Bruce Chatwin's literary tool belt rivals any author's in sheer number of poetic and technical devices. Breaking In Patagonia into short sections has made him the master of creating opening grabbers, quickly switching tone, and transitioning effortlessly from short, simple sentences to long, lyrical descriptions. One technique that distinguishes Chatwin from other travel writers, and writers in all genres, is his consistent and various use of the parenthetical.
What purpose do the parentheticals serve in the first passage? Would it be different if Chatwin and written it without them?
What other purposes are there in using parentheticals? What do they allow the author to do and how do they affect the tone of the book?
Why does Chatwin include that Butch was the name of a borrowed gun as a parenthetical afterthought rather than using it poetically? Is the lyrical flow of the preceding sentence broken by the interjected comment?
Are there other authors that use parentheticals like Chatwin? If not, what literary techniques serve a similar purpose for authors like Wolfe and Didion?