“I return link by link along the iron chains of memory to the city which we inhabited so briefly together: the city which used us as its flora-precipitated in us conflicts which were hers and which we mistook for our own: beloved Alexandria!” (3). Here are some quotes which we found especially memorable:

In fact, we spent a good portion of the meeting skimming through the text and reading some of our favorite lines out loud. One reader accurately described this as Durrell “having messed up priorities.” Another group member lamented the lack of character development- “If this isn’t a character driven novel, and it isn’t a plot driven novel, what does that leave?” Ultimately, we needed more plot and less setting.ĭespite our frustrations with the novel, we could all point out certain lines or paragraphs which we found very moving. Justine’s kidnapped child was the primary example here- we would have loved to have read more about this incident rather than the lengthy descriptions of Alexandria. There are some fantastic phrases, but you have to suffer greatly to get to them.Īdditionally, most of us felt some frustration with the author as he would mention some really interesting character details but failed to “circle back” and expand upon them.I felt like I was wading through a lot of dreck to get to the good stuff.One group member described it best by simply stating: “It’s complicated.” Overall, it seemed as though most of us felt like there were some really beautifully written phrases and interesting plot points however, we had to work our way through a lot of overly descriptive (and irrelevant) narrative to get to those points. It seemed as though readers struggled to identify if Justine was a thumbs-up, thumbs-down, or so-so read. Since its publication in 1957, Justine has inspired an almost religious devotion among readers and critics alike. But for the obsessed characters in this mesmerizing novel, their pursuits lead only to bedrooms in which each seeks to know-and possess-the other. The place is Alexandria, an Egyptian city that once housed the world's greatest library and whose inhabitants are dedicated to knowledge.

Here is a brief summary of the novel, courtesy of Goodreads: On Thursday, December 11 th, the Fixed on Fiction book group met to discuss Justine by Lawrence Durrell.

Justine book durrell