were passed down to the Aboriginals, and for centuries they have served not only as a shared heritage but as a living map. Sing the right song, and it can guide you across the desert. Lose the words, and you will die.

Into this landscape steps Bruce Chatwin, the greatest travel writer of his generation, who comes to Australia to learn these songs. A born wanderer, whose lust for adventure has carried him to the farthest reaches of the globe, Chatwin is entranced by the cultural heritage of the Aboriginals. As he struggles to find the deepest meaning of these ancient, living songs, he is forced to embark on a much more difficult journey—through his own history—to reckon with the nature of language itself.

Part travelogue, part memoir, part novel, The Songlines is one of Bruce Chatwin’s final—and most ambitious—works. From the author of the bestselling In Patagonia and On the Black Hill, a sweeping exploration of a landscape, a people, and one man’s history, it is the sort of book that changes the reader forever.

This ebook features an illustrated biography of Bruce Chatwin including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s estate.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The late Bruce Chatwin carved out a literary career as unique as any writer's in this century: his books included In Patagonia, a fabulist travel narrative, The Viceroy of Ouidah, a mock-historical tale of a Brazilian slave-trader in 19th century Africa, and The Songlines, his beautiful, elegiac, comic account of following the invisible pathways traced by the Australian aborigines. Chatwin was nothing if not erudite, and the vast, eclectic body of literature that underlies this tale of trekking across the outback gives it a resonance found in few other recent travel books. A poignancy, as well, since Chatwin's untimely death made The Songlines one of his last books.

From Publishers Weekly

In his new book, Chatwin (In Patagonia, etc.) explores the area around Alice Springs, in central Australia, where he ponders the source and meaning of nomadism, the origins of human violence and the emergence of mankind amid arid conditions. Searching for "Songlines"the invisible pathways along which aboriginal Australians travel to perform their central cultural activitiesChatwin is accompanied by Arkady Volchok, a native Australian and tireless bushwalker who is helping the aboriginals protect their sacred sites through the provisions of the Land Rights Act. Chatwin's description of his adventures in the bush forms the most entertaining part of the book, but he also includes long quotations from other writersanthropologists, biologists, even poets. These secondary materials provide a resonant backdrop for the author's reflections on the distinctions between settled people and wanderers, between human aggression and pacifism. First serial to the New York Review of Books.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

For Australian aborigine's "songlines" are the string of sites of significant cultural events, such as marriage, song, trades, dances, a hunt, etc., in an individual's and group's history. They are the invisible means by which a man indicates and keeps track of his territory. British author Chatwin ( In Patagonia) organizes his book around the Australian aboriginal's notion of songlines, although the writing is more often than not on the periphery of this theme. Interspersed with the explanation of songlines are a narrative of a mild adventure, sometimes with novelistic dialogue, and jottings from Chatwin's notebooks (making up a considerable portion of the book), which include his own musings and observations, proverbs, and quotes from famous people, most of which concern travel and wandering and theory about instinct, myth, etc. A curious work.Roger W. Fromm, Bloomsburg Univ. of Pennsylvania Lib.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“The Songlines is one man’s impassioned song.” —The Daily Telegraph

“Extraordinary. A remarkable and satisfying book.” —The Observer

“His bravest work yet . . . No one will put it down unmoved.” —Andrew Harvey, The New York Times Book Review

About the Author

Bruce Chatwin was born in Sheffield in 1940. After attending Marlborough School, he began work as a porter at Sotheby’s. Eight years later, having become one of Sotheby’s youngest directors, he abandoned his job to pursue his passion for world travel. He worked for the Sunday Times from 1972 to 1975, before announcing his next departure in a telegram: “Gone to Patagonia for six months.” This trip inspired the first of Chatwin’s books, In Patagonia, which won the Hawthornden Prize and the E. M. Forster Award, and launched his writing career. Two of his books have been made into feature films: The Viceroy of Ouidah, retitled Cobra Verde and directed by Werner Herzog; and Andrew Grieve’s On the Black Hill. On publication, The Songlines went straight to number one on the Sunday Times bestseller list and remained in the top ten for nine months. On the Black Hill won the Whitbread Literary Award for First Novel. Utz, another work of fiction, was nominated for the Man Booker Prize. Chatwin died in January 1989 at the age of forty-eight.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01K6GBLVY
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Open Road Media (October 18, 2016)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 18, 2016
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 6985 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 306 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #134,063 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #3 in Australia Travel
- #28 in General Australia & South Pacific Travel
- #59 in Cultural Anthropology (Kindle Store)

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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.

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4.4 out of 5

761 global ratings

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Grok.I.Am

But this is a fascinating and brilliant read looking backwards in time on Chatwin's speculations

Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2016

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Chatham clearly writes this book in a hurry. The publisher did so too; my copy (1988 I think) duplicates pages 171-234. But this is a fascinating and brilliant read looking backwards in time on Chatwin's speculations. As an evolutionist mnay of his speculations have born fruit. It is absolutely stunning to read his thinking post-Dart and Lorenz on the impact climate (and population bottlenecks) have (probably) had upon the human species. If you are looking for some insight in the oldest existing human culture on the planet, this read has some problems as it is limited to primarily central Australia. Nonetheless the recent dehydration deaths of two Aboriginal "Elders" in the Kimberly's, when their car ran out of gas, possibly because they couldn't read the songlines to water in the area through which they were traveling, underscores one the major and important themes Chatwin's discusses. Chatwin wasn't an anthropologist and I think the reviews that criticize him on his book because of this, miss the point of the book. This is a speculative treatise on the human species and Chatwin's interjections of other thinkers on human origins only greatly enrich your reading of this book. I only sorry I read the book ten years after my own trip to Australia.

23 people found this helpful

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carolee von shillagh

transportation of the soul

Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2023

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Hard to feel worthy enough to judge this . it is a Remarkable journey between fact and fiction. I was so humbled to go on the journey.

2 people found this helpful

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JAK

The land is alive with the song of songlines

Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2017

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The Songlines is a somewhat difficult book to characterize.It is to some degree a travel book but Chatwin routinely fictionalized his narratives and the book is in some places referred to as a novel.After a while it veers off into being a collection of (interesting) quotes and occasionally flirts with being a linguistic or anthropological treatise( the least interesting part of the book).

It proves to be a quick and enjoyable read.It's set mostly in Australia, with a lot of detours to Africa.Chatwin's voice is distinctive and engaging but i'd be cautious about he's theorizing.By the time I finished with it, I still had no idea what a Songline is.(It was funny .I tried to see if I could formulate it on the basis of what Chatwin reports.Couldn't do it).

14 people found this helpful

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Jane Bolding

Highly Recommend!

Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2023

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Book is in Excellent condition. It looks untouched. Arrived when promised. I purchased as a gift and am very happy to give it.

One person found this helpful

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AM Starks

Ok read, but not what the title implies.

Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2017

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I purchased this book hoping to learn more details about Aboriginal Songlines. It does contain some information, however, much of the book involves stories of other travels and I came away feeling that the author did let me down somewhat. It should be titled The Songlines and other tales of my travels.

The copy of the book that I received was as advertised in quality. It was in good shape and from that standpoint it was a good buy. If you are interested in a memoir of travels through Australia, Africa, and other locations; you may find it to be a good read.

10 people found this helpful

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Electraglide

Unusual tale.

Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2018

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I had no idea what I was ordering when I chose this book. After a couple of chapters, I still wasn't sure that it would hold my interest. It is an ancient culture and way of life carried down through the ages by the Aborigine people of Australia. I found it confusing but fascinating. The story telling style is great and the characters are entertaining. I learned of things that I had no idea existed.

5 people found this helpful

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ChaCha

A classic that is more relevant than ever

Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2017

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I first read this 30 years ago when it came out. Dear Bruce Chatwin felt like a friend sending me a letter from far away. It made me want to join him. It inspired so much travel in my own life. And now, in this digital always-on age, his message about the ancient art of walking around has become even more relevant. Such a great story-teller. Such a great message. Timeless.

7 people found this helpful

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Sharon M. Camfield

Songlines....a history of a people

Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2016

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Mr. Chatwin provides an interesting look into the "Aboriginals" of Australia. It is a fascinating culture.
Frequently, the author goes off on a tangent and one wonders what has happened to the story line,
but then he manages to connect the piece with the rest of the dialogue.
It is a most interesting adventure he takes us on...the people and the landscape are incredible.

6 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Margarita Josefa Ramon Marin

entregado muy rapido pata lo que es habitual en los libros

Reviewed in Spain on February 11, 2024

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Excelente libro

richard hadfield

Thought provoking insight

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 20, 2023

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First read this in 1970s and have reread regularly since. A journey inide the writers head and outside in the red earth of australia and its first nations history. If the invaders hadnt extirpated the american natives maybe theyd have had a greater heritage to share

Jacquot

Exploring aboriginal mythology

Reviewed in Canada on August 2, 2018

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Fascinating stories about life in the outback and aboriginal mythology..

Bee

Worth it

Reviewed in India on January 25, 2020

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Purchased this for a friend; he loved it!

Doc Robbie

A Direct Hit on Aboriginal Culture

Reviewed in Australia on August 11, 2021

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The Songlines is ground-zero. Aboriginal culture has been taken out as an unintended consequence of the fictional jottings of a British travel writer in the late 1980s. The destruction was almost certainly unintentional. How could Chatwin know that a generation of cultural activists would like his casually penned version of Aboriginal culture better than the careful recordings of 200 years of ethnographers and anthropologists? Regrettably, he died shortly after the book was published so he never witnessed the damage or set the record straight. Chatwin's view of Aboriginal life was a few short weeks spent mostly in the culturally corrupt vicinity of Alice Springs. He was desperate to deliver another book, having abandoned a recent effort to write on the nomadic groups he already knew. He brought notebooks to Australia with his collected anecdotes and jottings of nomadic life elsewhere in the world. And he brought a yearning to wrap his life's experience roaming the World up into some grander theory of the importance of movement to human development. This hodgepodge of unresolved ideas became The Songlines. It's a good yarn - up to the point where he runs out of steam and decides to pad the book out with slabs of his collected notebook entries. Despite this, the book was successful, sold well and promoted an exotic (albeit fictional) view of the Australian Aboriginal and their cultural beliefs. The apparent realism of his writing readily transported his readers to a foreign land, a colourful adventure, and a compelling view of a stone age culture struggling for survival. Except that little of it was accurate. The complex cultural world of Aboriginal songs (ceremonial, informational and entertaining) was transmogrified into a wayfinding system. And now, due to the uncaring bowerbird eclecticism of art and museum custodians and post-modern cultural warriors, a mishmash of cultural junk is being carelessly pasted over the authentic core, like unsupervised children turning the Ark of the Covenant into a decoupage project. Given the effect that The Songlines has had on the contamination of Aboriginal culture, it is essential reading for those seeking a clearer understanding. Its casual travelogue of the degraded circumstances and dissolute behaviour of town dwelling Aborigines in the 1980s has some authenticity. But all pronouncements of the operation and detail of traditional Aboriginal culture should be considered fiction until tested against more reliable sources. It gets five stars because it's a good yarn with a collection of thought-provoking anecdotes on the nature of human development and because it's become essential reading to understand Aboriginal cultural politics.

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