Summary
Also known as the "Malayan Trilogy," Burgess's THE LONG DAY WANES was originally published in three volumes. In the first, Victor Crabbe, a British schoolmaster, arrives in Malaya in search of a new life and a new culture in which he can escape the guilt he feels over the accidental drowning death of his first wife. In the second volume Crabbe meets Rupert Herdman, an albino lawyer, who is adjusting to Malayan culture by marrying a Muslim woman who is attracted to his professionalism and his "very white" skin. Meanwhile Crabbe is having an affair with a married woman who vaguely resembles his dead wife and he begins to hope, in the context of his newly adopted culture, that he might find her reincarnated soul somehow. In the third volume Crabbe becomes eager to give something back to Malaya and discovers a young musician, a Chinese boy, whom he feels could be Malaya's answer to Jean Sibelius, uniting the country with music. The scheme is doomed, but Crabbe dies in a freak accident before he can learn the extent of his failure.
Customer Reviews
Be the first to review this book!
Media Reviews
"The first thing that can be said about this book is that it lives up to its title....I believe, as [Mr. Burgess] does not, that individual words can have beauty in themselves, and I also dispute his assertion that no language can be described as either beautiful or ugly. I also am impatient with his impatience regarding the value of certain component letters in their effect both on the spoken and the written word. There, Shakespeare is the great instructor. In spite of these differences, I admire this book, and recommend it srongly to anyone genuinely interested in the miracle of language." -- J. D. Adams
-- New York Times Book Review
Bibliographic Details
Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc
Published date: 1993
Size: 5.5 x 8 inches
Weight: 1.05 pounds
Publisher's Notes
Set in postwar Malaya at the time when people and governments alike are bemused and dazzled by the turmoil of independence, this three-part novel is rich in hilarious comedy and razor-sharp in observation. The protagonist of the work is Victor Crabbe, a teacher in a multiracial school in a squalid village, who moves upward in position as he and his wife maintain a steady decadent progress backward. A sweetly satiric look at the twilight days of colonialism.
Similar books
Midnight's Children
by Salman Rushdie
The author of The Stananic Verses creates a fascinating family saga about the birth and maturity of a land and its people--a brilliant incarnation of the human comedy. "Rushdie has achieved a magnificent and unique work of fiction".--The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Royal Flash
by George MacDonald Fraser
Scoop
by Evelyn Waugh
The Far Pavilions
by M. M. Kaye
For the first time in trade paperback--the monumental bestselling novel of 19th-century India. "The Far Pavilions" is a passionate, triumphant story that satisfies deeply and helps us remember what we want most from a novel. "Rich in adventure, heroism, cruelty, and love".--"Publisher's Weekly".
Flashman at the Charge
by George MacDonald Fraser
|
0 items in cart
Muze Inc. For personal non-commercial use only. All rights reserved. Some content for books is owned by Baker & Taylor, Inc. or its licensors and is subject to copyright and all other protections provided by applicable law.
