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  • Bella Kemp
    Full Member
    • Aug 2014
    • 457

    Originally posted by Don Basilio View Post
    I'm three thirds through Lawrence Durrell's Alexandria Quartet. The descriptive set pieces are wonderful. The painstaking analysis of sexual relations (particularly in the first part, Justine) bore me. Why can't they just enjoy a bit of slap and tickle?

    I was inspired to read it again after reading his account of life on Corfu Prospero's Island. I have just acquired brother Gerald Durrell's account of their life there, My Family and other Animals, which looks an easier a read and far funnier. Although the opening sentence describing a rain swept Bournemouth is almost as rich as brother Larry's prose.

    The word "pretentious" kept coming to mind as I read the first two parts of the Quartet.
    I adore The Alexandria Quartet, but it's a bit like one of the more obscure Bruckner symphonies - it chugs along and you absorb it almost without thinking, and then there are glorious moments that stop you dead in your tracks and you think Wow!

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    • Richard Tarleton

      Originally posted by Bella Kemp View Post
      I adore The Alexandria Quartet, but it's a bit like one of the more obscure Bruckner symphonies - it chugs along and you absorb it almost without thinking, and then there are glorious moments that stop you dead in your tracks and you think Wow!
      I read it around 40 years ago, was engrossed at the time, but can now remember precisely nothing about it, apart from the description of the barber in Alexandria conjuring up a haircut for [the client's] few remaining wisps of hair. Can't remember who the client was.

      I remember a review of "Tunc" in (I think) the Observer - the sound of a heavy volume hitting the floor....

      I recently read Douglas Botting's fine biography of Gerald, which includes a lot about other members of the family. Lawrence was more than a bit surprised at his semi-literate younger brother's literary success, but they seem to have had a close relationship.

      Comment

      • Padraig
        Full Member
        • Feb 2013
        • 4224

        Originally posted by Padraig View Post
        Of interest to readers of The Dead by James Joyce:

        https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/l...dead-1.4068361.
        Further information:

        Two recent controversies reignite the debate about how to protect the legacy of James Joyce.

        Comment

        • LMcD
          Full Member
          • Sep 2017
          • 8402

          Patrick Kidd's 'The Weak Are A Long Time In Politics' - a perfect cure for anyone suffering from Br*x*t Blues.

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          • ferneyhoughgeliebte
            Gone fishin'
            • Sep 2011
            • 30163

            Originally posted by LMcD View Post
            Patrick Kidd's 'The Weak Are A Long Time In Politics' - a perfect cure for anyone suffering from Br*x*t Blues.
            - the title alone deserves some kind of award!
            [FONT=Comic Sans MS][I][B]Numquam Satis![/B][/I][/FONT]

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            • Petrushka
              Full Member
              • Nov 2010
              • 12232

              Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves.

              I first read this book very many years ago, aged about 14, so it might well have been a young person's edition as it came out of the school library. His picture of life in the trenches in the First World War along with the many stupidities of the British Army is great writing.

              (Another title that deserves an award!)
              "The sound is the handwriting of the conductor" - Bernard Haitink

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              • Joseph K
                Banned
                • Oct 2017
                • 7765

                I finished Will by Will Self last night, and what a great enjoyable read it was.

                Now: to return to Anna Karenina.

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                • Don Basilio
                  Full Member
                  • Nov 2010
                  • 320

                  Having finished The Alexandria Quartet and managed a long experimental work, I've picked up Proust again.

                  In the past I was bored by Swann's jealousy of Odette, so I may skip that bit when it gets bogged down. (I've just reached the ghastly Verdurins so I'll stay with them for a bit.)

                  Comment

                  • Conchis
                    Banned
                    • Jun 2014
                    • 2396

                    Originally posted by Don Basilio View Post
                    Having finished The Alexandria Quartet and managed a long experimental work, I've picked up Proust again.

                    In the past I was bored by Swann's jealousy of Odette, so I may skip that bit when it gets bogged down. (I've just reached the ghastly Verdurins so I'll stay with them for a bit.)
                    Quite a few Proustians on the forum.

                    It took me five months to read the whole thing a few years ago. The most rewarding reading experience of my life.

                    Comment

                    • teamsaint
                      Full Member
                      • Nov 2010
                      • 25192

                      Eagle eyed newshounds will have spotted that The Book People have gone into administration.

                      They seem to have kept their trouble under wraps quite well.
                      I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own.

                      I am not a number, I am a free man.

                      Comment

                      • pastoralguy
                        Full Member
                        • Nov 2010
                        • 7737

                        Originally posted by teamsaint View Post
                        Eagle eyed newshounds will have spotted that The Book People have gone into administration.

                        They seem to have kept their trouble under wraps quite well.
                        Don't they sell CDs through Amazon and eBay?

                        Comment

                        • ferneyhoughgeliebte
                          Gone fishin'
                          • Sep 2011
                          • 30163

                          PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has been appointed as the administrator while the troubled firm looks for a buyer.
                          [FONT=Comic Sans MS][I][B]Numquam Satis![/B][/I][/FONT]

                          Comment

                          • Pulcinella
                            Host
                            • Feb 2014
                            • 10883

                            Originally posted by teamsaint View Post
                            Eagle eyed newshounds will have spotted that The Book People have gone into administration.

                            They seem to have kept their trouble under wraps quite well.
                            Bang goes next year's jumbo Booker Shortlist set then.
                            Possibly no great loss!
                            I bought them this year after a gap, and partly regret doing so: have given up on two of the six.
                            Given that the Hilary Mantel will probably feature, I'll likely have read that by shortlist announcement time anyway.

                            Comment

                            • teamsaint
                              Full Member
                              • Nov 2010
                              • 25192

                              Originally posted by ferneyhoughgeliebte View Post
                              The Works also issued a profit warning recently. Never a good sign, but I suspect that they are a good deal more robust. The Works seem quite light on their feet with regard to store locations, and have an ambitious opening programme.
                              I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own.

                              I am not a number, I am a free man.

                              Comment

                              • teamsaint
                                Full Member
                                • Nov 2010
                                • 25192

                                Originally posted by pastoralguy View Post
                                Don't they sell CDs through Amazon and eBay?
                                I wasn't aware of that. They do/did have a gift section of their business, which I don't think was particularly large scale.

                                If anybody does happen to be an eagle eyed newshound, please do try to upload a selfie to the forum...........:bigg
                                I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own.

                                I am not a number, I am a free man.

                                Comment

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