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juliana_aldous's review
4.0
This was my first read by Lawrence Durrell who is most famous for the Alexandria Quartet. This is just a little memoir of the three years he spent on the island of Cyprus. While the book starts out a light-hearted memoir not unlike Under the Tuscan sun--expat moves in and begins renovating a house surrounded by local colorful characters--the book eventually turns a bit darker. Cyprus was rapidly ending its relationship with the British empire and terrorism and nationalism was taking hold.
So interesting to read this on the heels of Alexandra Fuller's Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness. Another book about British expats as the curtains close on Colonialism, this time set in Africa. Interesting that both books feature a tree--in Fuller's book, that tree is one on her parent's property that is rumored to be a place of healing. In Durrell's book is a Tree of Idleness in the center of the Square where men also go to forget and while away the hours. I'm surrounded by trees, so the thought of sitting in the shade on a hot summer's day seems so exotic to me.
Durrell's prose is fantastic. One of the final chapters in the book is so beautifully written. Durrell takes one last day trip with an island friend (a school master) to pick flowers by the sea. The description of that entire trip from the gathering of the flowers to descriptions of land once owned long ago by ancient Greeks:
"And as we walked across the carpets of flowers their slender stalks snapped and pulled around our boots as if they wished to pull us down into the Underworld from which they had sprung, nourished by the tears and wounds of the immortals."
And this about and words from his friend Panos which are even more poignant with the knowledge that a few days after this meeting, Panos was killed.
"The sun was approaching mid-heaven and great lion pads of rock among the foothills were already throwing us forward their reflections of shadow. Panos put away his spectacles and fell to cutting up the coarse brown loaf, saying as he did so: "On days like this, in places like these, what does it all matter? Nationality, language, race? These are the invention of the big nations. Look below you and repeat the names of all the kings who have reigned over the kingdoms of Cyprus; of all the conquerors who have set foot here--even the few of whom written records exist! What does it matter that we are now alive, and they dead--we have been pushed forward to take our place in the limelight for a moment, to enjoy these flowers and this spring breeze which ... am I imagining it? ... tastes of lemons, of lemon blossom."
A beautifully written book that has some echoes in our world today and I look forward to reading more from Durrell.
So interesting to read this on the heels of Alexandra Fuller's Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness. Another book about British expats as the curtains close on Colonialism, this time set in Africa. Interesting that both books feature a tree--in Fuller's book, that tree is one on her parent's property that is rumored to be a place of healing. In Durrell's book is a Tree of Idleness in the center of the Square where men also go to forget and while away the hours. I'm surrounded by trees, so the thought of sitting in the shade on a hot summer's day seems so exotic to me.
Durrell's prose is fantastic. One of the final chapters in the book is so beautifully written. Durrell takes one last day trip with an island friend (a school master) to pick flowers by the sea. The description of that entire trip from the gathering of the flowers to descriptions of land once owned long ago by ancient Greeks:
"And as we walked across the carpets of flowers their slender stalks snapped and pulled around our boots as if they wished to pull us down into the Underworld from which they had sprung, nourished by the tears and wounds of the immortals."
And this about and words from his friend Panos which are even more poignant with the knowledge that a few days after this meeting, Panos was killed.
"The sun was approaching mid-heaven and great lion pads of rock among the foothills were already throwing us forward their reflections of shadow. Panos put away his spectacles and fell to cutting up the coarse brown loaf, saying as he did so: "On days like this, in places like these, what does it all matter? Nationality, language, race? These are the invention of the big nations. Look below you and repeat the names of all the kings who have reigned over the kingdoms of Cyprus; of all the conquerors who have set foot here--even the few of whom written records exist! What does it matter that we are now alive, and they dead--we have been pushed forward to take our place in the limelight for a moment, to enjoy these flowers and this spring breeze which ... am I imagining it? ... tastes of lemons, of lemon blossom."
A beautifully written book that has some echoes in our world today and I look forward to reading more from Durrell.
geirertzgaard's review against another edition
5.0
As everyhone else says, a beautifully written book which made me long for the sunshine and the islands. But then the book turned dark, and paradise was paradise no more. It's scary to see how quickly - if one is to believe the author - everything changed. One day a haven of peace, the next a nest of terrorists comparable to what we see during present days.
The language is beautiful, but somehow it drowns the seriousness of the Cypriot story by it's wellwrittenness. That's why only four stars.
The language is beautiful, but somehow it drowns the seriousness of the Cypriot story by it's wellwrittenness. That's why only four stars.
fourtriplezed's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first Lawrence Durrell book I have read and he is certainly a superb writer. A description of his time spent in Cyprus during "Enosis", Greek Cypriots demand for union with mainland Greece, this made fascinating reading. I had spent a week in Cyprus in 2000 and his description of the people and places had me recalling a pleasant week time.
For all my enjoyment of this very fine read I suspect that like another author I admire, Patrick Leigh Fermor, I may not be in agreement with a few of his views. He writes early that he was not going to make political observations. Well he did; "As a conservative, I fully understand, namely; 'If you have an Empire, you just can't give away bits of it as soon as asked.'" he states at one point. He is clearly a colonialist of the higher order and yes he loved the locals but to me there was a fair bit of paternalism that could be at times condescending. At one point wrote that he thought the locals were cowards! And then "I knew at once that the Empire was all right by the animation of three African dignitaries". Good grief.
In the end though it is a very good read, at times wonderfully descriptive and very interesting. It has also made me realise that I should read some Cypriot history as I had decided to do many years back but never had.
For all my enjoyment of this very fine read I suspect that like another author I admire, Patrick Leigh Fermor, I may not be in agreement with a few of his views. He writes early that he was not going to make political observations. Well he did; "As a conservative, I fully understand, namely; 'If you have an Empire, you just can't give away bits of it as soon as asked.'" he states at one point. He is clearly a colonialist of the higher order and yes he loved the locals but to me there was a fair bit of paternalism that could be at times condescending. At one point wrote that he thought the locals were cowards! And then "I knew at once that the Empire was all right by the animation of three African dignitaries". Good grief.
In the end though it is a very good read, at times wonderfully descriptive and very interesting. It has also made me realise that I should read some Cypriot history as I had decided to do many years back but never had.
camillejov's review against another edition
Found the writing style choppy and hard to follow. Had hoped to learn a bit about Cyprus before a trip there but found the author super disparaging of the country and its people.
facoffee1984's review against another edition
5.0
A fabulous book. The ending is bitter and sad, much like the lemons and the current situation in Cyprus. At some point the focus of the story shifts from daily life (the house, the villagers, the Tree of Idleness) to graver matters, and it becomes political although in a clever way. I didn't like it when Durrell tried to defend the role of the British on the island (as well as his Britishness?). However, he also acknowledged the lack of proactivity and tact of the Foreign Office when it was clear that a certain situation was brewing up. This book made me want to go to Cyprus. My next book on the subject is "A Journey to Cyprus" by Colin Thubron, who visited the island before 1974.
katkout's review against another edition
4.0
For someone who grew up in Cyprus, as a GreekCypriot, this book provided an interesting view of EOKA and the Cypriot struggle for freedom from the British Empire, entirely from "the other side"- from a British official's point of view.
Overall an easy read for those interested to understand what Cyprus and Cypriot life means, what the landscape, history and culture behold, as well as the spirit of a people oppressed for so many years under numerous rulers including the British.
Overall an easy read for those interested to understand what Cyprus and Cypriot life means, what the landscape, history and culture behold, as well as the spirit of a people oppressed for so many years under numerous rulers including the British.
losthitsu's review against another edition
Larry, I always knew you are a superb writer!