The Songlines

Fiction

2018-06-26 17:09:52

For Australian aborigines ”songlines” are the string of sites of significant cultural events, such as marriage, song, trades, dances, a hunt, etc., in an individuals and groups history. They are the invisible means by which a man indicates and keeps track of his territory. British author Chatwin organizes his book around the Australian aboriginals notion of songlines, although the writing is more often than not on the periphery of this theme. Interspersed with the explanation of songlines are a narrative of a mild adventure, sometimes with novelistic dialogue, and jottings from Chatwins notebooks (making up a considerable portion of the book), which include his own musings and observations, proverbs, and quotes from famous people, most of which concern travel and wandering and theory about instinct, myth, etc. A curious work.

9780140169621

2018-06-26 17:09:52