Name: In Patagonia
Rating: 3.425 (20 reviews)
ISBN: 9780142437193

Bruce Chatwin

Gives an account of Bruce Chatwin's journey through Patagonia, where he searched for almost-forgotten legends, Butch Cassidy's log cabin, and the descendants of Welsh immigrants.

In Patagonia

Wynter

Magic Square Challenge 2018 - #2 - Book Vipers Monthly Read

A classic travel memoir that unfortunately failed to infect me with wanderlust. There were several issues that prevented In Patagonia from working out for me. Firstly, it lacked direction, or itinerary, that would give me a clear scope of Chatwin's journey. Each short chapter was disconnected from the rest, and kind of jumped from topic to topic. I feel like the author just wrote down the first thing that came to his head in the order that it did, and was done with it. The absence of a unifying theme or a story definitely made my progress somewhat of a slog. Thankfully, like I sad, most chapters were just a page or two long. 

Secondly, there is an odd lack of scenery. Chatwin talks about the anecdotes that people tell him, the colourful individuals that he meets, and the historical notes relating to Patagonia, but the region itself is somehow bleak and silent. As a reader, I never felt like I was in a foreign locale, especially since a lot of locals Chatwin meets are expats who muse about the Old Country a lot. On more than one occasion I forgot completely that I was supposed to be in South America, listening to strangers going on and on about Europe's political atmosphere. 

Fortunately, the historical notes were rather fascinating, especially the legend of The Sect of the Brujería and prehistoric fauna, so I enjoyed those. I just wish In Patagonia had a better voice and presence, but as it is I cannot give it more than an average rating.

In Patagonia

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