Under the Volcano Audiobook By Malcolm Lowry cover art

Under the Volcano

A Novel

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Under the Volcano

By: Malcolm Lowry
Narrated by: John Lee
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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. Classics Genre Fiction Latino American Literary Fiction United States World Literature Emotionally Gripping Heartfelt

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)

Artículo destacado: Discover The Traditions and History of The Day of The Dead


Early every November in households across Mexico, Latin America, and around the world, families remember their lost loved ones in breathtaking and profoundly meaningful ways. The Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos, has a long and rich history. Whether through graveyard celebrations filled with dazzling marigolds, private family altars replete with sugar skulls, or the incredible parade in Mexico City, these festivities are something to behold.

Artículo destacado Discover The Traditions and History of The Day of The Dead
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I can't say I was really enamored with this novel. While the prose certainly has its charms and it's eloquently and beautifully written, much of it seems to me to hold little semblance of a narrative or a coherent story.

In that regard the book fails to do much for me. I can appreciate nice words as well as anyone, but I prefer my novels to tell me good stories, or at least pepper in some entertainment along with the philosophical meanderings of the mind.

Stream of consciousness like this doesn't hold much to make it worthy of my attention or praise.

Mehhhhhhhh

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Struggled with this novel. Difficult, distant time in history. I love historical fiction but I could not make sense of this. I stayed until end because I LOVED the narrator!
For me, a desperate depressing novel. Wonder why it was so lauded in history?

Desperate aching plot. LOVED THE NARRATOR

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Difficult novel, a painful evocation of suffering, alcoholism, self-destruction, and demise, but such beautiful and unforgettable prose, it certainly deserves its fame. The narrator on the audio edition is excellent. Reading the text while listening is recommended.

Difficult novel, rewarding

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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.

Excellent book

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For the first time in my life I couldn't finish a book. To say that the performance by John Lee is unlistenable is, in my opinion, giving the performance too much credit. For a story that utilizes as much Spanish you'd think that the performer would be able to put together more than a slurred Italian interpretation. I'd rather listen to Brad Pitt read Cormac McCarthy.

Get a Different Edition

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I have to say before anything, that this is an absolutely remarkable novel, and possibly the most beautiful thing I've ever read. On the other hand, it is extremely hard to follow(it's supposed to be like this), which makes it a difficult read. The symbolism is intense. But in the end it's just such a beautiful book, just wow, it really brings out the human condition. Don't read if you expect something happy, it's gloomy (I enjoy books like this myself but if you're not into depressing books don't read it).

Well...

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Many books contain passages in more than one language. John Lee, a reader I have liked before now, should restrict himself to narrating books written entirely in English. His Spanish pronunciation is . . . excecrable. Malcolm Lowry's text deserves better.

challenged narrator . . .

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I'm a lover of audiobooks but acknowledge some books are better digested in the printed format. This book will require more reading on my part. If you are looking for escapist reading this is not the best choice. It requires further exploration of the symbolism and allusions.
I was quite happy with is narration and the narrators Spanish pronunciation.
It has been called one of the twenty best books of the last century. The audiobook is a good introduction.

Deep for an audiobook

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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.

Be prepaired

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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.

In the shadow of the abattoir.

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