Literary Picks "In Patagonia" by Bruce Chatwin

Author: Edward Pickering

In 1975 an enigmatic Englishman named Bruce Chatwin left his job at The Sunday Times and traveled to Patagonia, a land he had always dreamed of visiting. His trip resulted in a book, "In Patagonia," that launched him on a new career as a travel writer.
"In Patagonia" ranks among the finest travel books of the past century and among the finest nonfiction debuts in recent memory. The premier travel writer of his generation, Chatwin writes magically, blending anecdote, oddity, historical inquiry and whimsical observation. The result is a travel narrative wholly unique and irresistibly captivating -- the preferred pocket guide and companion of countless travelers and daydreamers.
In "In Patagonia" Chatwin haphazardly explores southern Argentina and Chile, encountering a rich assortment of characters and landscapes.
In the course of his wanderings he unearths bizarre stories and interesting facts. Reading Chatwin is akin to savoring a piquant candy, with one exception: your imagination, not your palate, tingles with pleasure.
Chatwin discourses with peons, stays with the descendents of Welsh emigrants, hunts for prehistoric fossils, delves into the myth of El Dorado and visits the barren but sublime southern tip of South America, Tierra del Fuego, where he wonders what happened to the native population, all but vanished.
In some of the book's most enjoyable chapters Chatwin narrates the history of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the famed outlaw duo who fled the American West for the wilder climes of South America -- a land where they could start over again. The award winning film starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford ends on a melancholy, moving and mysterious note: exactly what happened to the incorrigible pair? Although no one knows "for sure," Chatwin sets about answering the question. He considers the many apocryphal stories surrounding the deaths of the "bandoleros norteamericanos." He visits the cabin that Butch, Sundance Kid and their beautiful consort, Etta Place, lived in, now owned by a Chilean Indian woman.
The chapters, some hardly a page in length, begin in exciting ways: "Bahia Blanca is the last big place before the Patagonian desert. Bill dropped me at the hotel near the bus station. The bar-room was green and brightly lit and full of men playing cards. A country boy stood by the bar. He was shaky on his feet but kept his head up like a guacho."
Chatwin leads the reader into the richly textured fabric of life in Patagonia with wit, sensitivity and panache.