Reviews

Mountolive by Lawrence Durrell

erickibler4's review against another edition

5.0

I get more and more impressed with this series the further I read. I think at this point, I have to rank it as an all-time favorite. I don't want to give anything away for anyone thinking of reading it, but each book builds on the one before and flips the reader's perception of what went before. By the time you reach Mountolive, you're reading it as much for the suspenseful storytelling as for the beautiful sentences and profound observations about human nature.

The Alexandria Quartet is one of the best things you can read.

aceface's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

elchivovivo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

His grabnd design works, but not seamlessly. 

His description of place can grt tiring if one’s mind not sharp, relaxed and caffeinated.

His characters, scenery and mood are beautiful.  sometimes it touches the heavens of art and makes the soul tremble cerebrally. A prose ancient and modern. 

dyno8426's review against another edition

5.0

Reviewed together with the other parts of 'The Alexandria Quartet' in 'Clea'.

tararoi_'s review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.0

100reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Need to reread. Beautiful prose 

abilge's review against another edition

5.0

I’ve always believed that our inventions mirror our secret wishes.

Mountolive is the 3rd book of the Quartet however my favorite without a doubt. It presents almost the same story as the previous two books but from Mountolive’s perspective, offering a refreshing and distinctly British spy flavor that left me with a delighted smile as I read, hoping to uncover hints from Durrell’s past.

Furthermore, it has been such a long time since Egypt became Arabic that we seem to have forgotten the existence of the ancient Egyptians. This book serves as a reminder of that reality, bringing back the awareness of their historical presence.

The Copts the only branch of the Christian Church which was thoroughly integrated into the Orient! But then your good Bishop of Salisbury openly said he considered these oriental Christians as worse than infidels, and your Crusaders massacred them joyfully.

whoopsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

michael5000's review against another edition

3.0

Third-person exposition looks great on Durrell! Lucid, and with unambiguous forward narrative movement, this version of the Rashoman soap opera that is the Alexandria Quartet looms like the Pharos above its two earlier shelfmates. Even a rustic like myself can stay engaged!

silvej01's review against another edition

5.0

Without taking away any of the excellence of the first two books of The Alexandria Quartet, this third one is better still. While the focus returns primarily to the same locale and time frame (with revealing personal histories provided), the book expands the story, just as Balthazar expanded on Justine, and greatly deepens and enriches our understanding of the decaying multi-cultural 1930s Alexandria and the motivations of Durrell's broad array of characters. Among other things, it adds a political dimension to what has largely been a focus on the nature of the love and Eros in all its varieties, and to a lesser extent, the spiritual, aesthetic, and intellectual life of its inhabitants. Again, and maybe even more so, the corroding, culturally complex, and at times squalid and decadent city of 1930s Alexandria is itself a central character in the book.