Reflections on a Marine Venus

A close family friend of my parents was an "islomaniac." Lawrence Durrell also declares himself one-- which having been brought up on various islands in the Mediterranean was no doubt true. Just after the war (2) he was posted to Rhodes to get the newspapers back in order. The island has been devastated by occupations and the healing begins. Durrell finds a little house where under a huge old tree he can sit with his friends to drink and talk and dine. His friends are as important a part of the book as the descriptions of the places, ancient and new, that he describes. Mills, the energetic and dedicated doctor, Gideon (possibly an alter ego) on the island in a similar role as Durrell's to get agriculture back on its feet, Hoyle the show more chief administrator. Durrell's lady of the moment, "E" is there, living in the hotel (ah the days of propriety!) nearby. There are moments when the prose takes you right there into a sparkling blue bay or walking past a fragrant thyme-scened garden, but there are times too when the prose because unwieldy, too grand, verging on pomposity (making one understand why brother Gerald couldn't resist playing pranks on his older brother). Rhodes has an astonishingly rich history (and now I finally know what the Colossus was!) Greeks and Knights of St. John and so on, lots of fun. And a sturdy population that persists withal. I'm a devoted fan of the [Alexandria Quartet] and Durrell really can write. If you love Greece, you will get lots out of reading this offering. I spent a long time on-line looking at various places mentioned in the book, thankful that one can do this now, match images (there is no image of the marine venus herself to be seen in the book) with text as you go. **** show less

This book goes hopping about the Greek islands and is disjointed, but enjoyable because of Durrell's style - what breathless descriptions of landscapes and the sea. Durrell is a genius when it comes to describing the outer world, rather than what goes on inside the individual. He considers an individual's surroundings, such as the landscape of their place of birth, and their local history, to be the forces that shape identity. It is worth reading just for the prose and Durrell's view of people as products of their geographical environment and cultural history.

Shortly after the end of WWII Durrell takes one through the Greek islands. Lovely prose, great descriptions of the country, the people, and the events.

Having recently read “The Alexandria Quartet” and found it hard going at times, I was a bit concerned that this book might be in a similar vein. Happily it is not, and instead Durrell manages to convey much of the history and culture of Rhodes through a series of escapades involving him and his friends during a stay there at the end of the second world war. An entertaining read, which has made me eager to track down more of Durrell's travel literature.