Under the Volcano

Editorial Reviews

Review "One of the towering novels of this century." -- --New York Times

"The book obviously belongs with the most original and creative novels of our time." -- --Alfred Kazin --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Description

Geoffrey Firmin, a former British consul, has come to Quauhnahuac, Mexico.Here the consul's debilitating malaise is drinking, and activity that has overshadowed his life. Under the Volcano is set during the most fateful day of the consul's life--the Day of the Dead, 1938. His wife, Yvonne, arrives in Quauhnahuac to rescue him and their failing marriage, inspired by a vision of life together away from Mexico and the circumstances that have driven their relationship to the brink of collapse. Yvonne's mission is to save the consul is further complicated by the presence of Hugh, the consul's half-brother, and Jacques, a childhood friend. The events of this one day unfold against a backdrop unforgettable for its evocation of a Mexico at once magical and diabolical.

Under the Volcano remains one of the most powerful and lyrical statements on the human condition and one man's constant struggle against the elemental forces that threaten to destroy him. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.