The Songlines Paperback – June 1, 1988

Book is in Excellent condition. It looks untouched. Arrived when promised. I purchased as a gift and am very happy to give it.

Wonderful, engaging tale set in the Outback Down-Under mate -

Chatham clearly writes this book in a hurry. The publisher did so too; my copy (1988 I think) duplicates pages 171-234. But this is a fascinating and brilliant read looking backwards in time on Chatwin's speculations. As an evolutionist mnay of his speculations have born fruit. It is absolutely stunning to read his thinking post-Dart and Lorenz on the impact climate (and population bottlenecks) have (probably) had upon the human species. If you are looking for some insight in the oldest existing human culture on the planet, this read has some problems as it is limited to primarily central Australia. Nonetheless the recent dehydration deaths of two Aboriginal "Elders" in the Kimberly's, when their car ran out of gas, possibly because they couldn't read the songlines to water in the area through which they were traveling, underscores one the major and important themes Chatwin's discusses. Chatwin wasn't an anthropologist and I think the reviews that criticize him on his book because of this, miss the point of the book. This is a speculative treatise on the human species and Chatwin's interjections of other thinkers on human origins only greatly enrich your reading of this book. I only sorry I read the book ten years after my own trip to Australia.

The Songlines is a somewhat difficult book to characterize.It is to some degree a travel book but Chatwin routinely fictionalized his narratives and the book is in some places referred to as a novel.After a while it veers off into being a collection of (interesting) quotes and occasionally flirts with being a linguistic or anthropological treatise( the least interesting part of the book).It proves to be a quick and enjoyable read.It's set mostly in Australia, with a lot of detours to Africa.Chatwin's voice is distinctive and engaging but i'd be cautious about he's theorizing.By the time I finished with it, I still had no idea what a Songline is.(It was funny .I tried to see if I could formulate it on the basis of what Chatwin reports.Couldn't do it).

discounted me back $1 because it was not EXACTLY as described but perfectly OK!

I read this book twice before (each time my impression of Chatwin is diminished as an amateuristic attempt of theorizing and its "style" as not really holding with the passage of time) but I would like to comment the narration of this new offer (2019) of an audio version. I really enjoyed the narrator. He does makes some mistakes with the pronunciation of places but he keeps the flow very well.

I purchased this book hoping to learn more details about Aboriginal Songlines. It does contain some information, however, much of the book involves stories of other travels and I came away feeling that the author did let me down somewhat. It should be titled The Songlines and other tales of my travels.The copy of the book that I received was as advertised in quality. It was in good shape and from that standpoint it was a good buy. If you are interested in a memoir of travels through Australia, Africa, and other locations; you may find it to be a good read.

I had no idea what I was ordering when I chose this book. After a couple of chapters, I still wasn't sure that it would hold my interest. It is an ancient culture and way of life carried down through the ages by the Aborigine people of Australia. I found it confusing but fascinating. The story telling style is great and the characters are entertaining. I learned of things that I had no idea existed.

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.

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.

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.

The wonderful Kate Bruce Chatwin at his best! I learned so much about the aboriginal culture of Australia from this charming book, and enjoyed his travel experiences as he explored for himself. Sometimes his academic background takes over and he can get a bit bogged down in the anthropological stuff, so I just skipped that! But recommend most highly as a privilege to read!

Just author story about travels not much about aboriginal culture