[ilds] the quartet & US politics

[Richard Pine]

2 brief comments:
1) I entitled the section of my book on LD relating to the Quintet 'An Unreadable Book' - unwisely, as it turns out, for at least one critic, Stefan Herbrechter, took it to mean that I personally found the book unreadable, which, I trust is evident, is far from the case. But it was unwise because I failed, it seems, to explain adequately what I meant by that expression. It would take too long to go into it now...
2) It cannot have been other than obvious to LD that, at the end of the Quintet they all troupe into the mountain, while his first novel, 35 years previously, had been 'Pied Piper...' - le cercle referme!
RP


----- Original Message ----
From: "clawson at gmail.com" <clawson at gmail.com>
To: ilds at lists.uvic.ca
Sent: Thu, February 25, 2010 11:45:13 PM
Subject: Re: [ilds] the quartet & US politics

Ilyas, et al.-
Thanks for the comments in reply! You're right, of course: the Quintet offers a picture of vitality, especially at the end, with the opening of the caves. Still, though, I've actually read the Quintet (and, especially the Quartet) more times than my age might lead one to believe -- and I really like it, actually! When I speak of bleakness, it's not for Blanford, for whom I see the moment as an instance of joy. Rather I see that intrusion of Reality Prime as (Durrell's) indictment of any political enterprise for art. Partly my reading depends on a stubborn insistence to read; partly, it's a product of my desire to contextualize. 

I'm away from my books and papers at the moment, so things'll be citation free for now, though I can follow up later if needed. (I'm actually writing this long reply on my phone... Shudder.) The Quintet has been called (perhaps cheekily) "unreadable,"