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Under the Volcano: A Novel (P.S.) by [Malcolm Lowry]

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Malcolm Lowry

Under the Volcano: A Novel (P.S.) Kindle Edition

by Malcolm Lowry (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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“Lowry’s masterpiece” about a fateful Day of the Dead in a small Mexican town and one man’s struggle against the forces threatening to destroy him (Los Angeles Times).

In what the New York Times calls “one of the towering novels of [the twentieth] century,” former British consul Geoffrey Firmin lives alone with his demons in the shadow of two active volcanoes in South Central Mexico. Gripped by alcoholism, Geoffrey makes one last effort to salvage his crumbling life on the day that his ex-wife, Yvonne, arrives in town.

It’s the Day of the Dead, 1938. The couple wants to revive their marriage and undo the wrongs of their past, but they soon realize that they’ve stumbled into the wrong place and time, where not only Geoffrey and Yvonne, but the world itself is on the edge of Armageddon.

Hailed by the Modern Library as one of the one hundred best English novels of the twentieth century, Under the Volcano stands as an iconic and richly drawn example of the modern novel at its most lyrical.

Print length

499 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Open Road Media
Publication date

6 November 2012
File size

7894 KB
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"One of the towering novels of this century."--"New York Times"[Lowry's] masterpiece...has a claim to being regarded as one of the ten most consequential works of fiction produced in this century...It reflects the special genius of Lowry, a writer with a poet's command of the language and a novelist's capacity to translate autobiographical details into a universal statement."--"Los Angeles Times"The book obviously belongs with the most original and creative novels of our time."--Alfred Kazin --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From the Back Cover

Geoffrey Firmin, a former British consul, has come to Quauhnahuac, Mexico. Here the consul's debilitating malaise is drinking, an activity that has overshadowed his life. Under the Volcano is set during the most fateful day of the consul's life -- the Day of the Dead, 1938. His wife, Yvonne, arrives in Quauhnahuac to rescue him and their failing marriage, inspired by a vision of a life together away from Mexico and the circumstances that have driven their relationship to the brink of collapse. Yvonne's mission to save the consul is further complicated by the presence of Hugh, the consul's half-brother, and Jacques, a childhood friend. The events of this one day unfold against a backdrop unforgettable for its evocation of a Mexico at once magical and diabolical.

Under the Volcano remains one of the most powerful and lyrical statements on the human condition and one man's constant struggle against the elemental forces that threaten to destroy him. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B009S33I9A
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Open Road Media (6 November 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 7894 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 499 pages

Best Sellers Rank: 173,485 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 2,221 in Fiction Classics
- 4,088 in Literary Fiction (Kindle Store)
- 4,323 in Classic Literature & Fiction

Customer Reviews:
473 ratings

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Malcolm Lowry

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Malcolm Lowry (1909–1957) was a British novelist and poet whose masterpiece Under the Volcano is widely hailed as one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century. Born near Liverpool, England, Lowry grew up in a prominent, wealthy family and chafed under the expectations placed upon him by parents and boarding school. He wrote passionately on the themes of exile and despair, and his own wanderlust and erratic lifestyle made him an icon to later generations of writers.

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3 star		9%
2 star		7%
1 star		10%

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Caven Tootell

Powerful Story

Reviewed in Australia on 28 February 2018

Lowry's prose is at times difficult to follow - not impossible - but takes a few re-reads. The underlying story is very powerful, with the protagonist’s steady decline into alcohol induced problems. His interactions with friends, acquaintances and strangers are poignant and the descriptions of the exotic environment are some of the best I have read. His use of Spanish (and sometimes other languages) makes reading this in eBook format best (well for me) in being able to copy and paste into a translator. Rather than skipping over in a print book this gave a better insight into the troubled mind we are following.

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Top reviews from other countries

drew bridge

On the Volcano. And coming down the other side.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 November 2020

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My goodness what a slog. Never an easy page. Not that I need easy, but this is not a masterpiece to make it easy. I’m at chapter 9. I know the ending already. Lowry’s writing is over written.. every word stapled down. Hammered down. It’s stifling to read and this does not represent the heat of Mexico either. Nor does it represent the psychology of the characters. In the documentary Malcolm Lowry: An Investigation into his Death and Life, (You’ll find this brilliant documentary on YouTube.) we hear Richard Burton reading Lowry’s letters - now here we have the true voice of the writer. Lowry was writing after Conrad and Hawthorn. And his stilted prose are forced and almost lifeless. About half way through Lowry turns to Firmin’s brother Hugh. And spends unnecessary pages describing his life. It adds nothing to the story at all - as you wade through the endless wanderings of a character that purely distracts from the main theme. Firmin’s wife Yvonne is the most empathetic character in my opinion. The others bar the local doctor are all a bit wooden and I have no empathy for the alcoholic Firmin at all: a bloated child-man full of self pity and booze.

I’ve given it 5 stars because I empathise with Lowry the man, the writer and his dogged determination to complete this novel. Watch the documentary. It’s brilliant and beautiful. And you will get a good feeling for the very troubled Lowry. You’ll also here his real voice too, spoken lovingly by Burton. And not the wooden prose voice of a writer trying to ‘be’ a writer.

3 people found this helpful

mintyBadger

not the best, just the most remarkable

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 May 2017

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Under the Volcano is the most remarkable book I have ever read, not the best, just the most remarkable. It is certainly not an easy book to read and as a story it does not include much action. When I originally finished it I admit I was a little disappointed with the ending. But the more I thought about it the more remarkable I found the whole book. What Lowry has done has created a structure out of words, a very carefuly crafted structure. You come to understand why it took so many years to write and why Lowry would throw away entire chapters and rewrite them.

Under the Volcano is metaphor built on metaphor, where everything has mulitple meanings, depths within depths. The story eventually reaching a crescendo where metaphor and reality meet. This book will stand many readings as there are still themes and threads to the story whose meaning eludes me and yet the parts I do understand mark this book as something truly unique in literature.

12 people found this helpful

LeSinge

Hard work but rewarding

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 July 2016

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I first read this at college and this is the third time I have read it. Be warned it is very hard work - some sentences, reflecting Geoffrey Firmin's state of mind, are very long indeed and require two or threee readings and a Spanish dictionary is helpful. Lowry wrote an extraordinary letter to his publisher which gives an insight into the book's symbolism which can be found in Douglas Day's biography which is also recommended to throw light on some of Lowry's obsessions. Having said all this the book rewards the effort and at the end you feel you want to start again to complete the circle of meaning. I think this is one of the greatest novels of the 20th century.

7 people found this helpful

Woolco

A Smouldering Peak

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 November 2013

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A day in the life of, Geoffrey Firmin, an alcoholic, the fall of man played out under civilized 20th century conditions, 'Under The Volcano' certainly promises a literary summit of the modern era. And the quality of the writing goes far in ascending such rarefied heights. It's taut and poetic, sometimes tortuous, breathtakingly assured, rich in vocabulary and often dense with allusion and symbolism. Yet never, in my opinion, difficult or impenetrable, as is sometimes the case with high modern literature.

I would add that its structure is also carefully fulfilled. After a brief first chapter, postscript or epilogue, where two subsidiary characters reflect obliquely on the story's events - M.Laruelle providing background on he and Geoffrey Firmin's childhood connection - the novel proceeds with an hour by hour re-telling of the events of that fateful day of days, on Mexico's macabre and vibrant festival Day of The Dead. What's more, within the linear structure of the unfolding day lie delicately chaotic, time-lapsed, dazed spells and passages, evoking the drunken haze and mescal miasma engulfing the protagonist's mindset. It disorientates in an analogous way.

That said, I have a couple of criticisms. It's never evident exactly what caused such dramatic, undying love and affection in the heart of Yvonnne, Geoffrey Firmin's moonstruck ex-wife, who returns on the scene to salvage him/their relationship, though he remains, presumably, as ever before, an inveterate, self-absorbed, determined drunk. She's a bit of a sap.

And Firmin himself, I have to confess, is rather dull, rather self-serious, with a tedious habit of academic posing. The classic and literary references that abound, however apt, to me, often distract, hinder momentum. Perhaps this weakness for high brow allusion is something in the blood of the author.

On the whole though, an impressive novel, at turns vital, disturbing, frustrating and devastating.

5 people found this helpful

Grant F Ferguson

Hard Yards

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 May 2015

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No doubt a classic but a very difficult read. Basically a story about a rich English bloke who is an alcoholic in central Mexico and his erstwhile wife, an ex-child movie star. As noted elsewhere the prose is outstanding but a whole book describing being drunk? Easily the best descriptive essay on the topic but by the end I longed for a story. I won't spoil the ending but it stretches your belief and adds a rather surreal, and abrupt, ending to this tedious, rambling monologue. It took me six months to read and I'm generally a book a week person. Beware!

5 people found this helpful

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