Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion

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Hello, I certainly like to re-read ‘Under the Volcano’ again. Read it a long time ago and was really impressed at the time, so I am curious how I feel about it nowadays.
Started with the (overly) long introduction by Stephen Spender (26 pages!) in my publication (Picador Classics/Jonathan Cape Ltd. 1965). That introduction almost stopped me to read on.
So I am curious what other readers want to convey!

I received this for a Christmas present this past year as my library doesn't have a copy. I plan to start it in the next few days.

Hanneke, I never read introductions because they might spoil the book, so I won't have that problem!

I am still in the beginning but I jumped over the introduction for that reason also. I find it can sometimes influence my view of the book and/or spoil the story lines.

Jennifer W and Jennifer, wise decision! Actually, the introduction of Stephen Spender just seemed to express his wish to show how very erudite he was, quoting from Greek philosophers and Freud. It was pretty amazing how elaborately he carried on for 26 pages but, I must be honest, he did not give away any details on the content of the novel!

I abandoned the novel. Regretfully, I seem not to be able to reconnect with the novel for this second reading. The constantly overwhelming subordinate clauses and outrageous abundance of adverbs are just too much to take for me at the moment.

I am so glad you said that, H! I too am slugging through but it’s slightly brutal with all the random asides and trailed off conversations and then we are on a horse ride… it’s a bit difficult to stay on track.

No doubt the writing is brilliant, Jennifer, but too much for me at the moment. I don’t feel guilty to quit the book for now!

I made it through and it didn't disappoint. I am glad I didn't read the intro until after finishing and it affirmed my thoughts of Hemingway and Joyce without planting the thoughts of them in my head before reading. This was a bit of a drunken ferris wheel ride in Mexico of privileged white/European/American travellers in the early 20th century.

It’s been driving me nuts all day and it finally came to me! William Faulkner! This had a very Sound and the Fury vibe to me, too!

Four hundred pages to describe one day is quite a lot. Adding that I had to reread many passages, it felt like even more. I knew that much of the significance of these passages was beyond my understanding since I know little about the Mexican Revolution and even less about the Spanish Revolution to which this novel refers quite a bit. This novel is full of meaningful references to the politics of the time (the protagonist goes by The Consul!) which are extraordinarily complex and since I grew up when all this remained classified, I remain ignorant of much of it. The oblique prose of the author made this even more challenging to read.
I can see why this novel is rated as one of the best for the 20th century, however I will need to return to it again after I learn more about world events and politics of its time.

My review?

It's like being in the company of an incoherent but amiable drunk for 400 pages, who doesn't make sense and has a penchant to wallow in self pity. Because his brother and ex-wife are also seen through the lens of the bottom of a bottle, they're no more interesting.

The spirit of Ulysses is writ large here with the stream of consciousness prose, but this doesn't have Joyce's invention, variety or his humour (the humour is missed most of all, despite Lowry's insistence in his introduction that this is a comedy).

So, glad to put this to bed and hope not to wake up with a hangover.

I don't completely understand why this book is revered so much.