Most Popular Books by Malcolm Lowry

Malcolm Lowry''s ''Under the Volcano'' is a profound exploration of the human condition set against the backdrop of 1930s Mexico. The novel intricately weaves together the experiences of Geoffrey Firmin, a British consul grappling with alcoholism and existential despair, as he navigates the volcanic landscape both literally and metaphorically. Lowry''s literary style is rich and poetic, employing a stream-of-consciousness technique that immerses readers in the protagonist''s fragmented psyche, while the narrative echoes themes of fate, love, and the search for meaning. The historical context of the Mexican Revolution looms large, serving as a poignant contrast to Firmin''s personal turmoil and highlighting the intersection of personal and political chaos. Malcolm Lowry, an enigmatic figure born in 1906 in Vancouver, was deeply influenced by his own struggles with addiction and mental health, which lend authenticity to the novel''s exploration of despair. His extensive travels and time spent in Mexico catalyzed his vivid depictions of the country and its cultural richness, informing the narrative''s depth. Lowry''s literary journey is also marked by a study of myth and religion, elements that permeate the text, reflecting his fascination with the symbolic dimensions of life. ''Under the Volcano'' is highly recommended for readers seeking a profound and challenging literary experience. Lowry''s intricate prose invites reflection, and his richly drawn characters foster an emotional connection that resonates long after the final pages. This novel is not just a tale of individual struggle; it is an iconic meditation on the complexities of existence and the human spirit. In this enriched edition, we have carefully created added value for your reading experience: - A succinct Introduction situates the work''s timeless appeal and themes. - The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists. - A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era''s events and influences that shaped the writing. - An Author Biography reveals milestones in the author''s life, illuminating the personal insights behind the text. - A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings. - Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work''s messages, connecting them to modern life. - Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance. - Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.

Although Malcolm Lowry (1909-1957) published only two novels--Ultramarine and Under the Volcano--in his lifetime, numerous other works, most of which have since been edited for publication, were in various stages of composition at his death. La Mordida, the longest and most significant of the manuscripts that have not been previously published, is a draft of a novel based on Lowry''s visit to Mexico in 1945-46, which ended in the arrest and deportation of Lowry and his wife following a nightmarish run-in with corrupt immigration authorities. On its most immediate level, the title La Mordida--which means "the little bite," Mexican slang for the small bribe that officials are apt to demand in order to expedite matters--refers to the autobiographical protagonist''s legal difficulties. In a larger sense, however, it also represents his inability to escape his past, to repay the fine, or debt, that he owes. The central narrative of La Mordida involves a descent into the abyss of self, culminating in the protagonist''s symbolic rebirth at the book''s end. Lowry planned to use this basic narrative pattern as the springboard for innumerable questions about such concerns as art, identity, the nature of existence, political issues, and alcoholism. Above all, La Mordida was to have been a metafictional work about an author who sees no point in living events if he cannot write about them and who is not only unable to write but suspects that he is just a character in a novel. A reading of La Mordida in the context of Lowry''s aesthetic theories and psychological problems shows why he dreaded the completion of his projects to such an extent that he called success a "horrible disaster" and compared death to "the accepted manuscript of one''s life." The reason, La Mordida makes clear, lies partly in the aesthetic theories that led Lowry to attempt a book that he prophetically called "something never dreamed of before, a work of art so beyond conception it could not be written." Patrick A. McCarthy''s edition of La Mordida is based on materials held in the Malcolm Lowry Archive at the University of British Columbia. Its publication provides essential evidence for a balanced assessment of Lowry''s creative processes and his achievement as a writer.

A NEW YORK REVIEW BOOKS ORIGINAL Notorious for a misspent life full of binges, blackouts, and unimaginable bad luck, Malcolm Lowry managed, against every odd, to complete and publish two novels, one of them, Under the Volcano, an indisputable masterpiece. At the time of his death in 1957, Lowry also left behind a great deal of uncollected and unpublished writing: stories, novellas, drafts of novels and revisions of drafts of novels (Lowry was a tireless revisiter and reviser—and interrupter—of his work), long, impassioned, haunting, beautiful letters overflowing with wordplay and lament, fraught short poems that display a sozzled off-the-cuff inspiration all Lowry’s own. Over the years these writings have appeared in various volumes, all long out of print. Here, in The Voyage That Never Ends, the poet, translator, and critic Michael Hofmann has drawn on all this scattered and inaccessible material to assemble the first book that reflects the full range of Lowry’s extraordinary and singular achievement. The result is a revelation. In the letters—acknowledged to be among modern literature’s greatest—we encounter a character who was, as contemporaries attested, as spellbinding and lovable as he was self-destructive and infuriating. In the late fiction—the long story “Through the Panama,” sections of unfinished novels such as Dark as the Grave Wherein My Friend Is Laid, and the little-known La Mordida—we discover a writer who is blazing a path into the unknown and, as he goes, improvising a whole new kind of writing. Lowry had set out to produce a great novel, something to top Under the Volcano, a multivolume epic and intimate tale of purgatorial suffering and ultimate redemption (called, among other things, “The Voyage That Never Ends”). That book was never to be. What he produced instead was an unprecedented and prophetic blend of fact and fiction, confession and confusion, essay and free play, that looks forward to the work of writers as different as Norman Mailer and William Gass, but is like nothing else. Almost in spite of himself, Lowry succeeded in transforming his disastrous life into an exhilarating art of disaster. The Voyage That Never Ends is a new and indispensable entry into the world of one of the masters of modern literature.

First collection of Lowry''s extensive poetic canon, including most of the Mexican verses related to his novel, Under the Volcano.

Although his literary reputation rests primarily on his novels,Malcolm Lowry (1909-57) considered himself to be a poet, and hecomposed an extensive poetic canon. No reliable edition of Lowry''spoetry currently exists. Increasing critical interest in all aspects ofLowry''s life and work prompted the preparation of this completeedition of his poetry, in which the poems are located, identified,dated, arranged, collated, annotated, and explicated by biographical,critical, and textual introductions. The sections of Lowry''s text are chronologically arranged toreflect his artistic development and are preceded by short essaysdescribing the specific issues raised by those poems. The openingsection -- Lowry''s poetic juvenilia -- reflects his fascinationwith the sea, as does the ensuing section, The Lighthouse Invitesthe Storm, his first collection of poetry, a sequence of relatedsemi-autobiographical poems which depicts the adventures of thecharacters Peter Gaunt and Vigil Forget. Lowry composed most of TheLighthouse in Mexico; following it in this edition is a smallgroup of uncollected Mexican poems. The next two sections of text --''Dollarton 1940-54: Selected Poems 1947'' and ''Dollarton1940-54: Uncollected Poems'' -- reflect and record the experience ofLowry''s sojourn on the lower mainland and its deep effect onhim. All the poems are fully annotated. The appendices contain sectionsof song lyrics and undated fragments, as well as a remarkably coherentgroup of love poems written between 1949 and Lowry''s death in1957. This edition provides Lowryans with ready access to the latestdeterminable authorial versions of, and the textual histories for, thecanon''s 490 poems, which range in date from 1925 to 1957. By usingthis edition, readers will be able to reconstruct every version ofevery Lowry poem.

Seven stories and novellas by the author of Under the Volcano, a master of twentieth-century fiction. For fans of the novel Under the Volcano, this collection of stories—many of them published for the first time posthumously—provides great insight into the author’s genius. The stories range from heartfelt tragedy to exuberant triumph. In the novella “Through the Panama,” a burned-out, alcoholic writer tries to make sense of the literature that has kept him afloat while the pulse of his life grows harder to distinguish. In “The Forest Path to Spring,” a couple that has survived hell finds new life in the seclusion of a vast forest. And in “The Bravest Boat,” a young boy sends a message across the ocean to an unknown recipient. Together, these stories reveal a writer who traveled widely, observed keenly, and maintained an engrossing literary style that still reverberates today.

Swinging the Maelstrom is the story of a musician enduring existence in the Bellevue psychiatric hospital in New York. Written during his happiest and most fruitful years, this novella reveals the deep healing influence that the idyllic retreat at Dollarton had on Lowry. This long-overdue scholarly edition will allow scholars to engage in a genetic study of the text and reconstruct, step by step, the creative process that developed from a rather pessimistic and misanthropic vision of the world as a madhouse (The Last Address, 1936), via the apocalyptic metaphors of a world on the brink of Armageddon (The Last Address, 1939), to a world that, in spite of all its troubles, leaves room for self-irony and humanistic concern (Swinging the Maelstrom,1942–1944).

This is the first edition of In Ballast to the White Sea, the autobiographical novel by Malcolm Lowry, known to most only through the highly romanticized story of its loss in a fire. In fact, the typescript itself has probably been read by at most a dozen people since Lowry scholars learned that it was deposited at the New York Public Library.