Mountolive (Alexandria Quartet, Bk. 3) [Paperback]

Lawrence Durrell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1965

This book was digitized and reprinted from the collections of the University of California Libraries. Together, the more than one hundred UC Libraries comprise the largest university research library in the world, with over thirty-five million volumes in their holdings. This book and hundreds of thousands of others can be found online in the HathiTrust Digital Library.HP's patented BookPrep technology was used to clean artifacts resulting from use and digitization, improving your reading experience.

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

Editorial Reviews

From AudioFile

[Editor's Note: The following is a combined review with JUSTINE, BALTHAZAR, and CLEA.]--The four linked novels that comprise English author Lawrence Durrell's masterpiece, THE ALEXANDRIA QUARTET, are set in Alexandria, Egypt, around the time of WWII. The four novels explore the city's polyglot society, full of intrigue, mystery, and sensuality, telling essentially the same story from different points of view. JUSTINE focuses on the beautiful Jewish wife of a wealthy Copt. Her story is told by Darley, her English lover. In BALTHAZAR, Darley reconsiders and retells the story he told in Justine, using information from a mysterious new character, Balthazar. In MOUNTOLIVE, as war begins to loom, British Ambassador David Mountolive enters the intrigues of the interwoven community of characters. In CLEA, Darley returns to a war-fevered Alexandria as the stories of the many characters move toward conclusion. Narrator Nigel Anthony provides a brilliant reading, keeping the variety of voices--English, French, Egyptian--distinct throughout. He offers a one-man play, conveying the passions, disappointments, and triumphs of the complex cast. The classical music interludes that delineate sections of this beautifully produced and packaged set help transport the listener to back- streets of Alexandria. R.E.K. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 292 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books; Giant Cardinal edition (January 1965)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525470824
• ISBN-13: 978-0525470823
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,867,327 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gritty underpinings finally revealed, March 29, 2001

By 

Colleen Davenport - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mountolive (Alexandria Quartet) (Paperback)

Poor Mountolive. This is a tale of his rise to success and his parallel loss of being able to respond humanely, and his ultimate debasement. In addtion, Durrell continues to remove layers of the Alexandrian social web: Justine's motivations are different again. I worry that they will change again in the last of the series. Motivations for love continue to be explored. I wish I had started a list when I started reading these books of all the different nuances of love and various motivations. It really has made me think.

If you read the first two of the quartet, you cannot afford to miss this installment. It really helps you understand the mysteries. Of course, Durrell continues in his mastery of the language. Descriptions continue to be lush.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not a bad way to start, June 19, 2003

By 

Cathryn JT "Cathryn" (Pasadena, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mountolive (Alexandria Quartet) (Paperback)

I read this book before reading the other 3 in the quartet, and I absolutely loved it. It made reading the others irresistible, and yet I believe this third edition is the best. The love stories are incredibly deep and diverse, and Durrell's writing is both beautiful and inspiring.
Mountolive is an Englishman working with the Foreign Service who comes to know his Dionysian self in the humidity and turmoil of early 20th century Egypt. He falls in love with his married hostess, and this relationship leaves him capable of loving only one woman and one place. The other notable couples portray a stunning array of what drives people toward love. A desire for power drives Justine and Nessim together as it does much more subtlely in the vignette about Amaril and Semira. This book stands out on its own but leaves you dying to find out more about these rich characters.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars no title, January 17, 2006

By 

C. L Wilson (Elmhurst, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mountolive (Alexandria Quartet) (Paperback)

This series so far - - "The Alexandria Quartet" - - has been one of the most interesting and wonderful things I have ever read. Memorable in every way. To be savored and remembered. Just simply a dazzling accomplishment by Durrell. "Mountolive" is written in 3rd person, unlike the first two, and it explores more of the motives and facts of the same people in the same time period - yet another layer - than of emotions and longings. And now we finally get to the bottom of Nessim, Justine, Narouz, and Pursewarden. And we learn of the conspiracy behind the first two novels, and we learn of Mountolive's life. All these people are so alive in my mind, Mountolive being such a sad, pathetic man. Yet once again Egypt and Alexandria take center stage. What a writer this man was!