May 29, 1980
[‘Lataifa’, Egypt]
Finished reading ‘Clea’ yesterday. Was more or less in tears at the end of it. The books get better and better. I think the blurb is on the whole right: the Alexandria Quartet is probably as close to a masterpiece as anything written in the ‘50s. Particularly liked Durrell’s translation of the Cavafy poem at the end (must look for a Cavafy collection when I am in Alexandria next: wonder if I’ll find one?).
[…] a recent posting at his blog-site, Ghosh once again turns to thinking about The Alexandria Quartet. On this […]
I picked up my own copies of The Alexandria Quartet novels last week and opened Clea on the metro journey home. The first place it opened was where she was requested to read a letter, the second place it opened was her rebirth – the first time I had read that scene I had to pause halfway through and go to bed, because I was dreading the conclusion. I read it right through this time, at speed; I felt a bit like I was holding my breath until the end of it. I couldn’t stop reading until I’d reached the conclusion.