Quotes from book
Justine

Lawrence Durrell

Justine, published in 1957, is the first volume in Lawrence Durrell's literary tetralogy, The Alexandria Quartet. The first in the tetralogy, Justine is one of four interlocking novels, each of which tells various aspects of a complex story of passion and deception from differing points of view. The quartet is set in the Egyptian city of Alexandria in the 1930s and 1940s, the city itself as described by Durrell becoming as much of a complex character as the human protagonists of the novels. Since first becoming available to the public and reviewers in 1957, Justine has inspired what has been called "an almost religious devotion among readers and critics alike." It was adapted into the film of the same name in 1969.

Lawrence Durrell photo

“Who invented the human heart, I wonder? Tell me and then show me the place where he was hanged.”

Lawrence Durrell book Justine

Variant: Who invented the human heart, I wonder? Tell me, and then show me the place where he was hanged.
Source: Justine

Lawrence Durrell photo

“There are only three things to be done with a woman. You can love her, suffer for her, or turn her into literature.”

Lawrence Durrell book Justine

Source: The Alexandria Quartet (1957–1960), Justine (1957)

Lawrence Durrell photo

“A city becomes a world when one loves one of its inhabitants.”

Lawrence Durrell book Justine

Source: The Alexandria Quartet (1957–1960), Justine (1957)

Lawrence Durrell photo

“Art—the meaning of the pattern of our common actions in reality. The cloth-of-gold that hides behind the sackcloth of reality, forced out by the pain of human memory.”

Lawrence Durrell book Justine

Source: Justine

Lawrence Durrell photo

“I am quite alone. I am neither happy nor unhappy; I lie suspended like a hair or a feather in the cloudy mixtures of memory.”

Lawrence Durrell book Justine

Source: Justine

Lawrence Durrell photo

“These are the moments which are not calculable, and cannot be assessed in words; they live on in the solution of memory, like wonderful creatures, unique of their own kind, dredged up from the floors of some unexplored ocean.”

Lawrence Durrell book Justine

Source: Justine

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