On lists of great novels, Malcolm Lowry's "Under the Volcano" often appears. I just spent a month struggling through its contents. The main character, the Consul, is an alcoholic and Lowry invites the reader into his muddled mind by jumping from setting to setting and moving back and forth in time. It is unsettling and very difficult to follow. Arcane words are sprinkled throughout the story, and there are numerous allusions to ancient myths and characters from obscure works of poetry and prose. Nice if you're a Ph.D candidate who thrills to the quest of deciphering every literary reference, but pretty boring if you're a person on the hunt for a good read.
The story has interesting parts when something actually happens and there is clear dialogue between the characters, but the Consul soon takes another swig and bounces back and forth in time and setting again. The introduction, which is lengthy and tells the complete story before the reader begins the actual text, says that Lowry liked to compare himself to James Joyce. I should have been warned off this novel by that statement.
My feelings toward this work are similar to those I had for "Moby Dick." A few nice scenes with unusual characters and then the reader is stunned by the hammer blow of details about the various species of whales and the intricacies of nineteenth century whaling technology. Were the original audiences for these novels old sailors and temperance advocates? Give me the simple sentences and clarity of expression of Ernest Hemingway even though I hate hunting, fishing, and bullfighting.
