Reading 1001 discussion

Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry

Now this is why I love the 1001 group so much. I knew so little about this book that I announced I was reading Under the Mountain at the beginning of the month. That is a favourite young lit book in New Zealand that I had muddled with this wonderful book. The copy I found in my bookcase was a tattered, much-read paperback of my daughter. It is a marvellous portrayal of a disintegrating alcoholic. Its structure is particularly interesting. The first chapter introduces two friends in a Mexican city who are reminiscing about the events which took place exactly a year earlier on the Day of the Dead. This piqued my interest because my one and only trip to Mexico also began on the Day of the Dead. The following chapters each describe the events from the point of view of one or other of the three main characters, mostly as internal dialogues with lots of references to Marlowe's Doctor Faustus and Dante's Divine Comedy, neither of which I have read. I have just discovered an annotation from the University of Otago (my Alma Mater), which I shall have to read later. Not understanding many of the references did not inhibit my enjoyment of the book, however. It is a very enjoyable read. It is set in the town of Quauhnahuac, which is meticulously described in vivid detail. Some Spanish terms are not translated which frustrated my lack of knowledge of the language. It would have been another great book for the Hispanic diversity challenge if I had known more about it a month ago to nominate it. I really loved this book and it is a five star read for me.

Some of my favorite Goodreads people loved this one so I may give it a second try one day, but I didn't enjoy it. I found it slow and sometimes boring. It was depressing which isn't always a problem for me because some of my all time favorite books are heartbreaking and tragic, but for some reason I didn't connect with this one.

Completed this book which has been on my shelf for a long time and has been most intimidating. And I can only echo what others say, this book requires slow reading and probably 2 or more times. There is so much here to take in. It reminded me of Ulysses by James Joyce.

The book is about an alcoholic ex-consul, his estranged wife, his half brother and it occurs in 1 day. The book is divided into 12 chapters. The first chapter is a scene a year later after the fatal day. Each chapter is from a different POV. The book is also full of symbolism. Some I caught and some I didn't. The Volcanos that the city is set between is obvious. The day that the story occurs is the The Day of the Dead.

Having just read Memory of Fire by Galeano added to my insights into this book that is set in Mexico in the thirties just before WWII. The main character has been a British consul in Mexico.

There is a guide to each chapter in Wikipedia that I did find helpful. This is a book that is better read with a guide than not, in my opinion. I do hope I read this book again someday.

I agree with Pip. I had not read the literary references either but it did not hinder the enjoyment of the book. I would love to read this slowly in a study group. There is so much here.

I did not enjoy this book. I listened to the audio and I had a hard time staying focused, but I think that if I would have tried to read it in print, I would have just given up. I was not drawn to feel any connection to any of the characters and did not feel emotion at their deaths. I'm not sure why this one did not draw me in at all, but it did not. There was just so much drinking and rambling. At the end, I read some summaries and went back to listen again to some sections, which helped with some of my understanding but did not improve my impressions.

This was my second attempt at reading the book and I did switch from audio to actually reading as I needed to move slower than the audio would let me. Plus I needed to stop and walk and contemplate and look up the spanish translation and think about the references (which I would sometimes look up and sometimes not).

I ended up really loving this book about the tension between choice and fate while being surrounded by the lush visual imagery and the complicated internal thoughts of the characters.

I agree with everyone that it would help to read again with others.

read Jan. 2020

What a beautifully written, intense book. Here at the end of January, I may have read my best book for 2020. I knew vaguely what the book was about before I read it, and because of that I had preconceived ideas that it wouldn’t be for me. Luckily, I was wrong. The story itself is simple – the day in the life of a (severe) alcoholic. It’s all in the telling. Lowry has a mastery of language and a breath-taking ability to create visuals (using words). 5+*

Let's call it 3.5 stars.

This book has been included on at least a few lists: 1001 Books to Read Before You Die, 1000 Books to read, Modern Library's 100 Must Read Novels... The book was first published in 1947. I had not really heard much about it ahead of time and decided to tackle it anyway.

This is the story of a former British Consul, Geoffrey Firmin, living in Quauhnahuac, Mexico and sinking deeper and deeper into his alcoholism. There is lots and lots and LOTS of tequila drinking going on here. Quauhnahuac is a town located between two volcanos. Firmin's life is about as destructive as a volcano. He's destroying himself and his relationships with others. On the Day of the Dead, his estranged wife, Yvonne arrives in town to try to save Geoffrey and their failing marriage. Hugh, Geoffrey's brother also shows up.

Lots of wallowing and malaise in this book. Geoffrey and his wife both yearn to save their marriage but it seems that Geoffrey has sunken too far into the downward spiral of his drinking. Not a happy and uplifting tome, to be sure. The writing is definitely high quality. I didn't really care for any of the characters in the book so it didn't pull me in as much as other novels have.

I tried this book in print a while ago and failed miserably, so I went with audiobook format this time. I also read the wikipedia page on it after the first 2 hours, something I try not to do usually mid-reading, but it helped me figure out what was going on. Once I worked out the overall structure of each chapter, I kinda liked this one. It's a bit depressing, since all the characters' attempts at avoiding disaster lead the main characters to die anyway. Geoffrey, an alcoholic diplomat, is so disoriented from his drinking that he has a hard time keeping straight the fact that his wife has returned to him, so of course her return is not long-lived. She is already regretting coming back, and is considering what to do about an alternative affair with one of Geoffrey's friends. Each chapter picks up the story from a different perspective, which is disorienting, and since whenever Geoffrey is the central POV, he is very drunk and hallucinates a lot. His struggles with alcoholism reminded me a lot of The Lost Weekend, a novel I think really ought to be on the List. The constantly shifting POV is also something that reminded me of other books (A Brief History of Seven Killings, especially). I am not sure I'll ever get around to rereading this book, but I could see it being an interesting book for a literature class or book club. I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads.