Pursued by Furies: Malcolm Lowry - Softcover

Bowker, Gordon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0006546781 ISBN 13: 9780006546788

Publisher: Flamingo, 1994

Synopsis

Malcolm Lowry's classic novel "Under the Volcano" established him as a writer of genius and one of the most original voices of the 20th century. This biography of Lowry looks at how his writing reflected aspects of his own life. An incurable alcoholic from the age of 16, drink and writing were the only two constants in Lowry's life that was as extraordinary as his fiction. He seemed to lurch from one drama to another, including two turbulent marriages, his years as a bohemian writer in London, Paris and Mexico, his struggles with alcohol and his violent and largely unexplained death.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

'Bowler renders Lowry's tempestuous life in shuddering detail: he articulates conflicting accounts and explains with commanding lucidity. This is a fond and authoritative narrative... perfectly paced, straightforward biography that inspires a return to the fiction. Bowker makes Lowry his own, and this life a classic of its genre.'
GUY MANNES-ABBOTT, 'New Statesman & Society'

'Gordon Bowker is a careful scholar, and a clear and often graceful writer – never flashy, never intrusive. This is a painstaking and careful book, well illustrated and scrupulously researched... It is all done in mosaic, piece by piece, fraction by fraction. Bowker has written an eloquent and compellingly readable book.'
EAVAN BOLAND, 'Irish Times'

'Malcolm Lowry was a ferocious malcontent, free-wheeling to self-destruction with the help of mescal, cooking sherry, even bottles of skin bracer... Rarely has a writer so elaborated his own legend as did Lowry. He was mythogenic; not only could he make the wildest nonsense about himself credible, but encouraged others to add to it. This makes him a murderous subject for a biography... Gordon Bowker is a trustworthy guide. Fabulously methodical in his research, he has traced various members of the Lowry family as well as the writer's first wife. 'Pursued by Furies' is a gigantic tome, but Bowker writes well and keeps the pages turning. This is probably the last word on Lowry and a handsome achievement... a fine, intelligent biography.'
IAN THOMSOM, 'Guardian'

'Intelligent and painstaking... 'Pursued by Furies' is a cool, thorough and not uncritical appraisal of a dreadful life and is not likely to be superseded.'
IAN HAMILTON, 'Sunday Telegraph'

About this edition

• Publisher: Flamingo
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0006546781
• ISBN 13: 9780006546788
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 704