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DURRELL: THE ALEXANDRIA QUARTET......Volume 1 'JUSTINE' Read by Nigel Anthony Naxos Naxos Audiobooks Modern Classics NA30401-2 3 discs 237m DDD. £12.95

 


Crotchet




Having only been fleetingly aware of Durrell's famous 'Alexandria Quartet', I approached 'Justine' with a certain amount of trepidation but was happily, quite thrilled by the sensuous and evocative prose that permeates this hotly vivacious story. For a start, Nigel Anthony is the ideal storyteller, his dry nasal voice conjures images of the ecstatic and forlorn longing that is ever present in these nerve wracked pages.

'Justine' is a Jewish girl of dubious past and we also explore the character of 'Naseem', her husband with intimate depth. There is also a constant current of foreboding running through the story as the author rambles and forages for explanations that can never be fully understood. Durrell's narrative is plain and matter-of-fact, he does not care for using sexually explicit text, indeed this comes alive marvelously in Anthony's voice. However Elizabeth Bradbury has judiciously abridged the text with consummate care and also provides the short but informative note.

Darley (who is the narrator) enjoys wild nights, intense discussion and exotica with Naseem and Justine, indeed he becomes obsessed he her heartlessness, and he is also compelled by some irresistible force to adore Justine for her heartlessness. All these binges and wild episodes are narrated in the atmosphere of Alexandria, a city of the mighty and the lowly, of nobility and beggars, of social contrasts and cruelty, also of madness. The music has been chosen to add to the aromas of intensity with Ravel and Debussy mainly on the agenda. It's on to 'Balthasar' now!

Reviewer

Gerald Fenech

Reading:

Effects:

Reviewer

Gerald Fenech

Reading:

Effects:



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