Anatomy of Restlessness: Selected Writings 1969-1989
by Bruce Chatwin
List Price:
Our Price: $0.07
You Save: $15.93 (100%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.04 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Bruce ChatwinEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1997-08-01
ISBN: 0140256989
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Book Reviews of Anatomy of Restlessness: Selected Writings 1969-1989
Book Review: Nicely mixed bag!
Summary: 4 Stars
Bruce Chatwin was one of those rarities in the world of English letters. An 'artiste.' A true craftsman of the word. His pristine, illuminous sentences are models of how the English language can and should be used. With nothing superflous, each word and each comma masterfully measured, Chatwin's style beams like an eternal sun amidst the often grey, turbid sky of English prose. Chatwin did for modern English prose what Larkin did for modern English poetry; he slayed the dragon of prolixity. He sped things up, showered them with lots of sun and then sent them on their way. A liberator with the pen.
This sprawling collection of miscellaneous stories, sketches and essays comprise some of Chatwin's best work. Unfortunately, mere beginnings, a glimpse into what could have been had Chatwin lived longer. The bio pieces like 'I Always Wanted to Go to Patagonia,' and 'A Place to Hang Your Hat,' poignantly examine the forces behind this brilliant wanderer. The obsession with exotic places and persons, a lonely, fatherless childhood and his insatiable curiosity are all laid bare with humor and pathos. With his essays on the 'The Nomadic Alternative,'(the strongest part of the collection) Chatwin extends his own incurable migratory needs into a well-argued case for the nomadic lifestyle. Chatwin claims that our most natural---and most desirable---state is that of constant migration, carrying little and not staying for long in any one place. With the building of cities, man became 'thing-oriented' and began to hoard his precious property behind walls to protect against the violent forces from without. Chatwin argues that if we hoarded less, we would evoke less greed, less aggression and thus, cause much fewer problems for ourselves. While Chatwin's arguments have their grey spots, they always manage to challenge the reader with something original.
The other parts of the collection, mostly stories and literary reviews, are enjoyable, even if not on the same level of the other pieces. Yet, Chatwin's style keeps you turning the pages even when the content doesn't. With his terse, energetic sentences, he shows a world virginal and ready for discovery.
While only genuine Chatwinophiles will get worked up about this collection, those interested in quality writing would be wise to take a rest stop here. And for those with pack and pen, ready to conquer the sunset, a finer model couldn't be found.
Summary of Anatomy of Restlessness: Selected Writings 1969-1989
The dangling ends of Bruce Chatwin's writing career were posthumously tied together by Jan Borm and Matthew Graves in a collection of 17 previously neglected or unpublished essays, articles, short stories, and travel tales. They span 20 years of writing, yet common threads emerge: his compulsive storytelling, the endless lure of the remote, and his keen sense of place. Borm and Graves have compiled a wonderful gift for the many Chatwin fans who miss him.General Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Wanderers, Escapists and Gardeners
Travels with Charley in Search of Americaby John Steinbeck
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1980-01-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.93
Price in other shops:
Theophilus North: A Novelby Thornton Wilder
Harper Perennial; Published: 2003-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.80
Price in other shops:
The Flame Trees of Thika: Memories of an African Childhood (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)by Elspeth Huxley
Penguin Classics; Published: 2000-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.45
Price in other shops:
Anatomy of Restlessness: Selected Writings 1969-1989by Bruce Chatwin
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1997-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.79
Price in other shops:
The Solitary Summerby Elizabeth Von Arnim
1st World Library - Literary Society; Published: 2005-01-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.44
Price in other shops:
My Summer in a Garden (Modern Library Gardening)by Charles Dudley Warner
Modern Library; Published: 2002-02-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.49
Price in other shops:
Fog Magicby Julia L. Sauer
Puffin; Published: 1986-10-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.49
Price in other shops:
A Month in the Country (New York Review Books Classics)by J.L. Carr
NYRB Classics; Published: 2000-10-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.23
Price in other shops:
Le Grand Meaulnes (Penguin Classics)by Henri Alain-Fournier
Penguin Classics; Published: 1991-07-01; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops:
The Country of the Pointed Firs and Other Stories (Signet Classics)by Sarah Orne Jewett
Signet Classics; Published: 2000-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.86
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
The Old Patagonian Express: By Train Through the Americasby Paul Theroux
Mariner Books; Published: 1979-11-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.44
Price in other shops:
Far Journeysby Bruce Chatwin
Viking Adult; Published: 1993-11-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $29.50
Price in other shops:
In Patagoniaby Bruce Chatwin
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1988-06-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.94
Price in other shops:
Bruce Chatwin: A Biographyby Nicholas Shakespeare
Anchor; Published: 2001-07-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.00
Price in other shops:
On the Black Hillby Bruce Chatwin
Penguin USA; Published: 1994-10-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $20.27
The Viceroy of Ouidahby Bruce Chatwin
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1988-06-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.21
Price in other shops:
In Patagonia (Penguin Classics)by Bruce Chatwin
Penguin Classics; Published: 2003-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.46
Price in other shops:
Utzby Bruce Chatwin
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1989-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.48
Price in other shops:
What Am I Doing Here?by Bruce Chatwin
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1990-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.94
Price in other shops:
The Songlinesby Bruce Chatwin
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1988-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.13
Price in other shops: