Denis Roche on Malcolm Lowry's Posthumous Novel

In a 1970 text republished by artpress, Denis Roche examines Malcolm Lowry's posthumous novel "Sombre comme la tombe où repose mon ami" (Dark as the Grave Wherein My Friend Is Laid). Roche explores the novel's themes of death, youth, and the intertwining of life and writing. The narrative follows Sigbjörn Wilderness (Lowry's alter ego) and his wife Primrose as they travel from Vancouver to Mexico after their house burns down, destroying manuscripts. The journey mirrors Lowry's own 1945 trip to Cuernavaca to find his first wife Jan and friend Juan Fernando Martinez, who may be fictional. Roche analyzes Lowry's use of the constellation Eridanus (the River of Death and Youth) as a symbol, and how the novel functions as a "counter-draft" to "Under the Volcano." The text was compiled from 700 pages of notes by Lowry's wife Margerie and Douglas Day. Roche praises Lowry's avoidance of exoticism through simple details and his integration of death into a constructive vision of writing.