Reflections on a Marine Venus: A Companion to the Landscape of Rhodes Paperback – May 1, 2009

The `marine Venus' of the title is a statue which was found by sailors in their nets at the bottom of Rhodes harbor and which much appealed to Durrell, who thought of her as the 'presiding genius' of the place. He began this book while assigned to Rhodes as an information officer in 1945, and finally finished it in Belgrade in 1952 while working as a press attaché for the British Embassy. Before publication, it was chopped almost in half by his editor, Anne Ridler. She excised most of the passages dealing with the recent war, and "left the descriptions of the landscape and people....She oriented the book to sunlight, blue skies, and clear sea." [quoted from the introduction David Roessel].War still clings like a gray film to the bright fabric of `Venus.' Durrell writes intense, brilliant descriptions of Mediterranean skies and dazzling Greek villages, but as in all of his works that I've read, there is also a submerged longing for past love, past history, past glory.Some of his most beautiful passages, both in this book, in "Prospero's Cell," and in the books of "The Alexandria Quartet" take place under water. Here, the author goes for a midnight swim in the final chapter of "Reflections on a Marine Venus"---"The [moon]light filters down a full fathom or more to where, on the dark blackboard of weed, broken here and there by dazzling areas of milk-white sand, the fish float as if dazed by their own violet shadows which follow them back and forth, sprawling across the sea's floor."Bright surfaces. Submerged longings. There is even a ghost story floating just below the surface of a trip to the Island of Patmos. This chapter has some of the most powerful and eerie descriptions in the book. It brings together the storms of the `little summer of Saint Demetrius', a lost, lingering voice from the war, and an Abbot who presides over a monastery where St. John was said to have composed the Books of the Apocalypse."Reflections on a Marine Venus" is one of a series of travelogues that Durrell wrote about his pre- and post-war experiences in and around the Mediterranean. The other books in this series are "Prospero's Cell", "Spirit of Place," "Bitter Lemons," and "Sicilian Carousel."Ultimately, these books defy the description `travelogue'. Durrell wrote about the peculiar genius of a place, not bound by any moment in time, but for all time.

Laurence Durrell's book is essentially a personal journal of his experiences while living on the island of Rhodes in the eastern Mediterranean Sea after World War Two. It is difficult to read because of his use of the names of places and things related to the British occupation of the Greek island after the war. He writes with a somewhat poetic flair and uses metaphors excessively and usually unnecessary for a smooth reading of the story in my opinion.

This book made me fall in love with Durrell. It is simply wonderful. Combining elements of old and new Greek travel writing, this paints a wonderful picture of like in Greece. He does his best to show the rich history of Rhodes, a city of mysticism for its colossus.

nice enough, in a low-key way, not sure of its value...

Erudite, personal but not as good as the 'BITTER LEMONS OF CYPRUS' or the more complex,lengthy, and challenging 'ALEXANDRIA QUARTET'.

I am not an avid reader but this book changed my way of thinking about history. it gave such a vivid picture of the setting and challenges of post wwII greece I would recc this to anyone.

Wonderful evocative poetic prose. Durrell surpassed himself. Even now it still inspires one to visit and experience Rhodes, and Greece.

Just...read it.

Paperback arrived in a timely manner and was exactly as described, in good shape for a used book.I am totally satisfied with the order.

I had previously read the Alexandria Quartet and the Avignon Quintet and found them rewarding if difficult. I bought this just before going on holiday to Rhodes and it greatly added to my enjoyment of the trip. Durrell was there during the British Occupatation in 1945 and a lot of the places he talks about are still recognisable today. Contrast his descriptions of the sad state of Rhodes harbour after the war with the vibrant place today. An eclectic mix of history, local culture and traditions. Do read before going to or while in Rhodes.

I have read many of Durrell's works and this is the most disappointing. He used a sandwich model of writing where 20% of the book is worth reading, 10% on either side, and the 80% in the middle is a drag of text going here, there - everywhere! Yet, going nowhere at all. Not worth a second read. Not worth the first.

I adore the look of this book. So beautiful. I've yet to read past the first chapter but it's already interesting. I don't think Lawrence's writing flows as easily as Gerald's does but i adore Greece and have spent much time on Rhodes. I know many of the places he mentions and it's fascinating hearing his descriptions of the island during that time.

Durrell needs no introduction here - his works are among the foremost of the 20th Century. Marine Venus relates his experiences as a government officer on Rhodes in the months following the end of WW2. It describes a world which, sadly, no longer exists - we are all the poorer for this. The only advice I can give is: buy it yourself and read it - you won't regret it.