About this book
Malcolm Lowry’s Under the Volcano tells the story of Geoffrey Firmin, an alcoholic British consul in the small Mexican town of Quauhnahuac, on the Day of the Dead in 1938. The novel was precipitated by a short story he wrote after a trip to Mexico with his wife. The story was expanded into a novel completed in 1940, but was rejected and then revised multiple times before finally getting published in 1947.
Under the Volcano thoroughly demonstrates Lowry’s highly stylistic writing choices. Drawing heavily upon autobiographical material (Lowry himself was well-known to be an alcoholic), the author amplifies the complexity of the story with unexpected narrative shifts and allusive layers of symbolism. In fact, the complexity of Under the Volcano has been compared with James Joyce’s stylistic masterpiece, Ulysses.
The novel was out of print by the time Lowry died of alcoholism in 1957, yet is critically acclaimed today. The Modern Library ranked Under the Volcano eleventh on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. TIME included the book in its list of 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present. In 1984, John Huston directed a film adaptation of Under the Volcano. It received Oscar nominations for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Best Original Score.
First Edition Identification
Reynal and Hitchcock published the first edition of Under the Volcano in New York in 1947. It is bound in grey cloth with red lettering on the spine and front cover. The dust jacket states the original price of $3.00 on the front flap and has four reviews printed on the back.
Details
- Title Under the Volcano
- Author Malcolm Lowry
- Binding Paperback
- Edition Limited
- Pages 496
- Volumes 1
- Language ENG
- Publisher Harper Perennial, New York
- Date 2014
- ISBN 9780062371515 / 0062371517
- Weight 0.72 lbs (0.33 kg)
- Dimensions 7.12 x 4.5 x 1.24 in (18.08 x 11.43 x 3.15 cm)
- Dewey Decimal Code FIC
More Copies for Sale
Under the Volcano: Olive Edition
by Lowry, Malcolm
- Used
- Acceptable
- Paperback
- Condition
- Used - Acceptable
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780062371515 / 0062371517
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
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GORING BY SEA, West Sussex, United Kingdom
- Item Price
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A$8.14A$16.61 shipping to USA
Show Details
Under the Volcano
by Lowry, Malcolm
- Used
- fair
- Paperback
- Condition
- Used - Fair
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780062371515 / 0062371517
- Quantity Available
- 2
- Seller
-
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
- Item Price
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A$43.03A$6.18 shipping to USA