Thursday, January 19, 2017

Lawrence Durrell: Justine

One of my New Year's resolutions was to read as much of Lawrence Durrell's works this year as I could.  Today I begin with Justine, which is only appropriate since my first introduction to his writings was this work.  Several decades ago, I was in grad school and on the reading list for a course in 20th century novels (or perhaps 20th century English novels) was Justine.  I had heard of Lawrence Durrell and the Alexandria Quartet, but I had never read anything by him before.

I started reading and was confused and bewildered by the first three or four pages as it seemed to be nothing but randomly placed paragraphs with no coherent plan to structure them.  I was a bit dismayed, a complete novel like this!   Then the following jumped out at me.  It wasn't the first sentence of a chapter, or even of a paragraph.  It was buried in a longish paragraph, but I had to stop and read it again, and again.  It told me what Durrell was up to.  I was hooked. I read Justine and then went on to read as much of Durrell as I could find.   Now, it's time to do it again.

The sentence:

"The solace of such work as I do with brain and heart lies in this--that only there, in the silences of the painter or the writer can reality be reordered, reworked and made to show its significant side."



I doubt if it grabs others the way it grabbed me, and I can't explain why.  It just did. 







16 comments:

  1. Fred, I cannot join you in reading but look forward to your commentary. I also tend to discover a single sentence in a work, the baited hook, a catalyst for my close reading throughout.

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    1. R.T.,

      It doesn't happen that often to me; most often it's an event or action that gets me. This was unusual for it was only one sentence.

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  2. Thanks for letting me know, Fred. As mentioned at the Boarding House, I'll be starting tonight or tomorrow.

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    1. madamevauquer,

      Enjoy!

      I'm interested in your comments about the book.

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  3. remarkable sentence, and pretty close to true, i think... i've tried LD and not been successful.. if he can write like that, though, he must have something to say; i'll give him another try... tx...

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    1. Mudpuddle,

      Fairly close, I should say. The question is whether the writer creates the pattern or discovers it. It's similar to a sculpture: does the artist reveal the form inside the marble or create it from the mass.

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  4. I have not read Lawrence Durrell but I would like to give him a try. I tend to like books written in a post modern style. With that, they can be challenging and sometimes I just do not get them.


    I look forward to your upcoming commentary.

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    1. Brian Joseph,

      I think he's definitely worth looking at. But, of course, I'm biased.

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  5. This bit especially grabbed my attention:
    "I have been looking through my papers tonight. Some have been converted to kitchen uses, some the child has destroyed. This form of censorship pleases me for it has the indifference of the natural world to the construction of art--an indifference I am beginning to share."

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    1. madamevauquer,

      Yes, I noticed that and am perplexed by it. Why is he beginning to share this indifference when it seems art is the way to structure the events of the natural world? Is he contradicting himself or denying the value of what he is about to do? Or, am I missing something here--misreading something?

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    2. I think it is almost involuntary. It me it is like everything that happened caused him to think "why bother?" It appears he left Alexandria to try to come to terms with the past and regain himself and his outlook.

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    3. possibly a case of "weltschmerz"...? "the world is too much with us"...

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    4. Mudpuddle,

      That's point. He has come to this isolated island and has selected a place this is isolated even from the island's inhabitants.

      Solace does mean comfort or consolation.

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  6. madamevauquer,

    That could be, but he's still driven to create art by his writing, in spite of his difference. Well, it's still very early in the novel--perhaps we will learn more later.

    On the other hand, it may be a sign of his confusion at this point. He is just beginning his journey into the past and much may happen as he revisits Alexandria. He may see things differently at the end.

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    1. Yes, I'm curious to see how it plays out. I've only read the first fifth or so.

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    2. madamevauquer,

      You're way ahead of me. I hope to catch up some time.

      I just got a copy of Durrell's unfinished novel, _Judith_, which I just heard about within the past few weeks.

      (sigh) one more to add to Mount TBR.

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