Joseph Conrad; The Dover Reader

by Joseph Conrad

Fluent from birth in French as well as his native Polish, Joseph Conrad (1857–1924) learned his third language, English, as an adult. And it was in English that he wrote his evocative stories and novels, drawing upon his experiences in the British and French navies to portray the struggles of humanity amid the world's vast indifference.
This anthology offers readers the essential Joseph Conrad, including his debut novel, Almayer's Folly. Other features include his political thriller, The Secret Agent, along with his most famous novel, Heart of Darkness, and a related account of an 1890 expedition, The Congo Diary. A selection of short stories includes " A Narrative," "An Anarchist," "An Outpost of Progress," and "The Secret Sharer."

576 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Joseph Conrad was a Polish-British novelist and story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in the English language and, although he did not speak English fluently until his twenties, he became a master prose stylist who brought a non-English sensibility into English literature. He wrote novels and stories, many in nautical settings, that depict crises of human individuality in the midst of what he saw as an indifferent, inscrutable, and amoral world.
Conrad is considered a literary impressionist by some and an early modernist by others, though his works also contain elements of 19th-century realism. His narrative style and anti-heroic characters, as in Lord Jim, for example, have influenced numerous authors. Many dramatic films have been adapted from and inspired by his works. Numerous writers and critics have commented that his fictional works, written largely in the first two decades of the 20th century, seem to have anticipated later world events.
Writing near the peak of the British Empire, Conrad drew on the national experiences of his native Poland—during nearly all his life, parceled out among three occupying empires—and on his own experiences in the French and British merchant navies, to create short stories and novels that reflect aspects of a European-dominated world—including imperialism and colonialism—and that profoundly explore the human psyche.

Reviews

[Jeremy Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

A series of short stories by Joseph Conrad, ranging from 20-100 pages each.

Most of these stories are about sailing, and the terminology comes thick & fast. There are whole paragraphs that seem like skippable mumbo jumbo, and combined with the long sentences and 19th century vocabulary, it's not the easiest read in 2023.

It's worth persisting nonetheless, as I felt the prose got better as it went along, and gradually the stories captivated me more and more.

This culminates in a short autobiography of sorts at the end. Though it wasn't a usual fictional story, it still rather felt like one as he described how he left his family home in Poland to seek out a sailing career in Britain, and I felt like this contained the book's best writing.

Conrad is not fond of happy endings, and I'm told that especially becomes clear in Heart of Darkness, which I'm yet to read. He's also a product of his time, and throws in the N word now and then, which will put some people off.

But overall I thoroughly enjoyed his use of language, and his actual storytellng got better as time went on. Occasionally I'd come across a paragraph that was so masterful I felt like it was worth studying.

[Juli Rahel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joseph Conrad was the kind of author I was almost too prejudiced against to start reading. The "masses" have built up a lot of prejudice regarding the racist sentiments in his work although I have always found that those attitudes are severely judged within his work. So I was extremely happy to find a reader full of his work, especially one by Dover Publications who seem to specialize in bringing classics back. Thanks to Dover Publications and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

Personally I was already a fan of Joseph Conrad before this anthology, but I enjoyed being able to see his progression as an author. Not all of his work was entirely to my taste but Dover Publications continues to bring out great anthologies. I'd recommend this to fans of Imperial literature and, naturally, fans of Joseph Conrad.


Full review: http://universeinwords.blogspot.co.uk...

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

With a selection of offerings that are already free and online in the public domain, you would hope for at least some editorialising and context to be included in a book such as this; sadly you look in vain. You do get a very well-pitched selection of works, both long and short, but have to draw your own links between his 'swan-song' debut travel journal and Heart of Darkness, and a repeated look at bomb-throwing anarchy on these pages. The writing is, of course, brilliant, as befits the master of many forms that was Conrad. This really would work as a fine introduction to his craft, were it about its business of presenting everything in a better, more educational form. As it is the works are great but the book is flawed.