Caesar's Vast Ghost: Aspects of Provence [Hardcover]

Lawrence Durrell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1990

Lawrence Durrell lived in Provence for 30 years. It is the motif of this, his last work, which was published just before his death in 1990. Preserving memories from his intimate experience of the Midi, the book also includes 19 poems inspired by the region.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The noted novelist's sixth travel book explores the history and culture of Provence, where he has lived for more than three decades. Although not quite on the same level as Bitter Lemons (Dutton, 1959), which focused on the political tensions over Cyprus in the 1950s, Vast Ghost has all the characteristics of Durrell's travel books: brilliant descriptive passages, esoteric theories on love and culture, colorful local characters, and bizarre sexual escapades. (The book concludes with the author escorting a "Latex doll of great beauty" to a water party on the Rhone.) Durrell won't win over any converts, but those who enjoyed his previous travel writings won't be disappointed either.
- Donald P. Kaczvinsky, Louisiana Tech Univ., Ruston
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 210 pages
• Publisher: Arcade Pub (November 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155970098X
• ISBN-13: 978-1559700986
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,811,598 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The pictures are nice, October 17, 2009

By 

Andrew Charig (Princeton, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Caesar's Vast Ghost (Paperback)

Durrell's writing is always intriguing if you can fight your way through his obscure allusions and off-beat thinking, and this reminiscence of Provence (I imagine his last book - it ends with a goodbye) is typical: beautiful in the places where he stays grounded but prone to unintelligible flights of fancy. It covers the history and geography, bullfights and bowling games, chasms and conquerors, of the Languedoc area with an infectious personal passion, so it is inspiring as a travelog; but there are inaccuracies that that bar it from guide status. (He has Julius Caesar (about 90 BC to 40 BC) involved in colonizing Provence at 122 BC, and rescuing local statues in 65 AD.)

An enthralling browse, but expect to skip parts.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars entertaining, not a textbook perspective, March 7, 2007

By 

s (Paris, France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Caesar's Vast Ghost (Paperback)

Durrell's long experience in the region allowed him to discuss many of the more obscure aspects of Provence and its history. It is part history, part memoir, part poetry.

The book should be read for its value as entertainment and to gain a sense of Provence & its history, but I do not feel that it would be a suitable source of accurate historical information. Upon furhter investigation of many events that Durrell talks about, I discovered that he presented only one side of a situation about which there is no current consensus or agreement among academics/historians.

Finally, I found the last chapter of the book quite bizarre, and admit that I got very little out of it.

Citing the above qualifications, I recommend this book for those interested in Provence (with the added bonus that Durrell's writing is a thing enjoyable in itself).