Classics Book Club of NY
Classics Book Club of NY
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Lawrence Durrell Mount Olive (1958) “I am happy to say that I managed to choose a book that I feel very good about. The book is Lawrence Durrell's "Mountolive", third of four novels which comprise the "Alexandria Quartet". I have chosen the third one because I read somewhere that it is the best of all four. I can't be sure and those willing and having enough time to read all 4 novels ("Justine", "Balthazar", "Clea" being the other three) should do so. I am told they can be read separately as independent novels although there might be some references to earlier and later novels in the books. The literature and notes around and about the series may offer some insights as well, for those who do not want to, or do not have time to, read all 4 by February 28, Wednesday, the date of the book club meeting.”-Mario "(After re-reading) I feel that I may have picked some "pulp fiction" even though I do not remember it as such."-Mario "I finished Mountolive and found it to be not pulp fiction but an insightful and prophetic look at the intractability of the Mideast."-Larry "I agree- hardly pulp fiction. Especially the Nessim-Justine relationship which I think is very powerfully drawn"-Stan "I, for one, have found it rather difficult to understand the basic theme and structure of the Quartet - or even understand what was going on in Mountolive, and who was who - from reading the one volume only."-Ken "I started but didn't finish Justine. Mountolive is clear and straightforward by comparison!"-Stan "The book club convened for 67th (wow) time at Salam this evening. Those present included Lynn, Alice, Andy, Stan, Mario, Larry, Becky, Ken, Bob and Eric. The restuarant proved to be an excellent environ for our meeting as the square table facilitated group conversation and the seat pillows and tapestries provided for a cozy atmosphere. I arrived late but from what I heard reactions to Mountolive were positive and the consensus seemed to be Durrell (pronounced DUR-ell) wrote a visually stunning book. Its discussion sparked tangents regarding personal impressions of Eygpt (the claustrophobia of Cairo), middle-east hostilities (from animosity towards Israelies, intepretred violence in the Koran, to the last vestiges of colonialism in the region). Ali and Nino was referenced often (Justine considered a love affair of similar dynamic). Most importantly, the reliability of Wikipedia was called to question."-Eric
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