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Under the Volcano Perennial Classic Malcolm Lowry 9780060955229 Books

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Under the Volcano Perennial Classic Malcolm Lowry 9780060955229 Books

Geoffrey Firmin is a former British consul living in Quauhnahuac, Mexico, and his life is dissolving. A raging alcoholic, suffering from delirium tremens, he is unable to survive without drinking constantly. The downward spiral seems complete, and he has crashed. His wife, Yvonne, comes to Quauhnahuac hoping to save him, resurrect their failed marriage and take him out of Mexico. The presence of Geoffrey’s half-brother, Hugh, complicates her plans - along with bitter memories of a love triangle that ended their marriage. Set during the Day of the Dead, 1938, it will be a decisive day for Geoffrey.

This novel was absolutely astonishing. As soon as I read the last, devastating sentence, I threw it onto my All-Time Favorites List; it landed near the top. Malcolm Lowry may not be considered a modernist writer - I haven’t seen him on any list of modernists - but the stream of consciousness style of writing was on full display, and I was enthralled with it. Geoffrey’s way of thinking, thrashed by the booze and hopelessness, Yvonne’s desire to have a better life with him, and Hugh’s feelings about the situation - all of these were so well crafted. And the descriptions of the locations around Quauhnahuac in the shadow of the volcano were excellent. A tragic, flawless novel. Pathos out the wazoo in this one. Highly recommended.


Tags : Under the Volcano (Perennial Classic.) [Malcolm Lowry] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Geoffrey Firmin, a former British consul, has come to Quauhnahuac, Mexico. Here the consul's debilitating malaise is drinking,Malcolm Lowry,Under the Volcano (Perennial Classic.),HarpPerenM,0060955228,Literary,Alcoholics,British,Classics,Consuls,Fiction,Fiction - General,Fiction Classics,Fiction Literary,Lowry, Malcolm, 1909-1957,Mexico

Under the Volcano Perennial Classic Malcolm Lowry 9780060955229 Books Reviews

I first bought this book after reading a recommendation by Stephen King in his book "On Writing a memoir of the craft" which is also an enlightening and entertaining read.
Under the Volcano stands up to King's recommendation as one of the great novels of the 20th century. The writing is "different" than modern books (written in the 1950's I believe). However, the writing is fantastic, well done, and the writer breaks 'the writing rules' often, but it suits his style.
This is an engaging love/tragedy as I prefer to classify it. This is a difficult read if you only have time to read occasionally. This is something you want to read deeply for a few hours at a time, otherwise it's easy to lose your place.
I highly recommend this book for readers and for serious writers to study the craft.
Perhaps Malcolm Lowry could have written about a place hotter or more humid than the mythical Quernavaca (Quanhnahuac). but could he have created any place more inhospitable for a very hung over and emotionally spent Geoffry Fermin or more exotic and full of foreboding as this mythical place haunted by 2 volcanos swept up in strange festivals for Day of the Dead; a Mexican mash up of Catholic and Pagan rituals?

It's of this place and Fermin's complete capitulation to lost love that that Malcolm Lowry writes about so poetically and so full of vigor, rich in imagery and metaphor that one can spend a perhaps a lifetime dicing and slicing it.

With a plot that is largely revealed in the first chapter one is left with perhaps the greatest prequel ever that focuses on the devastation and total loss that Fermin feels with his wife's departure.

The purpose of continuing despite knowing what happens is the words. Start reading out loud and suddenly the novel takes on a life of his own. If I were teaching an English class I'd have the students read a page each from Fermin's love letter at the end of chapter one. It's a blend of passion, beauty, eloquence and alliteration that is thoroughly original and unique. I will surely read that section over and over. It's more than gorgeous, it's rhapsodic. Who would best stand on a stage and read it as part of bringing this book to life? It's fun to think about.

Chapter after chapter. literally hour by hour, Lowry follows Fermin through a day that's full of crowds, drinking, confusion, misunderstanding, hints of past mistakes and regrets and not a shred of hope for the future. It is unrelenting but so beautifully told and so intense that one may pinch oneself as a reminder that is just a book.

I could go on and on. Certainly it's a book that rewards the patient reader and is not one that lends itself to killing time at an airport but in the right quiet place this is one very special ride. I consider my comments merely a placeholder for surely one must read this book repeatedly. I've read it twice now and many passages repeatedly and it still feels fresh and new.
What a masterpice.... It is haunting, insightful, poetic and tragic -- but it takes a gentle spirit and an open heart to appreciate its mysteries. It is similar in topic and theme to Heart of Darkness and Lord Jim by Conrad. It also helps to have had some experience in traveling throughout Mexico (not staying at a resort) to appreciate the sense of doom and desperation of the people and to become sensitized to the tragic sense that pervades Mexican culture and traditions. But this is not absolutely necessary. If I were teaching a class with Under the Volcano, I would include the sociological and historical events that envelop its characters, show videos of Mexican fiestas, and present some of the realities of 500 years of colonial oppression. Alchoholism is of course not significant in itself, except in its relation to the deliberately self-destructive trajectory of the narrator.

This novel reminded me also of Lord Jim by Conrad.
Some say this novel is one of the best of the last century. Others couldn't stand it or finish it. I finished it but only to keep from calling myself a quitter. The novel was hard to follow, The sentences ran on for a page or more which was very distracting. The descriptions of Mexico were vivid, and the most redeeming feature of the entire novel. Three sections were background of each of the main characters to explain how they got to this point in their lives and that was about the only coherent part of the book. Other parts were just the ravings/halucinations of an alcoholic. The last section is the culmination of all the backstories, but I not only couldn't follow what was happening, I didn't even care, I was just glad it was over.
Geoffrey Firmin is a former British consul living in Quauhnahuac, Mexico, and his life is dissolving. A raging alcoholic, suffering from delirium tremens, he is unable to survive without drinking constantly. The downward spiral seems complete, and he has crashed. His wife, Yvonne, comes to Quauhnahuac hoping to save him, resurrect their failed marriage and take him out of Mexico. The presence of Geoffrey’s half-brother, Hugh, complicates her plans - along with bitter memories of a love triangle that ended their marriage. Set during the Day of the Dead, 1938, it will be a decisive day for Geoffrey.

This novel was absolutely astonishing. As soon as I read the last, devastating sentence, I threw it onto my All-Time Favorites List; it landed near the top. Malcolm Lowry may not be considered a modernist writer - I haven’t seen him on any list of modernists - but the stream of consciousness style of writing was on full display, and I was enthralled with it. Geoffrey’s way of thinking, thrashed by the booze and hopelessness, Yvonne’s desire to have a better life with him, and Hugh’s feelings about the situation - all of these were so well crafted. And the descriptions of the locations around Quauhnahuac in the shadow of the volcano were excellent. A tragic, flawless novel. Pathos out the wazoo in this one. Highly recommended.