[ilds] Response to James Gifford's comments on Judith (Vol. 90, issue 6)

[James Gifford]

On 2014-10-09 9:39 AM, Bruce Redwine wrote:
> Finally, just what were Durrell’s views towards the
> state of Israel?  Didn’t they change?

I think this is the most interesting question, and it's why I would set 
the text beside Claude's /A Chair for the Prophet/ (1959), which is 
openly Zionist.  Michael Haag has demonstrated the importance of the 
Menasce family as source material for the Hosnanis in the Quartet, and 
the "inter-writing" of the two books (Quartet and Chair) seems fairly 
clear at the stylistic level and obvious for the timeline.  (is 
"inter-writing" the right word?  co-authored seems inapt)

Durrell seemed to support Israel strongly until 1967, at which point 
either Claude's death or the Six-Day War may have changed his stance or 
his interest in the Judith project.  The similarities between /Judith/ 
and /A Chair for the Prophet/ might also indicate Claude's possible 
contributions to (drive behind?) the novel, but that would need more 
scrutiny.

I haven't actually read /Judith/ or /A Chair for the Prophet/ for 5 or 6 
years, maybe more, so I should sit down with them before saying anything 
more meaningful.

All best,
James