He dreamed of traveling again: to Sinai and Petra to Christian Jerusalem, Constantinople, through the Greek islands once more, to Spain and Russia. "Pasternak's landscapes are haunting me.' Dr Zhivago had him spellbound. "there was hardly a page which did not leave me wanting to shout and sing. I also finished the Durrell Quartet of which the brilliance has begun to appear slightly meretricious after Pasternak's more mature wisdom. Still, I am thankful for Durrell too.'
David
Fascinating observation. It enables a useful contrast between Durrell and White. The latter's response to Pasternak's Russia undoubtedly has to do with the similarity between Australia and Russia, the vastness and emptiness of geography in both countries. Rilke had a similar response (read his letters), and David Lean's "Dr. Zhivago" (1965) captures well the same sense of space. Durrell, on the other hand, is an islomaniac (his word) and lives in a world of limited space. He's happiest on islands. I would suggest that he was afraid of emptiness and suffered from some kind of agoraphobia.
ReplyDeleteLarry was perhaps more freedomophilic than agoraphobic. He was far too expansive and celebratory to fit the typical agoraphobic profile. The campervan adventures and wanderlust traits too are not consistent with the agoraphobics I have treated.
ReplyDeleteDrD
PS. A very warm Christmas greetings to all the Durrellists out there across the globe. May Larry inspire you to contribute a word or two to Bruce's blogorama during this festive season.
Maybe "campervan adventures" and "wanderlust traits" were Durrell's antidote to his peculiar kind of agoraphobia?
ReplyDeleteAlso, as Dr. D. warmly says, a Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to all Durrellists and readers of this blog!
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