My literature teacher in high school mentioned Justine, and his description of the prose made me want to read it. I'd owned a copy for years but never got around to reading it until last year, almost forty years since that initial high school introduction! I'm now reading Clea and hope to have the Quartet finished in a week or two. It's wonderful stuff.
It took me a long time as well. I always used to see that ugly little red copy of Justine in the used bookstores and wonder why anyone would give a novel the same name as one by deSade. The most fun with the series is to read them all, and then go back and read Justine again, as the fifth book, to see how much the main character doesn't know about what's going on in the situation.
Durrell is my favourite writer. The quartet is a masterpiece I will always cherish. I'm in the middle of his quintet series, which is equally if not more staggering than the quartet...
Really!?! That is some mighty high praise, I will certainly keep it in mind. Currently I am somewhat swamped with worker university, and don't have a lot of time for my own personal reading. I'm worried I won't get through my 2023 TBR. The Alexandria Quartet is one of my absolute favourites. If I begin reading Justine, it means I have to read through the entire series again. I think it is four times now.
What an excellent review and video Grant. Thank you for posting this. I read AQ back in 2008-2009. Mind blown! Diamond level literature. Perfect description. It is not always the story that captures, it is the artfulness. The prose is luxurious, decadent and filling. I took my time reading this excellent tetralogy and I am due for a reread. You summed up my feelings and thoughts about this series brilliantly. Another analogy I use is that one does not guzzle 12 year old single malt, one savors, invites and divines in a heavenly spirit. AQ is just like that. Thank you so much for this again and I am now a subscriber to your channel. I look forward to your videos on literature. You are a man who knows what he speaks.
Hello J S. Thanks a lot for the great comment and the kind words. I hope you can find some videos you enjoy. I tried to do a good job with this one, because I love this series. I have a hard time saying "My favourite..." But this might be one of my all time best reads. As soon as I start reading Justine, I know I won't be able to stop until I get through the whole series. I really appreciate the comment. I've been so bogged down with university work recently I haven't had hardly any time to make the videos, let alone read the books I would like to.
First of all, Grant, thank you for the hard job you undertook to wake up people who were not born to read. Monumental undertaking. Good luck! I am that person who was born to read and reads every day for the past 67 years. And your RUclips Vlog has very important quality for people like me. It is wrenching and heart breaking when one like me reads a Masterpiece like Alexandria Quartet and no one to talk about that. You are that important person which closes the gap. It happened I just finished Clea. I know I am going to read all 4 books again. Not only because English is my second language. It is far from ordinary reading. It elevates reader to a new level. I doubt I would find right words to describe my feelings. So, I just shut up.
Hello Anna, thanks for the nice comment! I am happy you enjoyed the video. I do think it is strange when people do not like to read, but I suppose most people grow up with the television, and find reading too difficult. It is a terrible tragedy in my opinion. I am happy you are reading The Alexandria Quartet again. I did the same thing when I read the series. I had to go back and have a second look at all the novels once I knew the ending. I hope you will keep enjoying the videos. I mostly make them for myself, and it's always a bit of a surprise that other people like them as well,.
Dear Grant. We are who we are. I am blessed with 3 grandkids. But only one was born to read. Other 2 read too. But mostly school required books. Only one reads constantly, one book after another. I am the same way. But my daughter does not. Surprise surprise... Different gens, I guess.@@grantlovesbooks
Hello Anna, I am happy you enjoyed The Alexandria Quartet. It must have been VERY difficult if English is not your first language. I applaud your commitment to reading it a second time. In all honesty, as soon as I finish reading Clea, I always have the urge to go back to Justine and read it again. It is like Durrell is doing a great magic trick, and even though I have seen it many times, it always surprises me! Thanks for writing. I hope you are well, and keep reading!
@@annamilrud9910 I wonder if loving reading is something that is somewhat in the genes, or the temperament of the person. The shame is, that with today's modern technology, it seems to be a dying hobby. I know there will always be a world full of readers, but I think that in the future it will be far less than today.
Thanks for this! I read the quartet about ten years ago and it passed me by rather unnoticed, but still left me longing to return. So I read a few others of his, including Tunc, and liked it, but wanted something more. Now I know it's time to reread the Alexandria Quartet!
Hello Kim, thanks for writing! I had a hard time with The Quartet the first time I read it, I should say Justine. It wasn't until I read Balthazar that I finally realized what was happening. It really helps to understand the main story when reading this series, there are so many threads and call-backs. Good luck, I hope it is better for you the second time round!
Grant, Thanks for the time you've spent doing this. I am very grateful.. I discovered it late in life, after nearly a half century of reading. I haven't read it three times.... but I probably will. These louche characters are my kind of people. I've known their colleagues all my life. And it is an excellent adventure to read these books. The description of the bombing of Alexandria harbor is perfect. You wouldn't know what was happening if you weren't clued in before hand, and that adds to the really superb depiction.
Thanks Pavel. It's never too late to discover a great book. Maybe it takes a long life to really discover some of the really hard to find ones. That's why I started making videos, to let people know that there are a lot of great books out there!
thank you for this video! when i first finished the whole series, my outlook on life completely changed. i don't know, it has something i have never encountered in any book i've ever read, maybe it's the subtle complexity of the everthickening plot, maybe it's the characters, i don't know. and actually, there are many essays on this topic, what's interesting and maybe helpful for interpreting the point of these books - it's based on the relativity theory and the space time continuum - the first three books are length, width and height, and the fourth one represents the passing time as the 4th dimension. honestly - a postmodern masterpiece! (and it's interesting to me the connection you had with balthazar as the "dropping bomb", for me it was clea, as the first present moment in the story, it ties up everything perfectly, and still you don't feel there will ever be an end)
Thanks Tamara, that's really interesting about the space-time continuum. I've read the series three times, the next time I feel the urge to read it again I will keep that in mind. Congrats on reading it for the first time. It's an amazing series that I feel I can keep going back to.
Excellent . I have collected Durrell most of my adult life. I welcome any thoughts about any and all of his works. I don't have many first editions but I have one of the most completel private collections. I like your work and will follow you.
Thanks for writing John! It is really nice to hear from such an aficionado. That private collection must be very satisfying for you. I hope you are keeping it safe and sound, it must be extra-ordinarily valuable. I hope you can find some other videos that you enjoy.
Hah! I am reading A Prayer For Owen Meany right now and the protagonist goes on at one point about these books. Always fun when things like that happen. A bookish convergence. I am twice as sold on them now, though.
Owen Meany really takes me back. I wouldn't have been able to recognize Alexandria Quartet when I read it then. I know how nice it is to see those mysterious connections. Your reminding me of the days when I read John Irving have really thrown me into a state of nostalgia!
I read the book. It could make a change in one's life. Specially for young person. Great book. Unfortunately, I did not pay attention about Author mentioning Alexandria Quartet. Otherwise, I would read it long time ago.
I picked up _Justine_ a few days ago and I've read about half of it. It's interesting and unique. It's spirit reminds me of Lou Reed's music. His description of the characters reminds me of the Lou Reed songs _Hangin' Round_ and _Wild Child._ (Justine is the Wild Child, "Always back to Justine"). And the mood is often like the song _Perfect Day._ Anyway, it is striking me like that.
I hope you enjoy it Ned. I don't want to say anything now that influences you one way or another. But I hope you will be intrigued enough to go on to read Balthazar. Things really go to the next level in that book.
There are a few lines in the book, I am not sure if it is Clea or Mountolive, but the writer Pursewarden, refers to Darly as 'Lineaments of Gratified Desire.' Which I thought was funny since it is Lawrence G. Durrell's own initials.
I hope you manage to get round to reading it some time, it might be a bit complicated on the first reading, especially the first novel. But when I began reading Balthazar, I was really amazed at the scope of Durrell's imagination.
I read Justine years ago. Then recently i bought the whole set and read it again. I am half way through Balthazar and like you said it's very surprising in respect of what i thought i knew about Justine. I have to read slower than normal because of the florid prose and english is not my first language. Great video, Subscribed!
Hello Carlos, don't feel bad about reading slowly, it very much deserves to be read slowly. I've read the series three times, as soon as I pick up Justine, I know I will have to read all four books, one after the other. Take your time and enjoy it, it truly is one of the greatest works of literature. I'm glad you are sticking with it! Thanks for subscribing!
a little update: It seems that my criticisms were related to the translation into Portuguese…I saw the initial excerpt of Justine on Goodreads (in English) and loved it!!! for example and just a small part: "In the midst of winter you can feel the inventions of spring." which in Portuguese they translated into a vulgar, common phrase: "In the middle of winter, spring begins to make itself felt" It lost the magic! In some parts, the Portuguese translation was or very "normal" or a bit exaggerated and therefore very colorful (even more than the original) and went overboard for me. After realizing this, I started to put some of the exaggerations I read into perspective. I really enjoyed it, but not as much as the feeling I got from reading that little bit in English! (but the 4 books are too big to read in the original language, if it were fewer pages, but as it is, no). Hope you are well Grant, until the next readings!🙂
Hello Cristina! Sorry to hear about your translation woes, that is always a difficult problem. I just finished reading Germinal by Zola, I had two copies of the book and was reading the older one, so I wouldn't ruin the newer copy. But the older version had a strange translation, some of the idioms people used in common speech were quite unusual or antiquated. I checked the translations in the newer copy and it was a lot more like 'normal' speech. But this is a translation of 1880 French mine-workers, illiterate and uneducated. Who knows what the original French language looks like? Well, everyone in France I suppose. It is quite a tragedy, the variations and quality of translated literature. I often wonder why there seems to be so many great Japanese translations, but not so many German, or even Spanish. It is probably also a question of how readily the original language lends itself to being translated in English. Grammatically and structurally. Although, Justine is intentionally written in a very colourful way, because Darley, the narrator, is a writer, and he uses this very 'literary' style to show how clever he is. You might want to try Balthazar in English to see if it is a little more readable. Hope you are well!
@@grantlovesbooks Hi Grant, I was already talking about all the books. I finished reading them recently, and yes, Justine was the one that allowed for the most ‘embellishments’ in the translation!
I wasn't particularly keen on The Black Book, but you have inspired me to read TAQ. Will try to do so fastisiously! Just discovered and am enjoying your channel
Thanks a lot! Please give it a try. The first time I read Justine I wasn't sure about it. But when I read Balthazar, suddenly it became amazing. Try to read one right after the other for the best results. If you leave too much time between books you might lose the thread, and there is really a lot of references between the four books that make it like putting together a jigsaw puzzle.
I finished Justine and started Balthazar today. I'm utterly mesmerised by this writing - so much so I've put The Brothers Karamazov on hold some 100 pages in - so want to thank you again for this video! After having discovered our similar taste (I had the same aversion to those rural chapters in Anna Karenina, for instance, and the majority of the few novels I brought with me to my little flat are fortuitously among those you've reviewed), I now consider this channel my go-to guide for fiction! Hope you're well
@@kolya727 Hello Kolya, thank you for the kind words. I am happy I can provide a little direction. You started reading Balthazar today, for the first time? Man, you are about to discover one of the best secrets in all of literature. Wait until you get to Mountolive! The first time I read Justine, I wasn't immediately taken with it. The style was so completely original, like I was reading a new variation of English. I thought it was OK, but wasn't in a hurry to read Balthazar. I picked it up a year later, and suddenly it was like a bomb had been dropped; "You mean... but if that's the case then....wait a minute!" I read all three books of the series and when I finished I read Justine again. I think that is really a great way to finish the series, after reading Clea, go right back to Justine. The whole series is like looking at some amazing masterpiece in a gallery, and you look and look and think, 'Where the hell did he even get started with something like this?'
Great video on a much neglected modern classic. Nice to see your love and appreciation for this text. It deserves a deep read for full appreciation. I have read it, but not deeply but that is a goal of mine. There is an interesting analysis (thesis by Lillios) of love in TAQ floating around the internet which is well worth a look if you are interested.
Thanks a lot for the nice comment! I'm glad you enjoyed the video. I'll have a look for the article you mentioned. Thanks for subscribing, hopefully you can enjoy some of the other videos I've made. (I just realized you were writing about The Alexandria Quartet and not Screwtape!) This series by Durrell is one of my all-time favourites. I am totally in awe of Durrell's ability as a writer, and the way he managed to weave an ever more complex narrative from the beginning. I will certainly look for that thesis, the more I can find out about TAQ, the more prepared I will be to enjoy it again the next time I read it!
No, not yet. I would like to, considering how highly I rate the Alexandria Quartet. I hope that I get to it sooner rather than later. I'm having a very hard time making the time for my own reading these days. Not so good for someone who makes RUclips videos about books.
@@vasari9198 Let's hope I get to it some day. I'm a little wary of authors lesser-known work, even though it might not be too bad, because their other work is so great, it feels like an even bigger let-down. These days I'm having a hard enough time getting to the books on my shelves.
I hope you enjoy them as much as I did! Some people have told me they are a bit hard to find. I've never heard of Nunquam, maybe it's another 'lost treasure!'
The narrator's name was Darley. Also, have you read Iain Pears' novel "An Instance Of The Fingerpost."? This is an historical novel in which successive narrator's tell a story, each successive character having access to the previous accounts untill the last one finally reveals the whole truth. I have read the first three of the quartet but I must get around to Clea.
That sounds amazing! I will put in on the ever-growing list of books I need to read. Clea is actually a strange kind of book. I think it helps if you haven't allowed too much time to elapse between reading Mountolive and Clea, otherwise, it might feel like a strange kind of book.
DARLEY's the name of the protagonist and narrator. It's partially autobiographical, obviously. Durrell's second wife's the inspiration for Justine's character. I read them for the first time at 17 /18 yo. It still is my favourite novel and Durrell should have gotten the Nobel prize for it. Durrel paints the Mediterranean melting potof cultures like no one else. The Durrell's TV series was is very charming although the writer himself LD was quite complicated as a person. His daughter Sappho committed suicide. Anyway....
Thanks a lot for this! A few people have reminded me the characters name was Darley, and I've been kicking myself for not checking it a bit more carefully. As soon as I saw the name it came back to me in a flash. I had no idea about the autobiographical aspects, and I'm sorry to hear that about his daughter.
10:37 ah!!! I'm reading now and I've finished Justine, and...I thought: but this is what they say is "excellent"!!! Hmmm, but I found it so uninteresting and with very far-fetched descriptions, which didn't hit the mark (for those who have only read Justine! 😉) rarely able to convey the emotion that someone is supposed to want, when writing like that, cold, as you also said. Something's missing, probably the rest of the quartet...Well, your video Grant has given me the impetus to continue with Balthazar, let's see! 🙂
Hello Cristina, please keep an open mind going into Balthazar. I hate to sound like a fortune cookie, but 'Many hidden things will be revealed.' Once you begin to understand a little better who Darley is, and see a broader view of the story in Alexandria, the story will really transform. It took me a year to get from Justine to Balthazar, but when I did, I was kicking myself!
Well.... I might be, but there's nothing to stop you from picking the books up at the library, or used, so you don't spend too much, even just the first book, Justine. Try to read the first five pages and see how it goes. If I find a book difficult or confusing, I'll try to get some online help, to make things a bit easier. I have to confess, I do this every time when I read an unknown Shakespeare play. It might be that the style is a bit hard to get a feeling for, but it you give it time it could grow on you. Several people have left comments on Facebook telling me they didn't find it difficult to read. I might have been my feeling at the time.
You should try to read Hans Henny Jahnn and his trilogy "River Without Banks". His writing is on the same level., maybe even better. His trilogy is a mix of Kafka, Joyce, Ibsen, Rilke, Gide and others great masters of prose.
@@grantlovesbooks Lawrence Durrell was a big fan and friend of Henry Miller ("Tropic of Cancer"). Henry Miller and Hans Henny Jahnn both were a big fans of John Cowper Powys ("A Glastonbury Romance", "Wolf Solent", "Porius"). You should try his books too.
Lovely review and I certainly echo your conclusions about this being literature of the highest order... My only, very minor, criticism, and perhaps this stems from my background as a professor of Cognitive Science with a background in Philosophy, is that your review, like *all* the others I have read/watched, glosses over the philosophical foundations of the work. And here, I am not alluding to the more 'superficial' resonances with physics and Einstein. IMO this book is deeply grounded on concepts embodied in modern Cognitive Science; specifically, the ecological cognitive science movement (i.e., how place informs, and shapes, cognition). I must presume - but not being a Durrell scholar I don't know if this is true - but I must presume, that Durrell had read, or at least was well acquainted with, Merleuau Ponty's 1945 work, 'Phenomenology of Perception', as elements of this work - specifically, the 'entre deux': ""the world is inseparable from the subject, but a subject which is nothing but a project of the world; and the subject is inseparable from the world but a world which is nothing but a project of the subject" permeate the Quartet. Thus, when I read the Quartet, in addition to the stylistic and narrative inventions your review so beautifully summarises, I am struck both by how modern Durrell's philosophy of place reads, and how modern his treatment of sexual non-norms was .. I have now re-read the Quartet many, many times, and know I will continue to return to it. For me, it is fiction that never disappoints, even if Durrell's use of the n-word word, and his caricatures of Egypt's Islamic majority, don't always sit easy to this twenty-first-century mind ..
Thank-you for the interesting reflections. I never studied philosophy, and even the mildest ideas seem well over my head. A friend of mine once encouraged me to study philosophy, but the textbooks are prohibitively expensive. Which is why I stick to Eng. Lit. I can get the books from the library or at a second hand shop. University is also shamefully expensive in Canada, so I do all I can to mitigate the costs by studying literature when I would more like to be studying political-science or psychology. Thanks for writing.
My literature teacher in high school mentioned Justine, and his description of the prose made me want to read it. I'd owned a copy for years but never got around to reading it until last year, almost forty years since that initial high school introduction! I'm now reading Clea and hope to have the Quartet finished in a week or two. It's wonderful stuff.
It took me a long time as well. I always used to see that ugly little red copy of Justine in the used bookstores and wonder why anyone would give a novel the same name as one by deSade.
The most fun with the series is to read them all, and then go back and read Justine again, as the fifth book, to see how much the main character doesn't know about what's going on in the situation.
Durrell is my favourite writer. The quartet is a masterpiece I will always cherish. I'm in the middle of his quintet series, which is equally if not more staggering than the quartet...
Really!?! That is some mighty high praise, I will certainly keep it in mind. Currently I am somewhat swamped with worker university, and don't have a lot of time for my own personal reading. I'm worried I won't get through my 2023 TBR.
The Alexandria Quartet is one of my absolute favourites. If I begin reading Justine, it means I have to read through the entire series again. I think it is four times now.
Absolutely loved this video! Thank you, Grant.
Thanks a lot Davood, I really appreciate the kind feedback!
Excellent
Happy you approve.
What an excellent review and video Grant. Thank you for posting this. I read AQ back in 2008-2009. Mind blown! Diamond level literature. Perfect description. It is not always the story that captures, it is the artfulness. The prose is luxurious, decadent and filling. I took my time reading this excellent tetralogy and I am due for a reread. You summed up my feelings and thoughts about this series brilliantly. Another analogy I use is that one does not guzzle 12 year old single malt, one savors, invites and divines in a heavenly spirit. AQ is just like that. Thank you so much for this again and I am now a subscriber to your channel. I look forward to your videos on literature. You are a man who knows what he speaks.
Hello J S. Thanks a lot for the great comment and the kind words. I hope you can find some videos you enjoy.
I tried to do a good job with this one, because I love this series. I have a hard time saying "My favourite..." But this might be one of my all time best reads. As soon as I start reading Justine, I know I won't be able to stop until I get through the whole series.
I really appreciate the comment. I've been so bogged down with university work recently I haven't had hardly any time to make the videos, let alone read the books I would like to.
First of all, Grant, thank you for the hard job you undertook to wake up people who were not born to read. Monumental undertaking. Good luck! I am that person who was born to read and reads every day for the past 67 years. And your RUclips Vlog has very important quality for people like me. It is wrenching and heart breaking when one like me reads a Masterpiece like Alexandria Quartet and no one to talk about that. You are that important person which closes the gap.
It happened I just finished Clea. I know I am going to read all 4 books again. Not only because English is my second language. It is far from ordinary reading. It elevates reader to a new level. I doubt I would find right words to describe my feelings. So, I just shut up.
Hello Anna, thanks for the nice comment! I am happy you enjoyed the video. I do think it is strange when people do not like to read, but I suppose most people grow up with the television, and find reading too difficult. It is a terrible tragedy in my opinion.
I am happy you are reading The Alexandria Quartet again. I did the same thing when I read the series. I had to go back and have a second look at all the novels once I knew the ending.
I hope you will keep enjoying the videos. I mostly make them for myself, and it's always a bit of a surprise that other people like them as well,.
Isn't it amazing to think that of all the millions who have read it, we don't know even one. It's really a transporting experience to read it.
Dear Grant. We are who we are. I am blessed with 3 grandkids. But only one was born to read. Other 2 read too. But mostly school required books.
Only one reads constantly, one book after another. I am the same way. But my daughter does not. Surprise surprise... Different gens, I guess.@@grantlovesbooks
Hello Anna, I am happy you enjoyed The Alexandria Quartet. It must have been VERY difficult if English is not your first language. I applaud your commitment to reading it a second time. In all honesty, as soon as I finish reading Clea, I always have the urge to go back to Justine and read it again. It is like Durrell is doing a great magic trick, and even though I have seen it many times, it always surprises me!
Thanks for writing. I hope you are well, and keep reading!
@@annamilrud9910 I wonder if loving reading is something that is somewhat in the genes, or the temperament of the person. The shame is, that with today's modern technology, it seems to be a dying hobby. I know there will always be a world full of readers, but I think that in the future it will be far less than today.
Thanks for this! I read the quartet about ten years ago and it passed me by rather unnoticed, but still left me longing to return. So I read a few others of his, including Tunc, and liked it, but wanted something more. Now I know it's time to reread the Alexandria Quartet!
Hello Kim, thanks for writing! I had a hard time with The Quartet the first time I read it, I should say Justine. It wasn't until I read Balthazar that I finally realized what was happening. It really helps to understand the main story when reading this series, there are so many threads and call-backs. Good luck, I hope it is better for you the second time round!
Grant, Thanks for the time you've spent doing this. I am very grateful.. I discovered it late in life, after nearly a half century of reading. I haven't read it three times.... but I probably will. These louche characters are my kind of people. I've known their colleagues all my life. And it is an excellent adventure to read these books. The description of the bombing of Alexandria harbor is perfect. You wouldn't know what was happening if you weren't clued in before hand, and that adds to the really superb depiction.
Thanks Pavel. It's never too late to discover a great book. Maybe it takes a long life to really discover some of the really hard to find ones. That's why I started making videos, to let people know that there are a lot of great books out there!
thank you for this video! when i first finished the whole series, my outlook on life completely changed. i don't know, it has something i have never encountered in any book i've ever read, maybe it's the subtle complexity of the everthickening plot, maybe it's the characters, i don't know. and actually, there are many essays on this topic, what's interesting and maybe helpful for interpreting the point of these books - it's based on the relativity theory and the space time continuum - the first three books are length, width and height, and the fourth one represents the passing time as the 4th dimension. honestly - a postmodern masterpiece! (and it's interesting to me the connection you had with balthazar as the "dropping bomb", for me it was clea, as the first present moment in the story, it ties up everything perfectly, and still you don't feel there will ever be an end)
Thanks Tamara, that's really interesting about the space-time continuum. I've read the series three times, the next time I feel the urge to read it again I will keep that in mind. Congrats on reading it for the first time. It's an amazing series that I feel I can keep going back to.
I think I've got the video/audio in synch. Thanks a lot to Jack Walter for pointing it out! Otherwise this video would really have been a dud.
Huh I hadn’t noticed anything tbh lol
@@SpringboardThought Luckily someone pointed it out and I got it fixed before the video went live.
Excellent . I have collected Durrell most of my adult life. I welcome any thoughts about any and all of his works. I don't have many first editions but I have one of the most completel private collections. I like your work and will follow you.
Thanks for writing John! It is really nice to hear from such an aficionado. That private collection must be very satisfying for you. I hope you are keeping it safe and sound, it must be extra-ordinarily valuable. I hope you can find some other videos that you enjoy.
Hah! I am reading A Prayer For Owen Meany right now and the protagonist goes on at one point about these books. Always fun when things like that happen. A bookish convergence. I am twice as sold on them now, though.
Owen Meany really takes me back. I wouldn't have been able to recognize Alexandria Quartet when I read it then.
I know how nice it is to see those mysterious connections.
Your reminding me of the days when I read John Irving have really thrown me into a state of nostalgia!
I read the book. It could make a change in one's life. Specially for young person. Great book. Unfortunately, I did not pay attention about Author mentioning Alexandria Quartet. Otherwise, I would read it long time ago.
I picked up _Justine_ a few days ago and I've read about half of it. It's interesting and unique. It's spirit reminds me of Lou Reed's music. His description of the characters reminds me of the Lou Reed songs _Hangin' Round_ and _Wild Child._ (Justine is the Wild Child, "Always back to Justine"). And the mood is often like the song _Perfect Day._ Anyway, it is striking me like that.
I hope you enjoy it Ned. I don't want to say anything now that influences you one way or another. But I hope you will be intrigued enough to go on to read Balthazar. Things really go to the next level in that book.
And don't forget Durrell's sly joke: Darly is a phonetic anagram of Larry D.
There are a few lines in the book, I am not sure if it is Clea or Mountolive, but the writer Pursewarden, refers to Darly as 'Lineaments of Gratified Desire.' Which I thought was funny since it is Lawrence G. Durrell's own initials.
Thank you for reviewing this one! It's been high on my tbr for several years.
I hope you manage to get round to reading it some time, it might be a bit complicated on the first reading, especially the first novel. But when I began reading Balthazar, I was really amazed at the scope of Durrell's imagination.
I read Justine years ago. Then recently i bought the whole set and read it again. I am half way through Balthazar and like you said it's very surprising in respect of what i thought i knew about Justine. I have to read slower than normal because of the florid prose and english is not my first language. Great video, Subscribed!
Hello Carlos, don't feel bad about reading slowly, it very much deserves to be read slowly. I've read the series three times, as soon as I pick up Justine, I know I will have to read all four books, one after the other. Take your time and enjoy it, it truly is one of the greatest works of literature.
I'm glad you are sticking with it!
Thanks for subscribing!
a little update: It seems that my criticisms were related to the translation into Portuguese…I saw the initial excerpt of Justine on Goodreads (in English) and loved it!!! for example and just a small part:
"In the midst of winter you can feel the inventions of spring."
which in Portuguese they translated into a vulgar, common phrase:
"In the middle of winter, spring begins to make itself felt"
It lost the magic!
In some parts, the Portuguese translation was or very "normal" or a bit exaggerated and therefore very colorful (even more than the original) and went overboard for me. After realizing this, I started to put some of the exaggerations I read into perspective. I really enjoyed it, but not as much as the feeling I got from reading that little bit in English! (but the 4 books are too big to read in the original language, if it were fewer pages, but as it is, no). Hope you are well Grant, until the next readings!🙂
Hello Cristina! Sorry to hear about your translation woes, that is always a difficult problem. I just finished reading Germinal by Zola, I had two copies of the book and was reading the older one, so I wouldn't ruin the newer copy. But the older version had a strange translation, some of the idioms people used in common speech were quite unusual or antiquated. I checked the translations in the newer copy and it was a lot more like 'normal' speech.
But this is a translation of 1880 French mine-workers, illiterate and uneducated. Who knows what the original French language looks like? Well, everyone in France I suppose.
It is quite a tragedy, the variations and quality of translated literature. I often wonder why there seems to be so many great Japanese translations, but not so many German, or even Spanish.
It is probably also a question of how readily the original language lends itself to being translated in English. Grammatically and structurally.
Although, Justine is intentionally written in a very colourful way, because Darley, the narrator, is a writer, and he uses this very 'literary' style to show how clever he is. You might want to try Balthazar in English to see if it is a little more readable.
Hope you are well!
@@grantlovesbooks Hi Grant, I was already talking about all the books. I finished reading them recently, and yes, Justine was the one that allowed for the most ‘embellishments’ in the translation!
Thank you!
My pleasure Maureen, thanks for the cheerful comment!
I wasn't particularly keen on The Black Book, but you have inspired me to read TAQ. Will try to do so fastisiously! Just discovered and am enjoying your channel
Thanks a lot! Please give it a try. The first time I read Justine I wasn't sure about it. But when I read Balthazar, suddenly it became amazing. Try to read one right after the other for the best results. If you leave too much time between books you might lose the thread, and there is really a lot of references between the four books that make it like putting together a jigsaw puzzle.
I finished Justine and started Balthazar today. I'm utterly mesmerised by this writing - so much so I've put The Brothers Karamazov on hold some 100 pages in - so want to thank you again for this video! After having discovered our similar taste (I had the same aversion to those rural chapters in Anna Karenina, for instance, and the majority of the few novels I brought with me to my little flat are fortuitously among those you've reviewed), I now consider this channel my go-to guide for fiction! Hope you're well
@@kolya727 Hello Kolya, thank you for the kind words. I am happy I can provide a little direction. You started reading Balthazar today, for the first time? Man, you are about to discover one of the best secrets in all of literature. Wait until you get to Mountolive!
The first time I read Justine, I wasn't immediately taken with it. The style was so completely original, like I was reading a new variation of English. I thought it was OK, but wasn't in a hurry to read Balthazar. I picked it up a year later, and suddenly it was like a bomb had been dropped; "You mean... but if that's the case then....wait a minute!" I read all three books of the series and when I finished I read Justine again. I think that is really a great way to finish the series, after reading Clea, go right back to Justine.
The whole series is like looking at some amazing masterpiece in a gallery, and you look and look and think, 'Where the hell did he even get started with something like this?'
Mountolive is in 3rd person.
Great video on a much neglected modern classic. Nice to see your love and appreciation for this text. It deserves a deep read for full appreciation. I have read it, but not deeply but that is a goal of mine. There is an interesting analysis (thesis by Lillios) of love in TAQ floating around the internet which is well worth a look if you are interested.
Thanks a lot for the nice comment! I'm glad you enjoyed the video. I'll have a look for the article you mentioned. Thanks for subscribing, hopefully you can enjoy some of the other videos I've made.
(I just realized you were writing about The Alexandria Quartet and not Screwtape!)
This series by Durrell is one of my all-time favourites. I am totally in awe of Durrell's ability as a writer, and the way he managed to weave an ever more complex narrative from the beginning.
I will certainly look for that thesis, the more I can find out about TAQ, the more prepared I will be to enjoy it again the next time I read it!
I wonder if Grant has read the Avignon Quintet? Durrell, I think, went more meta.
No, not yet. I would like to, considering how highly I rate the Alexandria Quartet. I hope that I get to it sooner rather than later. I'm having a very hard time making the time for my own reading these days. Not so good for someone who makes RUclips videos about books.
@@grantlovesbooks I think the quartet is still considered the better series, but like you I know I have to read it eventually.
@@vasari9198 Let's hope I get to it some day. I'm a little wary of authors lesser-known work, even though it might not be too bad, because their other work is so great, it feels like an even bigger let-down.
These days I'm having a hard enough time getting to the books on my shelves.
Awesome. I´ll buy Balthazar and Clea right away. And Nunquam as well.
I hope you enjoy them as much as I did! Some people have told me they are a bit hard to find. I've never heard of Nunquam, maybe it's another 'lost treasure!'
The narrator's name was Darley.
Also, have you read Iain Pears' novel "An Instance Of The Fingerpost."? This is an historical novel in which successive narrator's tell a story, each successive character having access to the previous accounts untill the last one finally reveals the whole truth.
I have read the first three of the quartet but I must get around to Clea.
That sounds amazing! I will put in on the ever-growing list of books I need to read.
Clea is actually a strange kind of book. I think it helps if you haven't allowed too much time to elapse between reading Mountolive and Clea, otherwise, it might feel like a strange kind of book.
Have you reviewed Under the Volcan by Malcolm Lowry? Talking of dissipation. Probably Lowry is the more accomplished writer.
Hello Hansistein, Under the Volcano is coming some time in the next few months. It is on my 2024 TBR list so it won't be too long.
DARLEY's the name of the protagonist and narrator. It's partially autobiographical, obviously. Durrell's second wife's the inspiration for Justine's character. I read them for the first time at 17 /18 yo. It still is my favourite novel and Durrell should have gotten the Nobel prize for it. Durrel paints the Mediterranean melting potof cultures like no one else. The Durrell's TV series was is very charming although the writer himself LD was quite complicated as a person. His daughter Sappho committed suicide. Anyway....
Thanks a lot for this! A few people have reminded me the characters name was Darley, and I've been kicking myself for not checking it a bit more carefully. As soon as I saw the name it came back to me in a flash.
I had no idea about the autobiographical aspects, and I'm sorry to hear that about his daughter.
10:37 ah!!! I'm reading now and I've finished Justine, and...I thought: but this is what they say is "excellent"!!! Hmmm, but I found it so uninteresting and with very far-fetched descriptions, which didn't hit the mark (for those who have only read Justine! 😉) rarely able to convey the emotion that someone is supposed to want, when writing like that, cold, as you also said. Something's missing, probably the rest of the quartet...Well, your video Grant has given me the impetus to continue with Balthazar, let's see! 🙂
Hello Cristina, please keep an open mind going into Balthazar. I hate to sound like a fortune cookie, but 'Many hidden things will be revealed.' Once you begin to understand a little better who Darley is, and see a broader view of the story in Alexandria, the story will really transform.
It took me a year to get from Justine to Balthazar, but when I did, I was kicking myself!
@@grantlovesbooks ok, i certainly will!
Sounds intriguing, but I think this might be way over my head! I'm still an amateur when it comes to literature...
Well.... I might be, but there's nothing to stop you from picking the books up at the library, or used, so you don't spend too much, even just the first book, Justine. Try to read the first five pages and see how it goes.
If I find a book difficult or confusing, I'll try to get some online help, to make things a bit easier. I have to confess, I do this every time when I read an unknown Shakespeare play.
It might be that the style is a bit hard to get a feeling for, but it you give it time it could grow on you.
Several people have left comments on Facebook telling me they didn't find it difficult to read. I might have been my feeling at the time.
One never knows till one try.
You should try to read Hans Henny Jahnn and his trilogy "River Without Banks". His writing is on the same level., maybe even better. His trilogy is a mix of Kafka, Joyce, Ibsen, Rilke, Gide and others great masters of prose.
Thanks a lot for the recommendation, I will put it on the list. I just had a quick look, but it really got my attention!
@@grantlovesbooks Lawrence Durrell was a big fan and friend of Henry Miller ("Tropic of Cancer"). Henry Miller and Hans Henny Jahnn both were a big fans of John Cowper Powys ("A Glastonbury Romance", "Wolf Solent", "Porius"). You should try his books too.
@@oleghrozman4172 Thank-you Oleg, I will look them up. I have heard the name Powys somewhere before, so that is a good sign!
Darley's his name.
Thanks.
Lovely review and I certainly echo your conclusions about this being literature of the highest order...
My only, very minor, criticism, and perhaps this stems from my background as a professor of Cognitive Science with a background in Philosophy, is that your review, like *all* the others I have read/watched, glosses over the philosophical foundations of the work. And here, I am not alluding to the more 'superficial' resonances with physics and Einstein. IMO this book is deeply grounded on concepts embodied in modern Cognitive Science; specifically, the ecological cognitive science movement (i.e., how place informs, and shapes, cognition). I must presume - but not being a Durrell scholar I don't know if this is true - but I must presume, that Durrell had read, or at least was well acquainted with, Merleuau Ponty's 1945 work, 'Phenomenology of Perception', as elements of this work - specifically, the 'entre deux': ""the world is inseparable from the subject, but a subject which is nothing but a project of the world; and the subject is inseparable from the world but a world which is nothing but a project of the subject" permeate the Quartet.
Thus, when I read the Quartet, in addition to the stylistic and narrative inventions your review so beautifully summarises, I am struck both by how modern Durrell's philosophy of place reads, and how modern his treatment of sexual non-norms was .. I have now re-read the Quartet many, many times, and know I will continue to return to it. For me, it is fiction that never disappoints, even if Durrell's use of the n-word word, and his caricatures of Egypt's Islamic majority, don't always sit easy to this twenty-first-century mind ..
Thank-you for the interesting reflections. I never studied philosophy, and even the mildest ideas seem well over my head.
A friend of mine once encouraged me to study philosophy, but the textbooks are prohibitively expensive. Which is why I stick to Eng. Lit. I can get the books from the library or at a second hand shop. University is also shamefully expensive in Canada, so I do all I can to mitigate the costs by studying literature when I would more like to be studying political-science or psychology.
Thanks for writing.