It is the Day of the Dead. The fiesta in full swing. In the shadow of Popocatepeti ragged children beg coins to buy skulls made of chocolate...and the ugly pariah dogs roam the streets. Geoffrey Firmin, HM ex-consul, is drowning himself in liquor and Mescal, while his ex-wife and half brother look on powerless to help him. As the day wears on, it becomes apparent that Geoffrey must die. It is his only escape from a world he cannot understand. UNDER THE VOLCANO is one of the century's great undisputed masterpieces.
Un livre génial, suivant un personnage intitulé "Le Consul", qui a rechuté dans les consommations d'alcool après le départ de sa femme. Quand celle-ci revient, il devra choisir entre l'amour de son épouse et celui du Mezcal.
This book quite reminds me of Ulysses. Both books are contained, yet overflow with themes. Both books have a bizarre sense of time and space. Both books have an odd style, which, in my opinion, helps them stay somewhat engaging. All that being said, I must admit, I enjoyed Under the Volcano more than Ulysses. Could be because it did not overstay its welcome. Could be because it is far more accessible as a text. Could be something entirely outside my understanding.
“And you say first, Spaniard exploits Indian, then, when he had children, he exploited the half-breed, then the pure-blooded Mexican Spaniard, the criollo, then the mestizo exploits everybody, foreigners, Indians, and all. Then the Germans and Americans exploited him: now the final chapter, the exploitation of everybody by everybody else--"
Although I read this book straight through, with relatively few interruptions, I've never been more aware of Nabokov's dictum that "one cannot read a book: one can only reread it."
I barely scratched the surface of this novel. The prose expertly balances the natural dissolution of each character's thoughts with effortlessly structured literary devices - weaving metaphor and allusion into the settings and interior life of each character - and Lowry is able to keep all of it just beyond the grasp of everyone involved.
There was so much going on in this novel that it was too hard to navigate without a guide. However, there's no better guide than a first reading and I'm curious to see what I get out of this book the second time around.
