About book Anatomy Of Restlessness: Selected Writings, 1969-1989 (1997)
It is always fascinating to read the minor works of someone whose majo works one loves. After having finished Anatomy of Restlessness: Selected Writings, 1969-1989, I have only two more works of Bruce Chatwin to tackle: On the Black Hill and his collected letters, both of which I have on my shelves.There are some things that draw me to Chatwin, and others that repel me. On the one hand, he had this mania for travel that has been part of my life after since I broke free of my parents; and, as a former art auction expert for Sotheby's, he has a distrust for people who keep score in life by accumulating "things." On the other hand, Chatwin's restlessness also pertained his relationships with people. He was bisexual and somewhat treacherous (in effect) with those people who were drawn to him. Even in his best books, The Songlines and In Patagonia, he partook of the same mythomania that he criticizes in others. The story took precedence over the data provided by informants. Many of those who acted in that capacity felt seduced and betrayed by him. Read Nicholas Shakespeare's Bruce Chatwin: A Biography for particular instances of his "treacherous" side.And yet, the stories he tells are frequently -- but not always -- wonderful. I feel I have the same yearnings toward travel, the same horreur du domicile and distrust of "accumulators" of stuff. I wish I could write like the man, but I will just have to content myself by reading him. Particularly good are the opening essay, "I Always Wanted to Go to Patagonia" and the two closing essays, "Among the Ruins" and "The Morality o Things."The only disappointing part of this collection is Chatwin's failed attempt to provide a philosophical basis for his rootlessness, his so called "Nomadic Alternative." It is always a danger to take one's own psychological traits and write them large as a theory of life. Chatwin tried to live his "Nomadic Alternative," but sadly died all too young of AIDS in 1989.
Fans of Chatwin will find all his usual subjects in this slim miscellany. Nomads and the art world, psychologizing and minimalist stories. Nothing new then, but lots to like--his prose style and his fearless manhandling of big, bold ideas in particular. I enjoyed the final essay, The Morality of Things, and will likely enjoy it again when we come to move house in the next few months. The travel vignettes and the 'stories' are always rewarding. And I hadn't encountered some of his book reviews; the one on a Robert Louis Stevenson biography was full of insights. I don't suppose Chatwin could have written a plain, straightforward review, or anything else of the kind for that matter.
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con alcune punte magistrali.in molte parti non l'ho capito, forse per come scrive Chatwin, forse perché pur amando l'idea del viaggio non sono abbastanza "folle" per poterlo concepire come "motivo di una vita".se il viaggio è "evasione" allora lo sia per un determinato tempo e non come obiettivo di un'intera vita.e forse è solo che sono irrequieta e quindi non riesco ad applicarmi a sufficienza. jules verne non mi è mai piaciuto, essendo io convinto che il reale è sempre più fantastico del fantasioso.da bc.com: http://auro.bookcrossing.com/journal/...
—Aurora
