Clea

Lose yourself in the thrilling political intrigue and tangled love affairs of wartime Egypt in Durrell''s epic modern classic, introduced by bestselling author Elif Shafak (The Forty Rules of Love). An expat schoolteacher has spent years in exile reflecting on his turmoiled love affair with Justine, a glamorous Egyptian wife. Returning to wartime Alexandria, he finds that his old friends have suffered dramatic changes of body, mind, and fortune - and someone whom he has never really known wishes to see him. His affair with Clea, a bisexual artist, not only changes the lovers, but transforms the dead, forever - and heralds a new beginning, just as Lawrence Durrell''s intoxicating masterpiece ends. ''Durrell has written about a dozen real love stories, entwined them, and explored them with a truly Proustian ferocity ... Superb.'' Observer ''Lushly beautiful ... His style glows ... One of the most important works of our time.'' New York Times Book Review ''It is hard now to recapture the impact half a century ago of these novels' heat, luxuriance and profanity [or] his descriptions of Alexandria - its beauty, cruelty, menace, mystery, decadence ....'' Spectator