515. Justine

Justine
Lawrence Durrell
1957
Around 250 pages

This is the first novel in a tetralogy, but thankfully, I do not feel compelled to read the remainder of the series.  Even I have my obsessive limits. This was okay, but I wasn't blown away, despite the unique setting.

Our narrator is unnamed, which is a technique that isa little tired. He is a struggling Irish writer who falls for the beautiful Justine during his time in Alexandria. Like most titular female characters in novels penned by men, Justine is more of a symbol than a developed, believable person. Personally, I'm over women of color having to shoulder the representation of all things exotic.

The structure is sort of all over the place, I guess due in part to it being one part of a larger work. This one doesn't stand out to me, particularly stacked against the heavy hitters we've been treated to recently.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

He was predeceased by his younger daughter, Sappho Jane, who took her own life in 1985 at age 33. After Durrell's death, it emerged that Sappho's diaries included allusions to an alleged incestuous relationship with her father. Ick.

Adapted into film in 1969.

UP NEXT: The Wonderful O by James Thurber