Wilson Harris was one of the twentieth century's most original novelists and critics. His writings, encompassing poetry, essays, and novels, passionately and uniquely champion the notion of cross-cultural coexistence. His visionary work explores the interdependence of history, landscape, and humanity. Harris's prose is characterized by its distinctive approach and deep engagement with the intricate connections between culture and identity.
Set in British Guyana, the final two books (first published in 1962 and 1963) of The Guyana Quartet continue the author's literary exploration of the legacy and future of the former colony, which began with The Palace of the Peacock.
This volume, introduced by the author, brings together three novels first published separately. 'The trilogy comprises Carnival (1985), The Infinite Rehearsal (1987) and The Four Banks of the River of Space (1990), novels linked by metaphors borrowed from theatre, traditional carnival itself and literary mythology. The characters make Odyssean voyages through time and space, witnessing and re-enacting the calamitous history of mankind, sometimes assuming sacrificial roles in an attempt to save modern civilisation from self-destruction.' Independent on Sunday 'The Four Banks of the River of Space is a kind of quantum Odyssey... in which the association of ideas is not logical but... a 'magical imponderable dreaming'. The dreamer is Anselm, another of Harris's alter egos, like Everyman Masters in Carnival and Robin Redbreast Glass in The Infinite Rehearsal... Together, they represent one of the most remarkable fictional achievements in the modern canon.' Listener
Delving into the spiritual and psychic dimensions of relationships, this novel weaves the author's narrative from fragmented experiences. It challenges conventional perceptions, inviting readers to explore deeper emotional and metaphysical connections. Through its bold structure, the story reveals the complexities of human interaction beyond mere surface-level understanding, offering a unique perspective on the essence of relationships.
He ascended, eyes riveted, nailed to the steps leading up to the top of the pyramid of the sun. How many human hearts he wondered had been plucked from bodies there to feed the dying light of the sun and create an obsession with royal sculptures, echoing stone? It was time to take stock of others as hollow bodies and shelters into which one fell.
Wilson Harris's ninth novel, first published in 1970, is a work of the most revolutionary and far-reaching kind of science or speculative fiction. Victor is in search of his father, Adam, once a revolutionary worker who was sent to prison many years ago for burning down the factory he worked in. Since then Victor has lost touch with him, but suspects he is living as a pork-knocker (gold prospector) in the remote Cuyuni-Mazaruni district of Guyana. As he climbs in search of his father, Victor both revisits his past relationship with him and replays his father's trial, which also becomes his own. Victor's search is for spiritual grace, for the compensations of love and the glimmerings of a true understanding of the world he exists in, and the reader is invited to share in Victor's struggling ascent to consciousness, knowing that it can never be other than provisional.
Set against a backdrop of societal change, this work explores the complexities of human relationships and the impact of personal choices. The narrative delves into the lives of its characters, revealing their struggles and triumphs as they navigate through challenges. With rich prose and poignant themes, the book highlights the intricacies of love, loss, and the search for identity, making it a compelling read that resonates with readers seeking depth and reflection.
Exploring one of the most broken of Caribbean cultural fragments, these seven short stories delve into the world of the Amerindians, Guyana’s most impoverished and marginalized ethnic group. Detailing a culture that has long been dismembered by missionary activity throughout the Caribbean, this compilation creates a dreaming consciousness of a number of protagonists, allowing readers to participate within the culture’s myths and discover alternative realities to dominant historical images.
The Guyana Quartet is Wilson Harris's collection of novels comprising Palace of the Peacock, The Far Journey of Oudin, The Whole Armour and The Secret Ladder. In Palace of the Peacock, a tale of a doomed crew beating their way up-river through the jungles of Guyana, can be traced the poetic vision, themes and designs of Harris's subsequent work. It was described in "The Times" as displaying 'that staggering ebullience of language we have begun to recognize in West Indian writers'.
In a richly metaphorical style, the book sets out the themes Wilson continues to develop in his writing to this day: the ability of the imaginative consciousness to create worlds where disparate cultures and traditions are fused.Donne, an ambitious skipper, leads a multiracial crew up an unnamed river in the rainforest.
The visionary masterpiece, tracing a riverboat crew's dreamlike jungle voyage ... 'An exhilarating experience ... As their journey into the interior - their own hearts of darkness - deepens, it assumes a spiritual dimension, guiding them towards a new destination: the Palace of the Peacock ...