It was lush, brutal, beautiful, and horrible all at once. He tosses out sentences like he’s dictating this drunk with his legs up on his desk, jabbing his finger at some poor secretary who is being kept late to capture her boss’ “brilliant ideas” before they disappear. Durrell makes many references in Justine to the Greek Alexandrian poet Constantin Cavafy, and thus, the novel introduced Cavafy to a wide new audience in the English-speaking world. When I realized this novel contains endlessly quotable lines often overshadowing story, I questioned my sure-to-be 5-star rating. I enjoy the exquisite language and the general atmosphere of Alexandria wich Durrell puts down in this first book of the Alexandria quartet. 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars. And both use the word "mauve" often. Justine, or The Misfortunes of Virtue (French: Justine, ou Les Malheurs de la Vertu) is a 1791 novel by Donatien Alphonse François de Sade, better known as the Marquis de Sade. Early in this novel, the narrator/author asks, "What is in the word Alexandria?" Justine (Alexandria Quartet) by Lawrence Durrell and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at AbeBooks.com. Having just thrown away Dave Eggers’ Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius I was in the market for a book that read like it was trying. Durrell has a particular talent for crafting memorable minor characters: Mnemjian, the kyphotic barber; Capodistria, the one-eyed lecher, Clea, a celibate lesbi. Then there is beauty. I really wasn’t looking to make you look bad, and quite frankly I’d prefer it if you’d put me back to sleep, but here I am, nonetheless, looking at you. It is a masterpiece of Gnostic eroticism that may have lost its audience due to its outrageous chauvinism. Is this to signify writer's block? An exceptional example. That's such a dark thought it hurts. Well worth a look at. Goodreads Members' Most Anticipated Spring Books. "Show me the man who invented the human heart. We’d love your help. "[1], The character of Justine – who is portrayed by Durrell as alluring, seductive, mournful, and prone to dark, cryptic pronouncements – has been described by critics as the centrifugal force of the novel. There is a section called 'Workpoints' at the end of the book, but it doesn't specify any of the asterisked words or even page numbers, so I don't know if its related. [2], Durrell uses a highly poetic, allusive, and indirect prose style in Justine similar to the "epiphanies" of James Joyce, which places more emphasis on the lyrical dimension of the novel. So perhaps I'm a biased reader. But then there is the weird: a character has a rubber woman manufactured, fills her with water, names her Sabrina, and is b. The book details the English narrator's love for his enchanting and enigmatic mistress Justine who is a married woman involved in this covert and tawdry affair of the heart. by Penguin Group. You can love her, suffer for her, or turn her into literature.”, Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger for Roman (1959). I always thought I preferred his brother’s writing, you know? Unfortunately, I think that’s the problem with this one. Lawrence Durrell wrote a book for every kind of reader, from travel memoirs to spy thrillers to experimental fiction to hilarious short story collections. Employing a fluctuating narrative and poetic prose, Durrell recounts his unnamed narrator’s all-encompassing romance with the intoxicating Justine. This is a highly representative work of the fatuous Larry that we know and love from the "Durrells in Corfu". The first thing I did when I finished this book was to go back to the beginning, then to re-read the parts I had marked. As you most likely know, this is the first book of Lawrence Durrell's acclaimed Alexandria Quartet. Like it was making an effort. [Darley, an impoverished irish (ex-)teacher. This is a test product, not something. Those who have sexual fantasies involving Jewish women who smoke cigarettes while naked. Justine Durrell writes about the lives of remarkable and surprising women from the past – highlighting their grace, challenges, and creativity to engender their living presence in your life. I'm reading an old copy of this book, published in 1968. I woke too soon. Justine by Lawrence Durell tells the tragic story of the mysterious and fascinating Justine, and those whose lives she touched in pre-war Alexandria. Cart Hello Select your address Best Sellers Today's Deals Electronics Customer Service Books New Releases Home Computers Gift Ideas Gift Cards Sell. Can anyone advise? It feels like a warm, ancient, beautiful, decaying, diverse, passionate, decadent city that seems to permeate the lives of its inhabitants, most of whom seem obsessed with sex. This Study Guide consists of approximately 29 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Justine. On Thursday, December 11 th, the Fixed on Fiction book group met to discuss Justine by Lawrence Durrell. He’s able to place the right idea with the right paint color and the right speaker and send them forth one after the other until he builds up a really great rhythm that almost makes me fall asleep. There’s stuff about it that works and stuff that doesn’t, and he decided to let everyone see his notes on his experiment before it was done. I have to confess it gets a bit dull for me. His first literary work, The Black Book, appeared in Paris in 1938. Set in Alexandria, Egypt, in the years between World Wars I and II, Justine is the first installment in the distinguished Alexandria Quartet. Lawrence Durrell's masterpiece The Alexandria Quartet are four novels set in Alexandria, Egypt during the 1940s. Hello Select your address All Hello, Sign in. To see what your friends thought of this book. Many of these characters practice, at least, one of the major religions of the region, but none are very religious in the more traditional sense of that notion, and Durrell describes them as "all hunting for rational reasons for believing in the absurd."[4]. Unfortunately, I think that’s the problem with this one. Halfway through the second in this quartet, "Bathalzar", I went back and reread "Justine". Durrell writes of his alluring heroine. The first in the tetralogy, Justine is one of four interlocking novels, each of which tells various aspects of a complex story of passion and deception from differing points of view. [2], Although the reader initially assumes that the "chief protagonist" of the novel is the eponymous Justine, Durrell gradually builds the structure of the work around the conceit that the city of Alexandria is the most important player. Justine Durrell is a biographer, poet, and retired attorney. The place is Alexandria, an Egyptian city that once housed the world's greatest library and whose inhabitants are dedicated to knowledge. This is a test product, not something FDA approved to sell on the market. 12 likes. - Lawrence Durrell, Justine It feels like reading Henry Miller and John Fowels mixed with Anthony Powell and Paul Bowles, salted, smoked, and flavored with the sex and refuse of Alexandria. Her story is recounted to Madame de Lorsagne while defending herself for her crimes, en route to punishment and death. I completely understand if others do not care to read through my rambles, and apologise ahead of time for any suffering I cause. Of course this is a 5-star book for me, that's my definition: read it, gotta read it again and own a copy to revisit passages often. The first part of the Quartet focuses on a struggling writer (Darley); it tells in retrospect the story of a doomed love affair between Darley and Justine, the wife of an Egyptian Copt called Nessim. Proust writes about his younger past only as he remembers it while Durrell's narrator tells the story as he witnesses/hears it, even though some stories he hears might not be true at all. set ever since. The Roman poet Ovid, narrated the most complete version of this tale in book VI of his opus, Metaphorphoses (circa 8 CE). And some of his metaphors and incantations are, truly, brilliant. Hello, Sign in. Set in Alexandria, Egypt, in the years between World Wars I and II, Justine is the first installment in the distinguished Alexandria Quartet. Try A beautifully written novel set in Alexandria between the great wars. Synopsis . And comparing the two, on the other hand, might be like a ridiculous comparison of Joyce and Austen, but both did create masterpieces. Nothing. Skip to main content.sg. I really wasn’t looking to make you look bad, and quite frankly I’d prefer it if you’d put me back to sleep, but here I am, nonetheless, looking at you. I feel like someone getting surgery who has gotten an insufficient dose of anesthesia, or someone who opens her eyes wide in the midst of a hypnotist act. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Justine (The Alexandria Quartet Book 1). And thanks to my friend Michael, who always lends me the highbrow books, I’ve discovered Lawrence Durrell. Rereading it was a revelation. Cart All. The time is the eve of the World War II. Here Lawrence Durrell crafts an exquisite and challenging modern novel that explores tragic love and the fluidity of recollection. In doing so, he learns of her propensity for many lovers, her complex sexuality, and her perpetual angst. Two of Cavafy's poems, "The City" and "The God Abandons Antony", translated by Durrell, are included as "workpoints" in the Appendix, implying that the poems have something to say about the narrator and his plight. [1] Durrell's Alexandria is a city where Europeans exist alongside Egyptians, and Jews and Christians exist alongside Muslims, and his characters, especially his lovely protagonist, she of the "somber brow-dark gaze," mirror the city. She explains the series of misfortunes that led to her present situation. Brimming with political and sexual intrigue, Justine is a brazen study of jealousy, temptation, passion, decadence and menace. I have been meaning to read the Alexandria Quartet for many years and now seems to be a good time. Rate this book. There are "...minarets painted on the dust-colored sky... " And in the "...ruins of Alexandria..." the narrator/author is "...dazzled by the moonlight..." (The author spent the first 10 years of his life in India having been born there, and he uses the word "dusty" often. After all, the author writes there are five sexes in Alexandria and sets us down the path of who really loves who. What is it about? The first edition of the novel was published in 1957, and was written by Lawrence Durrell. I imagine parts of India as dusty, just like the Alexandria I visited in 2005 for so.) Lawrence Durrell’s spellbinding and scandalous romance charts the paths of four conniving lovers in wartime Egypt. Justine by Lawrence Durrell 7,163 ratings, 3.88 average rating, 799 reviews Justine Quotes Showing 1-30 of 88 ... ― Lawrence Durrell, Justine. Durrell's narrator explains that it is important to him to describe events not "in the order in which they took place – for that is history – but in the order in which they first became significant for me". Durrell, whose brother Gerald was the author of My Family and Other Animals, which as a child I grew up watching on the BBC, is the author of the intimidating-soundi. Justine by Lawrence Durrell. From a remote Greek island, he retells his time in Alexandria and his tragic romance with Justine – a beautiful, mysterious Jewish woman who was born poor and is now married to a wealthy Egyptian Copt, Nessim. (We learn some of the small side stories are fictional in Alexandria #2) . This “very remarkable novel”—first in the acclaimed Alexandria Quartet—tells a haunting story of love, desire, and deception in the Egyptian city pre-WWII (New York Herald Tribune Book Review). I woke too soon. As a biographer, she writes about remarkable women spanning the centuries and the globe, sharing intimate accounts of their lives, which were filled with grace, great challenge, and creativity. [1][2] Since first becoming available to the public and reviewers in 1957, Justine has inspired what has been called "an almost religious devotion among readers and critics alike. The quartet is set in the Egyptian city of Alexandria in the 1930s and 1940s, the city or Alexandria itself as described by Durrell becoming as much of a complex character as the human protagonists of the novels. It is a masterpiece of Gnostic eroticism that may have lost its audience due to its outrageous chauvinism. "Show me the man who invented the human heart. Justine: Durrell, Lawrence: Amazon.sg: Books. Durrell is a condensed Proust, perhaps. Anna, I ust finished the second in the series, Balthazar. He is a struggling writer and schoolmaster, with a background and a number of personal experiences similar autobiographically to those of the author himself. Start by marking “Justine (The Alexandria Quartet #1)” as Want to Read: Error rating book. All Hello, Sign in. Then show me where he was hung," a certain character says. This charming novel certainly has the potential to rile feminists. Fans of beautiful, quotable novels about love and pain. I feel like someone getting surgery who has gotten an insufficient dose of anesthesia, or someone who opens her eyes wide in the midst of a hypnotist act. But the characters! Lawrence Durrell was born in 1912 in India. I first read Justine when I was in high school. Or when a woman asked of her husband if he was falling in love with another woman, he replies, "It's worse than that." - Lawrence Durrell, Justine It feels like reading Henry Miller and John Fowels mixed with Anthony Powell and Paul Bowles, salted, smoked, and flavored with the sex and refuse of Alexandria. Here is a brief summary of the novel, courtesy of Goodreads:. The opening novel of Lawrence Durrell’s Alexandria Quartet—one of the most celebrated and original works of fiction to have come out of postwar Europe—turned 60 last month. Egyptian army suspends constitution and removes President Morsi. The main characters of Justine novel are Justine Hosnani, Melissa Artemis. Account & Lists Account Returns & Orders. I have been meaning to read the Alexandria Quartet for many years and now seems to be a good time. The place is Alexandria, an Egyptian city that once housed the world's greatest library and whose inhabitants are dedicated to knowledge. Like it was really bloody worn out from wanting to be read. Durrell, whose brother Gerald was the author of My Family and Other Animals, which as a child I grew up watching on the BBC, is the author of the intimidating-sounding Alexandria Quartet. The opening novel of Durrell’s Alexandria Quartet didn’t leave me indifferent. It always sat on my family’s bookshelf at home, but I thought it was something I’d never get through. War and Travel on The Guardian's 1000 novels everyone must read, Verdi: Aïda - San Francisco Opera (starring Luciano Pavarotti) FULL, Asterix and Cleopatra (1968) [FULL MOVIE]. "Justine" is not an easy book by any standard --the language is often baroque, the underlying ideas complex and challenging -- but it is one of those rare, brilliant novels that creates an entire self-contained universe. Then I asked myself, "Is Durrell as good an author as Proust, who also wrote beautifully and painfully?" Clea and Balthazar have their own novels. Bookplate to the front pastedown of book collector Otis Skinner Blodget. This book is part of the four linked novels that comprise The Alexander Quartet, set in Alexandria, Egypt, around the time of WWII. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Refresh and try again. Unless by "about" you mean, what does it feel like? It is set in Alexandria and there is a strong supporting cast of characters: Pombal, an official at the French consulate who lives with Darley; Capodistria, a Greek who is a broker; Scobie, a transvest. His first collection of poems, A Private Country,… More about Lawrence Durrell Women exist in Durrell's world to be fetich objects for male writers and poets. It reminded me of. John Crace @JohnJCrace. It was amazing how much of the words I had internalized, and I found myself smiling along with some of the parts that were familiar. The time is the eve of the World War II. Lawrence George Durrell was a critically hailed and beloved novelist, poet, humorist, and travel writer best known for, “Does not everything depend on our interpretation of the silence around us?”, “There are only three things to be done with a woman. The International Lawrence Durrell Society, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Justine_(Durrell_novel)&oldid=985651907, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 27 October 2020, at 04:04. Then I pick up Justine and start reading. "Justine was a walking abstract of the writers and thinkers whom she had loved or admired - but what clever woman is more?" There are no specific references to dates, although the reader may construct a rough chronology in retrospect. I read it for the sex. At the start I had to adjust to the flourish of the language used but once I started, I felt sucked into it with an amazing force by the beauty of the words.