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Bruce Chatwin

The Songlines Paperback – 4 September 1998

by Bruce Chatwin (Author)

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'Extraordinary - a remarkable and satisfying book' Observer

Bruce Chatwin provides a fascinating background to indigenous Australian life.

The songlines are the invisible pathways that criss-cross Australia, tracks connecting communities and following ancient boundaries. Along these lines, Aboriginals passed the songs which revealed the creation of the land and the secrets of its past. In this magical account, Chatwin recalls his travels across the length and breadth of Australia seeking to find the truth about the songs and unravel the mysteries of their stories.

Print length

304 pages
Language

English
Publisher

VINTAGE ARROW - MASS MARKET
Publication date

4 September 1998
Dimensions

12.9 x 1.8 x 19.8 cm
ISBN-10

9780099769910
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Product description

Review

That Chatwin is one of the most distinct and original writers we have is confirmed by the publication of another quite remarkable book -- Nicholas Shakespeare

The songlines emerge as invisible pathways connecting up all over Australia: ancient tracks made of songs which tell of the creation of the land. The Aboriginals' religious duty is ritually to travel the land, singing the Ancestors' songs: singing the world into being afresh. The Songlines is one man's impassioned song -- David Sexton ― Sunday Telegraph

Chatwin is not simply describing another culture; he is also making cautious assertions about human nature. Towards the end of his life Sartre wondered why people still write novels; had he read Chatwin's he might have found new excitement in the genre -- Edmund White ― Sunday Times

Chatwin delves into aspects of landscape that are beyond road signs and highways, and into a way of living that is entirely alien to the average European… those who are open to a bit of a wander will adore it ― Evening Herald

Book Description

'Extraordinary - a remarkable and satisfying book' Observer

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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0099769913
Publisher ‏ : ‎ VINTAGE ARROW - MASS MARKET; 1st edition (4 September 1998)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780099769910
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.9 x 1.8 x 19.8 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 69,130 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 185 in Ethnology
- 350 in Australian & Oceanian Literature
- 522 in Cultural Anthropology (Books)

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292 ratings

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Bruce Chatwin

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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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5 star		64%
4 star		14%
3 star		14%
2 star		5%
1 star		4%

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Doc Robbie

A Direct Hit on Aboriginal Culture

Reviewed in Australia on 11 August 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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Philip Davies

Three Stars

Reviewed in Australia on 31 March 2018

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Narrative parts were great. Notes too elongated.

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Amazon Customer

And like all travel books it's about who the journey and ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 March 2016

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This is an enjoyable book, although, for me, not nearly as insightful as it could be. Part of the reason for that is because it's essentially a travel book. And like all travel books it's about who the journey and all the funny wee characters and encounters that the author has along the way.
Chatwin certainly has a way with words, which is both compact and poetic, with which he paints vivid pictures in the reader's mind - Australia comes alive as this primordial landscape overlaid by a pioneer upstart attitude of Westerners. It certainly conveys the vast strangeness that makes up Australia and it's people.
However, like all travel based accounts, it's seen through a traveller's eyes, so there's a detachment and a slight sense of remove about his accounts. Which is a total shame, because every now and again, a glimpse of how the Aborigines see and interpret their word is utterly awesome.
If Chatwin had been able to get into the Aborigines mindset and been able to convey this, this would have been a much more satisfying book for me. However, it is still a highly enjoyable read, and if you like anything that gives glimpse of a different world and other ways of life, then read this book.

10 people found this helpful

Jude

Confusing.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 May 2020

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I was disappointed with this. I hoped to love it as it sounds so interesting, but I couldn't get to grips with it. There didn't seem to be a central theme (except Bruce himself), so I found it difficult to follow and have had to put it aside. I love the concept as am very interested in the Aborigines, but this is not for me.

heather charnley

the songlines

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 November 2016

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There are some gems in this book about the ancient culture of the Australian aborigine culture and their songs they create that reflect the nature of their stretches of land that they use. Other people hold songs for their parts of the land also, so it becomes a huge pattern of songs created for the whole of the country. A lovely way to honour the planet.

2 people found this helpful

K Humphrey

Ever doubted Chatwin was overated? This confirms it

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 April 2019

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50% of what Chatwin writes is good. The remainder is irrelevant to the subject and simply naval gazing.
A massively hyped book. Hugely disappointing. And an exercise in self iindulgence

Joanna

An interesting read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 January 2020

Verified Purchase

book club recommended book. Short chapters written in an engaging style. Condition of the book was good and delivery quick

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