IN PATAGONIA

Remote Patagonia, at “the far end of the world,” which journalist Bruce Chatwin encounters in 1976 on a six-month visit, is peopled by quixotic exiles. Christian Rodska is a virtuoso in his mastery of these disparate voices, from dour Welshmen to gaucho ranchers to American outlaws (like Butch Cassidy) to Tierra del Fuegan Indians. Rodska’s narration enhances the poetic detail and sweeping grandeur of Chatwin’s portrait of people and place. We feel bereft as the odyssey ends. J.H.L. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 98]