One of the twentieth century’s great undisputed masterpieces, Malcolm Lowry’s Under the Volcano is the fiesta ‘Day of the Dead’ in the small Mexican town of Quauhnahuac.
In the shadow of the volcano, ragged children beg coins to buy skulls made of chocolate, ugly pariah dogs roam the streets and Geoffrey Firmin – ex-consul, ex-husband, an alcoholic and a ruined man – is living out the last day of his life.
Drowning himself in mescal while his former wife and half-brother look on, powerless to help him, the consul has become an enduring tragic figure. As the day wears on, it becomes apparent that Geoffrey must die. It is his only escape from a world he cannot understand. His story, the image of one man’s agonised journey towards Calvary, became a prophetic book for a whole generation.
‘One of the towering novels of this century.’ The New York Times
With a Notebook and a Ukulele
I first came across Malcolm Lowry through a selection of his poems published in a series devoted mainly to American Beat poets like Allen Ginsberg. But in this slim volume of idiosyncratic verse,...
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