A stunning tour de force of a book! It is even better than the one I remember reading 30 years ago. This is without doubt a meisterwerk in the canon of western literature. It not only contributes immensely to the fabric of literature but is also a bloody good book and a great read.

Durrell employs the four-book style to construct a story through layers of time and differences of view. The depth and breadth of that view are quite stunning. Justine, the first book, focuses on the affair between the eponymous heroine and the English language teacher and wannabe writer Darley. It elucidates desire and duplicity, and we begin to see the main characters take shape, with Alexandria serving as the background flavor for the entire work.

The second and third books, Balthazar and Mountolive, are the real essence of the piece. They present us with quite different and challenging views of the action related through Darley's affair with Justine. Clea, the last book, stands like an epilogue to the previous three.

This is a masterwork in terms of time, opinion, narrative, and character. Everything changes throughout each book. What was once incongruous and unexplained later leaps into the foreground. And贯穿始终的 is the masterly taste, smell, and faint sensual eroticism that Durrell brings to all four books, demonstrating his status as a major craftsman and writer.

Read it!

In the fading light of the colonialist era, Gerald Durrell crafted a modernist tetralogy. It was filled with unreliable 'facts' and narrators, as well as a sense of a romantic/artistic turmoil that loomed over the dismantling of the Empire and the Eurocentric order.

The outcome, despite some occasional flowery passages and a bit too much repetition, is truly remarkable.

I find the fourth and final book, 'Clea', the least engaging. There is a strange overuse of the accidental serious incident, and the love seems more meaningful to Darley than to us. However, the ending is oddly satisfying, even though it is distant and compromised. It manages to reduce the characters to the status of pawns in Alexandria. The city is the true protagonist here, just as it was in the first pages of 'Justine', as Darley succumbed to its history, charm, decay, and sensual allure.

The second book passes the baton to the doctor, Balthazar, as he refutes many of Darley's impressions. In the third book, 'Mountolive', the focus is on the eponymous diplomat, and we witness his affair with Leila and the start of his relationship with Pursewarden's sister.

And Pursewarden, supposedly reminiscent of Wyndham Lewis, is like Banquo's ghost and the joker in the deck. He is always inciting from a distance, trapped in his own tender web, unable to escape except by the most extreme means. And yet, he remains the central figure.

The time spent with these characters, despite their colonialist certainties and self-absorbed trivialities, is thrilling. The cool breath of sophistry is undermined by the peccadilloes of the émigrés, and the taint of terrorism effectively punctures the self-satisfaction of the artistic chatterers. Ridiculous characters become saints, writers have their work excerpted and used as plot, sex is more languid than love, and honour is more languid than duty.

The reader, perhaps more than in any other novel or series, circles the characters with a predatory lope. Sometimes the distance is shortened, and we see and feel; sometimes it is lengthened, and we think instead. Every path in brings grief, and every path out leads back to the original dance. Was it all so Darley could find true, imperially-sanctioned love? Surely not. Was Nessim a tragic figure or just a deluded, power-hungry fool? Were any of the women able to avoid disaster? The questions pile up, but who cares? You can smell Alexandria and dream of its future while it seems to only peddle its past.

You can immerse yourself in a challenging yet easy-to-read world that never underestimates you and never doubts your ability to take risks. It's ambitious, devious, and completely wonderful.

Intolerable Sadean pondering about the sensuality and yet! also the spirituality of the Orient.

(The only way to make de Sade more boring is to add in kabbalah and the new age.) Durrell's prose is good, even - just the lightest touch of experimentality over classicism - but the sighing Art of it all made it impossible to go further than a hundred pages.

Suddenly I see wholesomeness, wit and concision in \\n  The Magus\\n. So Durrell is the real magician.

I liked the gag at the end of Justine - there's a sentence regarding everything, man, but the footnote for that sentence points at a completely and intentionally blank page. Oh but it wasn't a gag, it was a deep reflection of being and nonbeing. Fuck it then.

This was the only book I had on me for several hours and I still couldn't hack it. I rather stared at the wall.

It seems that the author's exploration of the Orient's sensuality and spirituality through a Sadean lens is somewhat overwhelming. The prose, while having its merits with a touch of experimentality over classicism, just couldn't hold the reader's attention beyond a hundred pages. However, the discovery of The Magus brought a glimmer of hope, with its wholesomeness, wit, and concision. The gag at the end of Justine was initially seen as a simple joke but then revealed to be a profound reflection on being and nonbeing. Nevertheless, despite having this book with the author for several hours, they still couldn't get into it and ended up staring at the wall instead.

Perhaps the themes and writing style of this work are just too complex or not to the author's taste. It shows that even a well-written book may not resonate with every reader. Maybe a different approach or a different book altogether would have been more engaging. In any case, this experience highlights the importance of finding the right book that suits one's interests and reading preferences.

The Alexandria Quartet is a truly remarkable work.

So much has been written about these extraordinary books that I hardly feel competent to offer my own thoughts. There isn't a traditional "Story" as one might expect. Instead, many of the characters are deeply flawed, unpleasant, or at least seem that way initially.

However, it is the writing that truly captivates. From the very first paragraph, the reader is quickly drawn in and falls under its spell. It is almost hypnotic. There are pages and pages where seemingly nothing occurs, yet the reader remains engaged.

And when something does begin to unfold, it is often just a glimpse, a suggestion, rather than something definite. Life in Alexandria is presented as both mysterious and boring. Days and weeks pass with little happening, but the reader, like the author, cannot tear themselves away. We are all under the spell of the Alexandria Quartet.

Nov. 2019:

This book truly deserved and necessitated a second reading. It was a work that demanded such a revisit in order for the intricate threads within it to be more fully appreciated and understood. Indeed, the book was far too strange to be grasped in a single perusal. The peculiar genius of Durrell, along with his somewhat strange and disappointing limitations, was thrown into sharp relief during this second encounter.

He was a very strange modernist, yet his work was a rococo meditation on life and the decadence of modern civilization. It was, without a doubt, over-ripe. Perhaps Durrell lived a generation or two too late.

My sense is that Durrell is a second-order writer who managed to surpass himself in (parts of) the Alexandria Quartet.

Original review from 2013 — when I had no idea what I was talking about or of what I had just read:

A magnificent work, tightly constructed... it is impossible to consider these four volumes independently. Though published separately, they form a whole.

I had thought about reading this since I was 20, when I had read what Henry Miller had to say about Durrell. Of course, I would not have understood, nor been able to read this at that age.

The volume has flaws, to be sure... it is not easy to read. There are artifices in the plot. The language is often bizarre... and deliberately artificial... and yet..., and yet... it has a certain allure that keeps drawing the reader back for more.

Reading post modern novels can pose a challenge when it comes to returning to modernist works.

This tetralogy, however, is truly magnificent.

The story of love and obsession is masterfully conveyed through the elaborate descriptive writing about the city of Alexandria.

The rich, complex, and compelling characters not only add texture and tone to an already vivid and hallucinogenic portrayal of the cityscape but also serve as a testament to Lawrence Durrell's hypnotic and mesmerising prose style.

Each character is carefully crafted, with their own unique personalities and motives, making them come alive on the page.

The detailed descriptions of the city bring Alexandria to life, allowing the reader to immerse themselves in its vibrant atmosphere.

Durrell's prose is truly a work of art, captivating the reader's attention and drawing them into the story.

Overall, this tetralogy is a must-read for anyone interested in post modern literature or the city of Alexandria.

As a serial book-adulterer, I have had a rather tumultuous relationship with numerous books. I have fallen into and wandered out of love with an amoral number of them. However, there is one set of books that has managed to hold my attention and keep me forever in thrall - the Alexandria Quartet.

The Alexandria Quartet is a literary masterpiece that has captivated readers for decades. Its rich and complex characters, vivid descriptions of the city of Alexandria, and intricate plotlines make it a truly unforgettable read. Each book in the quartet offers a unique perspective on the same events, allowing the reader to piece together the story in a truly immersive and engaging way.

Of course, as with any literary work, my opinion may change over time. In ten years, I may look back on the Alexandria Quartet with a different set of eyes and find that my love for it has waned. But for now, I remain firmly in its grip, eager to explore its pages again and again.

The first novel in this series, Justine, lays the groundwork for the remainder of the quartet. Durrell, being a poet, employs a language that is truly beautiful and at times, even overwhelming.

Regrettably, this very language makes it difficult to understand, follow, or to be quite honest, to care much about the events. It seems that Durrell is more preoccupied with his writing style than with clearly narrating the story.

The second novel, Balthazar, spans the same time period and includes many of the same events. However, due to Durrell's style, it is often challenging to determine precisely what is occurring and to whom. I had anticipated a different perspective on those events. Balthazar uses the same narrator as Justine, yet much of the novel is another character's response to his previous work.

The third novel, Mountolive, at least offers a distinct viewpoint as it is written in the third person. The writing is far more direct, less poetic, and showy. Sadly, the story does not improve significantly. The first half of the novel covers an earlier era, and the remainder once again deals with the same period as the previous two novels.

The final novel, Clea, is a genuine sequel as it advances the characters' lives. I had high expectations that this would result in a better novel, and it initially seemed to be the case. However, this hope was soon shattered. Primarily, I found that I didn't truly care about what happened to any of the characters, and I had difficulty following the plot, although admittedly, a few more things actually occur in this novel compared to the others. Nevertheless, a great deal of it is not well-defined and is rather hard to decipher.

This is truly bad writing that attempts to masquerade as something more.

It is pompous and the pseudo-psychological drivel it presents is not only funny but also extremely grating.

The overly long-winded images and metaphors serve as a prime example of what one should avoid when writing.

It seems as if the author is trying too hard to sound profound and intellectual, but in reality, it just comes across as a jumbled mess of words.

Rather than engaging the reader, this type of writing only serves to turn them away.

It is important for writers to strive for clarity, simplicity, and authenticity in their work, rather than relying on such pretentious and ineffective techniques.

Only then can they hope to create something that truly resonates with their audience.

5 Stars and More. What can one say about this book? Incredible!

This book truly deserves all the praise it has received. From the moment you start reading, you are drawn into a world of captivating stories, vivid characters, and thought-provoking ideas. The author's writing style is engaging and accessible, making it easy for readers of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy.

Whether you are a fan of fiction or non-fiction, this book has something for everyone. It offers a unique perspective on life, love, and the human condition, and will leave you with a sense of inspiration and wonder. The characters are so well-developed that you feel as if you know them personally, and the storylines are both exciting and heartwarming.

In conclusion, if you are looking for a book that will keep you entertained, educated, and inspired, then look no further than this one. It is a true gem that will stay with you long after you have turned the last page. 5 stars and more!

I thought I had a review here long ago. This is one of my favorite groups of books, perhaps because I read it the summer I turned twenty-one. I recently re-read its four volumes -- having wanted to do so for many years. \\n  Justine\\n I had to replace -- my original was in loose pages as the binding no longer held together.

The language is absolutely lush. The vocabulary still sends me to the dictionary, although perhaps not as often as before. It's truly a delight to encounter such rich and vivid language that enriches the reading experience.

However, the story and writing have perhaps not weathered well. The world has changed so drastically in this half century since it was written. I was a physics major at the time and was enchanted by the four-dimensional aspect of the structure -- the same story told from three perspectives and one later in time. This unique narrative device added an interesting layer to the story. The city of Alexandria, and Justine, are probably still its best two characters. Alexandria is vividly描绘, and Justine is a complex and captivating figure. Although Durrell provides a good, albeit sometimes confusing, supporting cast, they add to the overall atmosphere and depth of the story.

Revisiting it, my mind sometimes wonders, did I already know and understand that then? Certainly, it was a good Bildungsroman for me to read at the time. It had a profound impact on my thinking and understanding. Used some critical resources as I reread. Would like to read the quartet once again -- with those resources, to gain a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of this remarkable work.

(If anyone has noticed: I have rated the quartet higher than each of the individual novels. This is definitely a case where I feel the whole (sweep) is much greater than just the sum of the parts.)

While I was engrossed in reading Les Trois Mousquetaires last week, I found myself pondering on several occasions whether it might have provided some partial inspiration for The Alexandria Quartet. One of the most ingenious aspects of the Dumas novel is the manner in which he reinterprets early 17th century French history. He presents it as being essentially about the romantic lives of Anne of Austria on the grand scale, and D'Artagnan on the more personal level - a bit like a Sherlock Holmes/Basil the Great Mouse Detective kind of deal.

Here, Durrell takes this idea a step further. The first three novels offer interlocking views of the same story. In Justine, we are presented with an account of a complex love affair from the perspective of one of the individuals involved. The second novel, Balthazar, provides a different, external perspective on the same affair. Suddenly, a number of things that previously didn't quite make sense fall into place. In Mountolive, we get a third take: the whole thing was actually about a messy political intrigue. And the last book serves as a sequel to all three.

In contrast to Dumas, Durrell does not claim that any of the versions is the "true" one. I also wondered if Jan Kjærstad, in turn, was inspired by Durrell when he composed the Jonas Wergeland trilogy. Once again, we have the same events shown from three complementary perspectives. Although I noticed no overt reference to Durrell, and Kjærstad usually likes to give you a hint or two.