Sunday, April 2, 2017

Lawrence Durrell: Justine, Pt. 2

For some reason, the narrator neglected to introduce us to Balthazar, who will be a very important character, as suggested by his name given to the second book in the Quartet.

Balthazar's importance is considerable.  To be precise, Darley has sent the manuscript to Balthazar.  Balthazar then "corrects" or adds what he knows, from a different perspective,  about the events Darley has portrayed and returns the manuscript and the interlinear to Darley.  The second novel, Balthazar, Darley's attempt to rewrite Justine based on Balthazar's information. 


In Part II, the narrator recognizes this and quickly describes him and their strange meeting.

I see a tall man in a black hat with a narrow brimPombal christened him, "the botanical goat".  He is thin, stoops slightly, and has a deep croaking voice of great beauty, particularly when he quotes or recites.  . . It is a mystery how he can have, suspended from his trunk, hands of such monstrous ugliness.  I would long since have cut them off and thrown them into the sea.  Under his chin he has one dark spur of hair growing, such as one sometimes sees upon the hoof of a sculptured Pan.
                                                  .     .     .      .     .
.  .  .  .  .

I remember meeting him, too , one bleak winter evening, walking along the rain-swept  Corniche, dodging the sudden gushes of salt water from the conduits which lined it.  .  .  . We had met before, it is true, but glancingly:  and would have perhaps passed each other with a nod had not his agitation made him stop me and take my arm.  "Ah! you can help me!" he cried, taking me by the arm.  "Please help me."  His pale face with its gleaming goat-eyes lowered itself toward mine in the approaching dusk.


Balthazar had lost the key to his pocket-watch, which had belonged to his father.  While he could have had another key cut for it, it wouldn't be the same for that key--"It belonged to this watch.  It was part of it. They searched briefly, but it got too dark and they went to a cafe and got acquainted.
The key was found, but the circumstances surrounding it were strange and never fully explained, at least in Justine.  Perhaps we will learn more about the key and the mystery that enveloped it in the next volume, Balthazar.

 PS
We do find out later.

PPS
Balthazar has his counterpart in Durrell's "The Avignon Quintet,"  in Akkad, the leader of a cult of Gnostics who is also a very talented and convincing speaker/reader at the meetings.

13 comments:

  1. intriguing... very graphic prose, in the sense that it's easy to envision the action... hmmm my reading faculties are provoked... tx...

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    1. Mudpuddle,

      This is typical of Durrell's prose throughout most of his works. When asked about his style, I usually reply that he is word-drunk.

      Grab one of his books and open at random at any page and you will find the above to be typical and not unusual or rarely found.

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    2. tx a lot... i think i'll check one out the next library trip...

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    3. Mudpuddle,

      Be careful, for he has three series and they are all tightly related. Get the first one:

      Alexandria Quartet: Justine

      Avignon Quintet: Monsieur or The Prince of Darkness

      The Revolt of Aphrodite: Tunc
      --this is a little known duet, Tunc and Nunquam. It might be considered SF because in the novel a man creates an android whose brain is filled with everything he could find relating to his lost love. I think (it's been years) that she was an actress, so all her films and public statements are in the android's brain.

      He also has a number of stand-alone works, including some novels and travelogues, some of which read like novels.

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    4. tx for the help.. i'll look for Justine...

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  2. I have wanted to read these books for awhile.

    Your intriguing post makes me want to read them more.

    agree with Mudpuddle. I really like the writing style in the passage that you quoted.

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    Replies
    1. Brian,

      I hope you can find some time to explore some of Durrell's works.

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  3. "gleaming goat eyes": that could be the basis for a book all itself...

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    Replies
    1. Mudpuddle,

      Yes, reminds me of Pan.

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    2. went to the library and tried a bit of "Justine"... pretty rich stuff, like triple chocolate cake with chocolate icing... don't know if i'll dive into it or not... still mulling it over...

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    3. Mudpuddle,

      Yes, it definitely is not plain, simple English. There are several reasons why I enjoy reading The Alexandria Quartet: the multiple subplots, the exotic setting, the puzzles, and the rich language.

      I don't think readers who prefer plain, simple, unadorned English would enjoy this work. But, I would still suggest that they pick it up and start reading. Who knows? They might enjoy it.

      It happened to me. I was one who always preferred transparent English, where I didn't have to take note of the language. Then I spent a semester in grad school with Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales in Middle English and found my attitude had changed considerably.

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