A series of indescribable lightness when finishing it...

Bir seriyi bitirmenin dayanılmaz hafifliği, birçok kişinin yaşamında önemli bir rol oynar. Sonunda bir şeyi tamamlamak, başarı hissini getirir ve ruhumuzu rahatlatır. Bununla birlikte, bu hafiflik aynı zamanda yeni hedeflere ulaşma konusunda da bizi motive eder.

Örneğin, bir projeyi bitirmek, çalışmamızın sonucunu görmek için uzun süre çalıştığımızı fark etmemize yardımcı olur. Bu durumda, projeyi bitirmenin hafifliği bizi daha fazla enerji ve motivasyonla yeni bir projeye başlamaya hazırlar.

Bir seriyi bitirmek, yaşamımızın birçok alanında önemli bir rol oynar. Bu hafiflik, başarılarımızı artırır, ruhumuzu rahatlatır ve bizi daha fazla enerji ve motivasyonla yeni hedeflere ulaşmaya hazırlar.

“If you fall in love with someone living in a city, that city can turn into a world.”

I said goodbye to Clea and my friends in Alexandria...

This time, Darley is returning to the city after seven years, going back and forth between the past and the present, settling the accounts of what was told and experienced in the first three books. Listening to the old stories with a different eye from other mouths clears the mists over the past while opening the doors of a new world for Darley...

While reading, I questioned two things a lot, love and truth... We always believe in the one that is single and absolute. Probably, as the place where we stand and the angle we look at change, we have to accept that love and truth also take on different shapes and colors...

Is it my favorite? Maybe the least popular one, Mountolive:)

After an absence of approximately 7 years, we return to Alexandria during the final year of WWII, with the dependable Darley serving as the narrator.

It appears that Durrell truly aims to offer us some sort of resolution to this multi-faceted tale. Thus, we revisit the same cast of characters. Some have now passed away, while others have been forever changed. It is even difficult to recall the initial impressions I had of this exotic group.

Of course, the emotional core of the story centers around Clea, someone we have only encountered indirectly in the earlier books. She makes for an interesting study, yet perhaps she is less captivating than when she was merely a hint. Then again, Darley doesn't always get things correct, and he isn't even certain that he is a worthy writer. To be honest, I didn't care for Durrell's final portrayal of Justine, arguably the crucial element of these books. But is this Durrell's perspective or Darley's, or is Darley simply a self-effacing projection of Durrell?

I have rambled on too long. The ending features an exciting edge-of-your-seat adventure and a conclusion that brings a smile to your face. And, of course, the language is rich and sometimes unexpected. It has all been a rewarding journey, and I will miss these friends.

Clea
Clea is the denouement for the series the Alexandria Quartet. I finished the book on Sunday, April 19, 2009.

The lives of Justine, Nessim, Narouz, Pursewarden, and Melissa have all unraveled or ended. Pursewarden and Melissa are already dead.

The first two books of the Alexandria Quartet were like the foreplay, lovemaking, and orgasm. These last two books, Mountolive and Clea, are the climax, followed by the limp, flaccid state in which one reflects. By this time, WWII is raging, and the remaining characters are either rendered powerless or spent. Clea is like a dream sequence, one of deflated egos and broken dreams. As in Justine, the series begins and ends with the protagonist Darley, the Irish ex-patriot. Clea and Darley seem to be haunted by the ghosts of Pursewarden and Melissa. Of course, Darley has been caring for Melissa's baby by Nessim, the little girl named Justine, for several years before his return to Alexandria. When Darley returns to Alexandria, he tries to step back into a memory like in a painting or a photograph but is hit by reality, much like Mountolive was when he met up with Leila.

The lovemaking between Darley and Clea is a fractured and delicate sex, made a little pathetic by the advance of WWII. Theirs is a lovemaking made comfortable like a soft old sofa that you sink into upon sitting, a subdued passion if you will.

One caveat, the author, Mr. Durrell, should leave the character of Pursewarden dead and stop resurrecting him. Pursewarden dies back in the second book of the series, Balthazar, but he keeps reappearing in subsequent books. The chapter in Clea, "My conversations with Brother Ass," could have been left out. It contributes nothing to the book. It is merely the sarcastic ramblings of an oversexed pervert who lacks creativity and imagination. I find Pursewarden to be an empty, arrogant individual who takes away from rather than adds to the Quartet.

The book ended on a good note with the love affair between Darley and Clea, also for Nessim and Justine. Not really a "happy ending," but there is resolution between those two characters. However, I am glad that Mr. Durrell did not continue the series. He would have belabored the points and overextended the reach of the characters.

Overall, Clea is a complex and thought-provoking conclusion to the Alexandria Quartet, exploring themes of love, loss, and the impact of war on human relationships. While there are some flaws in the book, such as the inconsistent treatment of Pursewarden's character, it still manages to engage the reader and leave a lasting impression.

After Mountolive, the story actually continued with the introduction of new characters. However, the fact that the necessary explanations of the story remained unexplained until the middle of this book was a bit tiresome. Mountolive was so exciting and solution-oriented that this book was somewhat overshadowed.

Moreover, the constant side glances that everyone was giving to each other had already started to become a bit dull and unremarkable in the 4th book. Even the subplot that developed towards the end regarding Clea failed to increase the excitement. Perhaps the series could have been ended with Mountolive.

It seems that the author might have lost some of the momentum in this installment. The story lacked the same level of charm and engagement as the previous books. Maybe it's time to consider a new direction or a different approach to keep the readers interested.

Lawrence Durrell's "Alexandria Quartet" is a remarkable literary work that consists of four volumes.

Taken as a whole, it has the power to astonish any discerning reader. It offers a one-of-a-kind literary experience that rightfully earned all the acclaim and renown it received upon its initial release.

Durrell is a highly erudite and wordy writer, yet also perspicacious and sensitive. He demonstrates supreme skill in depicting both female and male characters. His exploration of the psychology of love and those in love is truly the last word on the subject.

The descriptions of how people in love torment each other are some of the best since Stendhal.

For those who are fans of romance or historical fiction, it's time to step up. Stop following the trends of today's "slob-lit" and toss aside those Harlequin novels and Nicholas Sparks books.

Durrell offers a challenging and psychologically realistic read that is also sensually gratifying. He engages both the mind and the senses.

The technique used by Durrell is masterful. He doesn't simply tell the story in a linear fashion. Instead, he takes a group of intertwined British expatriates and presents each volume from a different perspective on their shared experiences.

This creates a complex and multi-faceted narrative, like an "origami"-crafted or "Moebius-strip" story.

The love tale he weaves with multiple characters twists and turns, and each volume can be picked up at any page, with the same starting and ending point.

The novel "Clea" is, in my opinion, the finest in the quartet. Clea is a vivid and unforgettable character.

Readers will form their own images of her, but she is a uniquely intense fictional presence.

As a painter in Egypt, she is there to both create art and experience love. She is sensitive yet private, physically slight and frail, but with a greedy sexuality.

She is entangled in unsatisfactory relationships with several men. Nessim adores her, but she can't see him. She is in love with Pursewarden, who inexplicably shuns her.

Clea's only real strength is her power to love, which makes her vulnerable over the course of the story.

This vulnerability makes the book the best of the quartet, as readers start to feel anxious for her.

As Pursewarden treats her callously, Clea refuses to flinch, remaining poised even in the face of adversity.

The image of her, panting, dehydrated, and near-beaten by the sunstroke and dry desert heat, creeping down a cobblestone street in Alexandria, is one that will stay with readers.

Chic, blonde, with a French haircut, a tiny mouth, and a pencil skirt tied at the waist with a sash, Clea is a memorable and captivating character.

In "Clea", the fourth and final installment of "The Alexandria Quartet", Lawrence Durrell once again invites us to delve into the enigmatic and seductive world of Alexandria.

Although war has brutally punished the city, the one Durrell presents is undeniably intense, becoming a captivating stage where beauty and decadence intertwine.

"Clea" engages in a dialogue with the other three novels that form the quartet: "Justine", "Balthazar", and "Mountolive". In "Justine", the tone of desire and obsession is set; "Balthazar" introduces the idea of the multiplicity of truths and interpretation, while "Mountolive" expands the political and social vision of Alexandria. This interconnection allows for a richer and deeper reading of the relationships and themes explored in the other novels, culminating in "Clea", where the narrative is closed and a clearer vision of the truths the characters have sought throughout the series is offered.

The previous novels dug into the same group of characters in the 1930s, revealing "truth" from different angles. Just like a jigsaw puzzle, each work contributed new pieces and perspectives, enriching the whole but at the same time complicating the notion of truth. In "Clea", we are transported to a later period, during World War II, and our narrator, the poet Darley, wiser and more reflective, once again becomes the guiding thread. Perhaps because the characters are facing a world transformed by war, the tone becomes more melancholic, contrasting with the intensity of the previous installments. Moreover, "Clea" functions as an epilogue that seeks to order the lives of the characters scattered by the experiences of the previous novels, closing cycles and answering questions that had remained unanswered.

The novel, therefore, is woven from multiple narrative threads that encompass the lives of those same characters we already know, most of them cynical and morally ambiguous, but its approach is more introspective and contemplative. The novel portrays the miseries and disappointments of love, revealing the constant confusion those characters feel between desire (sex) and love. Despite Darley's evolution, others seem stuck in similar patterns of self-absorption and emotional deception, reflecting a lack of maturity that highlights the complexity of their relationships.

Just like the other novels that form the quartet, "Clea" is peppered with moments of exquisite prose and intense, even dazzling descriptions. Durrell manages to create atmospheres that invite readers to get lost in the time and space of his narrative. In this sense, Alexandria is presented not only as a setting but as an almost malevolent force that influences the decisions and destinies of its inhabitants, leading to tragedies and chaos.

"The Alexandria Quartet" is, in definitiva, a passionate literary experience that deserves to be embraced in its entirety. For those who venture into this world, "Justine" is undoubtedly the recommended and inevitable starting point. The reader's experience with that first work of the quartet will mark their interest in continuing or abandoning the reading of the rest of the tetralogy, which, as I have said in the previous reviews, must be read in order. With each novel, Durrell offers a rich and multifaceted experience of Alexandria, and in "Clea", we find the culmination of a journey through obsession, truth, and desire. Entering "The Alexandria Quartet" by Lawrence Durrell is to submerge oneself in a poetic reflection on the human condition that will resonate in the reader's mind long after closing the books that compose it.

Finally, I completed the Alexandria Quartet in about a year of intermittent reading. And as I progressed, little by little, the dream of that magnificent cosmopolitan city began to fade. Yes, there were many ethnic groups, but was there really a true coexistence, or more precisely, a coexistence of the native people with the foreigners?!

In the beginning, I was extremely shocked by "Justine", that charming Jewish woman who played with almost everyone. Then, with "Balthazar", the characteristics of the characters began to emerge and deepen, and they took on a human dimension that explained everything.

Then came "Mountolive", the most beloved part for me and the longest one, which remained untranslated into Arabic for many years, with its astonishing views on the relationship between the West and the East, or more precisely, the British and the citizens of one of the colonies of the Kingdom.

In this part, we moved away from the characters who were essential in the other two parts, and the secondary characters became essential during it. One of the most remarkable conversations was the one in the house of the Hassanein family with Mountolive, which shed light on the British view of the Copts and how colonialism laid the foundation for the religious division that the East still suffers from today. Then, in this part, the Zionist gangs and their financing in Palestine and the British position on all this were also touched upon.

Finally, "Clea", the concluding part, in which the full vision of the characters of the Quartet is revealed. World War II reaches its peak, and with it, the crises of the heroes of the novel rise, then everything is confined, the magic of the East fades, and the gaze turns once again to the old continent, Europe, which is ravaged by war, but still holds hope for the future.

We return to the question of whether there was really a coexistence in Alexandria? Or was it just a defective coexistence between the foreigners, no matter what their social status was - "it is enough to hold the nationality of any country with influence" - and the aristocratic Egyptians. But we find that the poor people of the country only exist in the poor neighborhoods, and there is nothing for them but begging and despair. Is this the true picture of what the Alexandrian society was like at that time, or is this the view of Lawrence Durrell himself? Far from the Coptic Hassanein family and the Jewish Justine, there is no true presence of the Egyptians.

After I finished the Quartet, I can only find the verses of Al-Mutanabbi in his poem "The Goddess Parting with Antony" to describe what I feel, as if I am also parting with my city with Durrell and Clea, or parting with that idealized picture of it.

"Farewell to her, farewell to Alexandria, Alexandria that will be lost to you forever."

The third part of this novel stands out as the best.

The relationship between Darley and Clea is masterfully crafted and highly interesting. Durrell does an excellent job in creating Clea, a woman who embodies an artistic soul and has a unique flair. Alas, it seems that young women like her are no longer being made. She is pretty, high-spirited, thoughtful, intelligent, and has a moody and mysterious sense of her relationship with Darley.

The musings on art and life in the center of the book cause it to lose some of its momentum. The novel loses some of its focus and intensity. However, Durrell's evoking of war and post-war Alexandria, especially in the last 40 pages, is truly remarkable. In the end, it is all very sad; Darley's love letter is like one long sigh.

Of special note as well is the accident near the end of the novel. The underwater scene is simply brilliant! It adds an extra layer of excitement and drama to the story, making it even more engaging for the reader. Overall, this novel is a captivating read that explores themes of love, art, and war in a unique and thought-provoking way.

The concluding episode of the Alexandria quartet brings Darley, the narrator of the first episode, back to Alexandria. There, he renews his acquaintance with Justine, his former lover, her husband Nessim, and the artist Clea, with whom he embarks on a passionate relationship.

This installment was my least favorite part of the quartet. The language is overly elaborate and burdened with allusions. There are numerous long and dreary passages of Pursewarden's writing about art and life. Nevertheless, as always, I relished the descriptions of Alexandria, and the impact of WWII is delicately conveyed. However, what I missed from the earlier books was the ingenious retelling of events from different perspectives and the comparisons of the past and present lives of the characters.

Overall, I found this book somewhat disappointing. Although there were a couple of dramatic moments, ultimately the narrative fizzled out in an underwhelming manner. In general, I truly enjoyed the Quartet, but this part could have provided a stronger resolution of the conflicts and ideas that had been so captivating throughout the earlier books.

The Alexandria Quartet is truly a remarkable literary achievement. I have already quoted from the other three books, and now here is a snippet from Clea: "A phrase of Pursewarden's came into my mind as I softly closed the door of the ward. 'The richest love is that which submits to the arbitration of time.'"

Individually, each of the four novels is like a precious gem. When taken together as a whole, the Quartet is simply magnificent. I must admit that I don't have a great love or even a particular liking for Elizabeth Gilbert. However, I recently read a quote of hers where she mentioned listening in a college freshman English class to some person claiming that Harper Lee was a one-hit-wonder. It is truly ludicrous to say such a thing about someone who wrote a definitive, perhaps even the definitive, novel on racism in America.

I have a similar feeling about Durrell. I don't really care if he wrote another single word, because the Alexandria Quartet is a masterpiece. The language used is so eloquent, the plot is more intricate and full of surprises than I could have ever anticipated, and the overall accomplishment is simply beautiful. It is extremely difficult, perhaps even impossible, to summarize these four unique novels succinctly, let alone attempt to describe their cohesive whole. But without a doubt, the Alexandria Quartet is a literary treasure that will be cherished for years to come.

In the fourth book of the Quartet, we take a significant step forward, leaving behind the original incident(s) and venturing into the future. The return to Alexandria is executed with great skill, and the disenchantment with Justine feels genuine and plausible. The last time I delved into these books was several years ago, and my memory of the ending was hazy. So, in a minor way, it caught me off guard, and for that, I'm thankful. (Rest assured, no spoilers here.)

Just like the other three books, it is the language and the sharpness of the descriptions that赋予 this story such poignancy. The journey of these characters, the narrator's self-discovery through the exploration of others and their motivations, rings true to life - for those who are willing to admit it. The author's ability to capture the essence of human nature and relationships is truly remarkable. It makes us reflect on our own lives and the people we encounter. The Quartet is not just a story; it is a mirror that reflects our own experiences and emotions.