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Subtitled: A Guide to the Landscape and Manners of the Island of Corcyra (Corfu). An odd, melancholic work, at once a character study and brief memoir as well as a travel guide. Written by the author in the mid-'30s when he and wife lived on the island (and awaited publication of the Black Book), but not published 'til years later, when memory and a world war changed things dramatically. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

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slow but interesting book about a place unlikely to every be visited by most readers

A splendid portrait of a place and time that are no more
This is a wonderfully poetic, sophisticated, and learned story of the isle of Corfu as experienced by Lawrence Durrell during a two-year idyll there in 1937 and 1938.Durrell was young (mid-twenties), he was still married to the first of his four wives, Corfu was beautiful and unspoiled, life there had changed little for generations, and World War II was yet to come.(When it did erupt, Durrell remained on Corfu until the fall of Greece, but he does not date any of the entries in this book, save the last, later than 1938.)Durrell wrote the book in 1945.Thus, it is scarcely surprising that there is a distinct sense of nostalgia, that the book is almost elegaic for a Corfu that, in 1938, was still a place out of time -- but by 1945, who knew?And we, reading it 60 years later, know all to well that globalistic forces have overwhelmed the Corfus of the world.

The book proceeds gracefully back and forth among anecdotes about Durrell's life on Corfu and his circle of friends there (all of whom are true characters and quite engaging); tales of history, mythology, and folklore; evocative descriptions of the land and sea; accounts of local practices and customs and livelihoods (principally fishing); snapshots of the Greeks as a people; philosophizing; and on and on.Throughout the writing is leisurely and superb.I compiled a lengthy list of striking quotes, but here I will limit myself to several examples.

On the Greeks:"The loquacity, the shy cunning, the mendacity, the generosity, the cowardice and bravery, the almost comical inability of self-analysis."Or, "We Greeks are not religious, we are superstitious and anarchic.Even death is less important than politics."

On land and sea:"The little bay lies in a trance, drugged with its own extraordinary perfection -- a conspiracy of light, air, blue sea, and cypresses.The rock faces splinter the light and reflect it both upward and downward; so that, staring through the broken dazzle of the Ionian sun, the quiet bather in his boat can at the same time look down into three fathoms of water with neither rock nor weed to interrupt the play of imagination . . .."

On local customs (and on time):"Not that time itself is anything more than a word here.Peasant measurement of time and distance is done by cigarettes.Ask a peasant how far a village is and he will reply, nine times out of ten, that it is a matter of so many cigarettes."

PROSPERO'S CELL (the title comes from speculation that Corfu was Prospero's island in Shakespeare's "The Tempest") is often classified as a travel book, but that doesn't really do it justice.It is virtually sui generis.If you are going to spend some time on Corfu, by all means read it (in addition to your Fodor's or other generic "travel guide").But even if you are not fortunate enough to have been to or be going to Corfu, or even if you do not normally enjoy "travel books", you may very well luxuriate in this literate, sophisticated, and poetic book of a place and time that are no more.It is a splendid gem.

If you're into Durrell
... this book is probably excellent. Poetic at times, amusing at others, and funny almost always, it's a good read and a nice introduction into the landscapes and people of Corfu. You get to know Zarian, Nicholas, N., and the rest of the uncanny people that seemed to be the expatriate tribe in Corfu at the time.
However (I wouldn't have given it 3 stars if there weren't a "however"), that's not always what you're looking for in a travel book. If you're into Theroux, you'll probably find this book boring at times, too intent on seeking brilliant metaphors.

A small classic!
I've lost track of how many times I've read "Prospero's Cell." Durrell's use of metaphor and simile is at times brilliant; it is always interesting. Every time I return to "Prospero," I become Durrell's companion, walking the cobblestone streets, swimming in aquarium-clear waters, treading grapes. He has the finest understanding of Greek character I've ever seen in a non-Greek. His honest respect and affection are so real. The books of he and his brother Gerald ignited the mid-twentieth century tourist boom to Greece. Deservedly so!

Reviewed by David Lundberg, author ofOlympic Wandering: Time Travel Through Greece

discovering the Mediterranean
William Durrell's investigation of modern love in THE ALEXANDRIA QUARTET announced the author's interest in blending geography and metaphysics, which probably originates in his Indian heritage.

The Corfu that the British author knew in 1936-7 might have disappeared already, yet his romantic portrayal of Mediterranean culture captures the spirit that despite inevitable historic changes and the ravashes of modernisation still prevails on the coasts of this historic sea. The bittersweet mixture of melancholy and happiness that is at the soul of everything Mediterranean, and even his philosophical reflections are impregnated with the soft sensualism in which the Mediterranean tradition of tolerance and antiquity is embodied.

PROSPERO'S CELL was published in 1945, four years after the author had left the island, and thus the nostalgia that pervades his writing further contributes to the beauty of this book. Some narrative chapters seem far-fetched in their anglicising romanticism, like the moonlight discussions on "Greekness" with the rich and bohemian Count D., but still Durrell's passionate portrayal of Greece should help enliven some rainy winter afternoons. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Cyprus, the third of Durrell's island quartet
"Bitter Lemons" (1957) is the third of four 'landscape books' that Durrell wrote about his pre- and post-war experiences in and around the Mediterranean.The other books in this series are "Prospero's Cell," "Reflections on a Marine Venus," and "Sicilian Carousel."

The first book, "Prospero's Cell" was written in the years preceding World War II. Durrell's foreshadowing of that grim future cast his landscapes and dazzling Greek villages of Corfu into intense relief.In his second book, war still clings like a gray film to the bright fabric of "Reflections of a Marine Venus," which was begun in 1945.

In his third island book, the author moves away from World War II, and into his experiences dodging gunmen and bombs during the postwar 'unrest' on Cyprus, which was then a British protectorate.

Even though it seemed from Durrell's first two books that he would be a strong supporter of Enosis--the union of Cyprus with Greece--he comes across as a pompous British colonialist in "Bitter Lemons."Poona stuff all around that reads rather obnoxiously in the Twenty-first century.Some of his Greek friends stopped speaking to him, but Durrell's patriotic rhetoric can be partially excused by his position--he was the British Director of Information for Cyprus.According to the introduction by Ian S. MacNiven, Durrell might even have been in the pay of MI-5 (British Military Intelligence).

This is still a very moving book about essentially peaceful Cypriots, both Greek and Turk getting caught up in a bloody conflict no one really wanted.There are many parallels to current-day Lebanon, especially if you look beyond the scope of "Bitter Lemons" to the invasion of Cyprus by Turkey.

Durrell's second great obsession during his years on Cyprus was the purchase and restoration of an old Turkish house at Bellapaix.This is the best part of the book in spite of the stereotypical 'boisterous' Greeks and 'indolent' Turks.The author employs his best, most beautiful descriptions on his house, his village, and the surrounding territory.This is the author I came to love in the first two books of this series.

"Bitter Lemons" is thought by some to be the best of Durrell's island books.I would rate it the least, but still worth reading.

Recommendation:try to find the Marlowe & Company editions of Durrell's island quartet for their knowledgeable and interesting introductions.
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