Clea: Introduced by Elif Shafak

Durrell's epic modern classic "The Alexandria Quartet" is set in wartime Egypt and follows the story of a schoolteacher who returns to Alexandria after years in exile. He finds that his old friends have changed, and his affair with Clea, a bisexual artist, transforms the dead and heralds a new beginning. The novel is considered one of the most important works of our time, praised for its lush beauty, Proustian ferocity, and descriptions of Alexandria.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 368 pages
Publication date: 06 May 2021
Publisher: Faber & Faber

Lose yourself in the captivating political intrigue and tangled love affairs of wartime Egypt in Lawrence Durrell's epic modern classic, introduced by bestselling author Elif Shafak (The Forty Rules of Love). An expat schoolteacher has spent years in exile, reflecting on his tumultuous love affair with Justine, a glamorous Egyptian wife. Returning to wartime Alexandria, he finds that his old friends have undergone dramatic changes: body, mind, and fortune. Someone he has never truly known desires to see him. His affair with Clea, a bisexual artist, not only changes the lovers but transforms the dead, forever, heralding a new beginning, just as Durrell's intoxicating masterpiece ends.

Durrell has written about a dozen real love stories, entwined them, and explored them with a truly Proustian ferocity. Superb. Observer. Lushly beautiful. His style glows. One of the most important works of our time. New York Times Book Review. It is hard now to recapture the impact half a century ago of these novels' heat, luxuriance, and profanity [or] his descriptions of Alexandria—its beauty, cruelty, menace, mystery, decadence. Spectator.

Weight: 304g
Dimension: 132 x 197 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780571356034
Edition number: Main