Review 5: In Patagonia, Bruce Chatwin
17/02/07 17:30 Filed in: Books
I started the book pretty excited, as it was one of my first real forays into travel literature, a genre I am interested in contributing to. The verdict? Confusion and disappointment. The book details Chatwin's quest into Patagonia (the southern tip of South America) because of a scrap of "brontosaurus skin" his grandmother had, which had come from a cave in Patagonia. As the first few chapters reveals, it was actually the skin of an extinct sloth. My confusion comes from the narrative. The book has two modes: it follows Chatwin's route through Patagonia and recounts his encounters with the locals, or describes the historical detail around a figure that he pursues through various interviews and history books. Both were unsatisfactory.
The travel/exploration side of exploring South America was a bit letdown. I was intrigued by Patagonia, as I really had no clue as to what was down there. My impression was of mountains, natives, Spanish, and mist but little rainfall. To my chagrin, I discovered that Patagonia is full of British, Welsh, Irish, Scottish, German and Boer settlers, most of which were there to escape the World Wars, the Cold War, their own personal histories. So settlers, and sheep. Sheep, sheep, sheep. Chatwin wanders from exile sheep-farm to exile sheep-farm, and I really couldn't help but feel both bored and that he had somehow missed out on the vitality of the native peoples, which are generally described only as sheep-thieves, as victims of small-pox epidemics or of missionaries, or as nameless, faceless peons, servants and "tame indians". (the vitality of the natives could be my own fantasy, as they are continually described as drunks) Instead the book focuses on these poor souls trying to recreate Wales or wherever, fighting against Marxists, anarchists, indians, or other landowners. Reading all of this was a let down, as though a mysterious spot on the map was revealed to be just as boring as the rest of the world.
The other mode the book operates in is the description of historical figures who factored into the area somehow. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, two famous train robbers from the States, were a couple of the main figures, as was a leader of an attempted revolution and the self-proclaimed king of Patagonia (in exile). These historical figures were fairly interesting, but often I found that my understanding of their roles was limited by my total ignorance regarding Chilean/Argentinean politics in the last century. I had to Google Péron (Juan and Evita, you know, don't cry for me Argentina etc -- thank you Madonna!) to fill some basic gaps. I don't expect to be spoonfed, but I felt that I missed out on some of the references that other people would have understood better. Also, some of the historical figures seemed to have been tossed in just for the need for material. Near the end of the book Chatwin interviews several people about a barber that had recently committed suicide. I felt, as I read, what the hell is the point of telling me about this random dood?
And that became the overall theme - a lack of a theme. I often felt vaguely interested, but soon the little investigation would end and Chatwin would move off to another town, in which he would introduce a new character and finish his biography just as quickly. Overall, I've realized that a day by day account of people and places is really boring if there isn't some sort of pattern, theme, or clear conclusion. There doesn't need to be a moral to every story, but let there at least be a story that unites the book more than just the fact that he wrote it all in one area.
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