From Booklist
Durrell, a twentieth-century British writer admired by discriminating readers, was the author of the Alexandria Quartet, a novel cycle named for the alluring and mysterious Egyptian city in which it was set. He also traveled avidly and consequently established a reputation as a brilliant travel writer. Evidence is made concrete in this anthology, in which excerpts from Durrell's book-length travelogues are gathered with short pieces published independently. His particular love for the islands of the Mediterranean shines from its pages, and such passion impels travel literature to its fullest purpose: to stir the reader's imagination and longing. Durrell's fundamental philosophy about travel is declared, and the tone for this entire anthology is set, by the first piece, "Landscape and Character," a 1960 essay originally published in the New York Times Magazine--his sentiment codified as "human beings are expressions of their landscape, but in order to touch the secret springs of a national essence you need a few moments of quiet with yourself." Quiet time with this book is its own great reward. Brad Hooper
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Book Description
Many readers know Lawrence Durrell as the famed author of the lush and sensuous Alexandria Quartet. However, this wonderful book contains the best of Durrell's incomparable travel writing. It is collected here for the first time in a single volume and offers a chance to rediscover the author as one of the great travel writers of the twentieth century. Durrell's passionate, evocative writing about his travels-in particular the Greek islands-is a timeless exploration of how landscapes shape our experience. This collection also re-creates a world where a struggling author or artist could buy a cliff-side house on Corfu for a pittance and begin to invent himself as a man of letters while falling in love with an alien but endlessly entertaining culture. The Lawrence Durrell Travel Reader combines the merits of great escape reading and serious literature and will interest fans of Durrell, fans of Greek islands, and lovers of travel writing.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Many Readers Know Lawrence Durrell as the novelist who wrote the lush and sensuous Alexandria Quartet. The Lawrence Durrell Travel Reader offers a chance to rediscover him as one of the great travel writers of the 20th century. Durrell's passionate, evocative writing about his travels -- in particular in and around the Greek islands -- is a timeless exploration of how landscapes shape our experience. This collection also recreates a world where a struggling author or artist could buy a cliff-side house on Corfu for a pittance, and begin to invent himself as a man of letters while falling in love with an alien but endlessly entertaining culture. This book combines the merits of great escape reading and serious literature; it will interest fans of Durrell, fans of islands, and fans of first-rate travel writing.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal