A set of four
novels written by
Lawrence Durrell, set in
Alexandria of
Egypt before and during
World War II.
The novels are about (and I am very ashamed of this one-line summary, but it will have to suffice) love, religion, war and political commitment - and also some mysticism. They are also about Egypt. You should be reading them right now if you haven't already read them, so go off and read them instead of wasting time in front of this silly monitor.
Still there ? I guessed so. Anyway, beyond the plot (which is very good) the interest of the novels lies in the fact that the facts and events are progressively revealed to the narrator (and the reader).
In fact, you end the first novel with an impression of some characters (Nessim and Justine, for example) which is completely different from what you will probably think at the end.
The same happens with facts: the man the narrator glimpses through a frosted pane of glass in the first novel changes identity (and meaning) in the third novel.
If you like
complex, well written structures you will like this
tetralogy which I rank (with the full, crushing, weight of my
authority) as one of the best pieces of literary work I have been exposed to, right there with
The Portrait of a Lady and
Remembrance of Time Past.