Under the Volcano

A Novel

By: Malcolm Lowry

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 14 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

On the Day of the Dead, in 1938, Geoffrey Firmin, an alcoholic and ruined man, is fatefully living out his last day, drowning himself in mescal while his former wife and half-brother look on, powerless to help him. The events of this one day unfold against a backdrop unforgettable for its evocation of a Mexico at once magical and diabolical.

©1947 Peter Matson (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The book obviously belongs with the most original and creative novels of our time." (Alfred Kazin)
"One of the towering novels of [the twentieth] century." ( New York Times)
"[Lowry's] masterpiece...has a claim to being regarded as one of the ten most consequential works of fiction produced in this century...." ( Los Angeles Times)

Beautiful Prose, jarring accent

God forbids John Lee ever read Spanish (and naybe French) again. I don't even speak Spanish yet his accent gave me the cringest experience I ever had in listening audiobooks. I mean, no one would speak Spanish with that... posh intonation.

To the publisher: please consider have a new reader... the story is so beautiful and it's a pity to have it butchered by some weird accent.

Excellent book

Where does Under the Volcano rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is one of the best books I have ever listened to. It was very well read.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the way the angles and foreshadowing all came to a blurry crash at the end.

Have you listened to any of John Lee’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No

Any additional comments?

Again, this was a great book. I highly recommend it.

Be prepaired

I will listen to John Lee read any book and when I investigated the history and Author I was set for a great experience. I am also quite sensable to an alcoholics recovery process and this book would be an excellent AA case study. That said, I often found myself listening to long descriptive sections and wishing the author would get on with the story. Because this is said to be an epic novel I was reluctant to miss anything. I certainly learned a lot about Mexico in the mid-thirties. Be prepared to listen diligently and perhaps you will come away more intheusiastic than I am.

In the shadow of the abattoir.

Having lived in Mexico for a year, much of the novel hit home as the life of an expat requires accepting certain assumption that one is invulnerable in some cases because of your foreign status, particularly if you are a Westerner, and absolutely vulnerable in others for precisely the same reason. Such is the case of our main characters, both British and American, who possess the cavalier attitude of colonizers living abroad as if they own everything yet seemingly tone death to their own foreign vulgarity.

The novel is set in 1938 and 1939, as the world ramps up for war and where fascists and communists compete against each other and democracy. These competing philosophies play out in miniature in the attitudes and actions of both primary and secondary characters.

This book was set in the time of John Steinbeck's non-fiction work Sea of Cortez and both books demonstrate the clash of western modernity with the primitive traditions of the indigenous populace. As the Day of the Dead provide a backdrop for the story, the fate of the characters within context of the tradition juxtaposes these realities.

It is difficult to sympathize for the main characters as their sufferings seem to be mostly self inflicted and medicated through rampant alcoholism. As Lowry himself was a raging alcoholic, perhaps his writing was a duality of flagellation and self pity. Regardless, it is beautifully written and memorable.

It's Just Sad, Really.

If you could sum up Under the Volcano in three words, what would they be?

Wastefulness of Living

Who was your favorite character and why?

The Drunk because he was honest.

What about John Lee’s performance did you like?

The tone of his voice at double speed.

If you could rename Under the Volcano, what would you call it?

The Drowned

Not what I expected

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes, if they are into the self absorbed era.

What was most disappointing about Malcolm Lowry’s story?

It gave little of Mexican culture.

Have you listened to any of John Lee’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Did Under the Volcano inspire you to do anything?

Stop reading it.

Any additional comments?

Honestly, it just is not my cup of tea, and I should have checked further into what it was about. A lot of people might like it.

Great book, slightly flawed narration

It took me awhile to warm up to this book. For the first hour or two I seriously considered quitting it but I'm glad I didn't. It gets more and more beautiful and more tragic with every chapter. The symbolism and metaphors build on themselves and the descriptions flow smoothly into plot. The literary references (the ones I actually caught) are fun and add another layer of meaning to the story. By the end I was sitting in my driveway long after arriving home entranced with the story. Stick out the beginning, it's worth it!

The narration was great except that the Lee's Spanish pronunciation leaves a *lot* to be desired. Understanding the bits that are in Spanish isn't key to understanding the book but I found it distracting to hear the pretty blatant mistakes. Other than that though, it's a really, really well-done production.

Under the Volcano

I recommend buying this recording as long you are not seeking a fast pace story.

This is an English language classic. Thus, I will not comment on this story from literary angle but from my taste in entertainment.

Overall, I did not mind it was 14-hour slide to the death of the main character. It was interesting study of the region, the character, and the time. Much of the internal dialogue was from the main character, his former wife, and his brother. This part was interesting and the prose was very good.

Its detractor is that it is a slow tragedy with very little action and depressing as all stories about addicts who seem doomed from the outset. In addition, the writer overdoes his descriptive prose. It seems he can look any object, scene, and event; and turn it into a word picture even if it is irrelevant to the story or flow. A simple sidebar when the main character is crossing a street evoke was necessary for the author to comment and elaborate on. It was colorful but seems unnecessary.

The production was excellent: the disc maker announced the beginning and end of each disc, the actor was very good and he immersed me well in each character, etc.

Sad Story

What did you like best about Under the Volcano? What did you like least?

The scenic backdrop of Mexico and it's incredible natural beauty. There are many passages in Spanish which I understood, but, having spent some time there, the delivery would have brought blank stares or smiles of amusement from the locals.

Any additional comments?

This story is a thinly veiled autobiography of Lowry. It's a sad tale of an alcoholic's spiral into the abyss. It would probably be a good idea to read about the author beforehand. But, the sumptuous descriptions of the Mexican outdoors and insight into the culture which I have experienced myself saved it from being a turnoff altogether.

Unreal.

An absolutely unreal story, utterly compelling .

The Wikipedia synopsis is quite helpful.

A most personal day, that is easily mine, or yours.