Thursday, August 19, 2010

1957: The Alexandria Quartet: Justine to Endgame.


Purpose of this blog: Brief summaries of World, British and American literary classics for English majors.

Lawrence Durrell. British. 1957. Novel. The Alexandria Quartet: Justine. Love affair between the narrator, Darley, and the fascinating, enignmatic Justine.

Jose Donoso. Chile. 1957. Novel. Coronacion. Decline and ruin of an aristocratic Chilean family. The maids claim their possessions and their place in life.

Boris Pasternak. Russian. 1957. Novel Doctor Zhivago. Member of the intelligentsia during the Russian Revolution. Young doctor. Explicit anti-Marxist passages. Religious spirit. Natural living spirit vs. the ideas about life held by the Marxists. Poetic spirit of the book.

Samuel Beckett. Irish/French. 1957. Play. Endgame. Blind chair-bound autocrat; parents in ash cans; disappearing objects; deaths; disintegrating world. [Comment: Boy, that sounds uplifting. RayS.]

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