May was an unusual reading month for me. I read only one crime fiction book. I also read three general fiction books, the first three books in the Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell. I did not plan to read the books in that series in succession, it just happened. Each time I finished a book in the series I found a copy of the next book and started reading it as soon as it arrived. I have a copy of the fourth book on the Kindle, and I will be reading it soon.
And here are my thoughts on what I have read...
Crime Fiction
Unruly Son (1978) by Robert Barnard
This book was published in the UK as Death of a Mystery Writer. The main character is an obnoxious and overbearing mystery author who has made many enemies and insulted just about everyone he encounters. His wife and daughter love him, or at least tolerate him, but his two sons don't have much good to say about him. Of course, all of his children would like to inherit his money. So when he dies by poisoning they are the first persons the police consider as suspects. This was a very good read, which I expected because Robert Barnard is one of my favorite authors. He rarely disappoints me.
General Fiction
Justine (1957) by Lawrence Durrell
Rick Robinson at Tip the Wink recommended this book to me, and I am so glad he did. The setting is Alexandria, Egypt in the years before World War II. The main character is the unnamed narrator, who is having an obsessive affair with Justine, the Jewish wife of a rich business man in Alexandria, Egypt. The protagonist is an Irish writer, not very successful and with little money; he is romantically involved with Melissa, a Greek dancer, at the same time. In addition to the narrator, this book focuses on Melissa, Nessim, and Justine. My summary does not do justice to the novel, but I am wary of revealing too much of the plot.
The writing is beautiful, and the depiction of Alexandria in the pre-war years is well done, but the story is not told in a linear fashion so at times it was hard for me to follow. Nevertheless, I was eager to read the next book.
Balthazar (1958) by Lawrence Durrell
In Book 2 of the Alexandria Quartet, the Irish writer continues narrating the story, but in this part of the quartet, he has received a copy of his novel (the story told in Justine) from Balthazar, plus Balthazar's copious notes about his text. Balthazar is a doctor and a teacher of the Kabbalah. The narrator has studied the Kabbalah with Bathazar.
The notes cause the narrator to examine again the events reported in Justine and come up with a completely different interpretation.
Mountolive (1958) by Lawrence Durrell
Mountolive, the third book in the Alexandria Quartet, introduces a new major character, David Mountolive. He was a minor character in the first two books. This story is told in third person and is taking place at the same time as the events in Books 1 and 2. The focus is on Mountolive's return to Alexandria as the British Ambassador and his relationship with Nessim, Nessim's mother, and his brother Narouz. This one introduces political relationships and intrigues that were not directly touched on in previous books.
I did not prefer one book over another, but as each book added more information (and surprises) about the characters and their motivations, my enjoyment of the overall story was increased.
Currently Reading
At this point in June, I have read three books for my 20 Books of Summer list.
- The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
- A Pitying of Doves by Steve Burrows
- Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
The photos at the top and bottom of the post are of Rosie the cat, both taken by my husband. Click on the images for best viewing quality.
28 comments:
Tracy, I have read just one Robert Barnard book, A Stranger in the Family, which is a shame on my part considering I remember liking it. Also, Barnard was prolific who wrote several series and standalone novels. Lawrence Durrell is on my growing to-be-read authors list.
He is one of my favorites too and in 2013 after his death FFB devoted a Friday to him.
http://pattinase.blogspot.com/2013/12/fridays-forgotten-book-friday-december.html
Oh, I do like Barnard, Tracy! He has such a good mix of telling a good story and adding in a touch of wit. That's not easy to do! And I must read some Durrell. I saw Rick's post, too, and thought of that then; I'm glad you reminded me of his work.
Alexandria Quartet is perhaps the best thing I’ve read, classics aside. I really need to reread it. Opinions of characters shift and change with revelations in each book. Don’t forget to read the final, Clea.
Yes, I'm starting to have months where I only read one or two crime/murder books. And then I start to crave them and read two or three in a row.
I have one of Lawrence Durrell's non-fiction books on my library shelf, Prospero's Cell, which I'm reading for the 20 Books of Summer. I very much have The Alexandria Quartet on my radar, possibly for autumn or winter reading.
Prashant, you have reminded me how many of Robert Barnard's books that I have not yet read, especially his later books. A Stranger in the Family is one of his last books and I have a copy of it but haven't read it yet. I am sure you would enjoy his other books also.
Patti, thanks for that link to the Friday's Forgotten Books for Barnard. I will be taking a look at all of those reviews. I see Prashant's reviews of A Stranger in the Family is there and there is a review of one of Barnard's books as Bernard Bastable, which I haven't read yet.
Your review of Out of the Black was interesting. I think I enjoyed it when I read it, but that was in 2003 so don't know for sure.
Sorry, Patti, Out of the Blackout.
Margot, Robert Barnard's writing is so good. I haven't loved every book of his I have read but the majority are very rewarding. This one had a great ending. As Prashant mentioned, Barnard was very prolific and I love that I have so many more of his books to read.
Jacquie, reading the first three books in the Alexandria Quartet was quite an experience for me. It has been a long time since an author has impressed me so much I had to find more of his books and read them right away.
When I got to Mountolive, it was almost like reading spy fiction but more subtle. And David Mountolive was a very interesting character, not what I expected. I will definitely be reading Clea. At this point I can't decide whether to stick with reading an ebook edition or get a paper copy as I most likely would reread all the books.
Blogger seems to have eaten the comment I left earlier, possibly shoved in your spambox?
Cath, I am glad you let me know about your comment. I have been trying to remember to check for both spam messages and comments on older posts because recently I stopped getting emails when people comment on old posts.
I am very happy that I am enjoying more general fiction but not so happy to read less mysteries, especially when my reading is slowing down lately. But I am having a good time reading in any case, and that is really the point for me.
I had read some notes that Lawrence and Gerald Durrell wrote different versions of their childhood in some of their writings. Now I want to read more by both of them. I hope you like The Alexandria Quartet when you read them, I loved the first three but it took me a while to get into Justine.
I've had Justine and Mountolive in my house for years, possibly decades, but have just never got around to reading them, I will now though.
Katrina, since you already have them, I would definitely give Justine a try. Some people say you can read the first three as standalones or in any order, but I say it is best to read in order. I loved the three books together.
Hi Tracy,
Oh, precious cat! Beautiful coloration--coloring--markings--not sure which word to use, but gorgeous.
I believe I'll be adding this series of books to my Classics Club List. Enjoyed your reviews--very helpful.
Judith, Rosie thanks you for the compliments. We agree.
You can tell that I loved these books, but they do get varied reactions in reviews. I hope you like them if you decide to try them.
The Unruly Son was the first Barnard I read and then forgot all about:)
Neeru, I had never heard of that book by that name so I thought I was getting a new book, but I had not read Death of a Mystery Writer anyway. I think I have read about half of his books, including series books and standalone books, and they are always good, some better than others. I remember loving some of the books in the Perry Trethowan series.
Sometimes the universe just wants you to binge read a series. I recently discovered Barnard (possibly from your blog) and have really liked all his books I have read so far. I found Lincoln in the Bardo impossible to get through; I'll be interested in what you think.
Mary, I am glad you are enjoying Barnard's books, they always surprise me in some way.
I had mixed feelings about Lincoln in the Bardo. I did enjoy reading it all the way through but I did not fully understand it, it mystified me. I have never known much about Lincoln so learning some things about that time in his life was interesting, but I wasn't sure how much of it was true. I certainly would not recommend it to anyone, but it gets some very high ratings.
I had a really nice box set of these books and it disappeared in a move. As a result, I have not read it. I wasn't sure I was missing much but there is no higher recommendation than a reader going quickly from one volume to another!
Constance, I certainly did enjoy the first three books in the Alexandria Quartet, and I wish I could jump into Clea, the fourth book, soon. Many readers like the first book, Justine, more than I did. I was confused about what was going on in that book. I loved the first three books together, however, and I will be going back to read Justine and the other books sometime.
Nice! Durrell: an author I have yet to discover
Emma, Durrell was new to me and I am glad to discover him even so late in my life.
Tracy, you cat has such beautiful markings. Would she be considered a calico? We had a calico for 14 years but, she was mostly browns, black and some white.
Diane, yes, we think our cat is a calico. Just has more white than a lot of calicos. She is very sweet and getting older.
The cat we had before Rosie for many years was either a dark calico, with lots of black, or a mix of tortoise shell and calico, sometimes called a tortico. She was gorgeous but not nearly as sweet and sociable as Rosie.
I'll pass on the Durrell's. Barnard is another author I hope to try one day.
Robert Barnard is an author well worth reading, Col. His books are quiet but they usually have a twist or a surprise that leaves me smiling.
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