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The Selected Works of Joseph Conrad
Lord Jim, first published in 1900, confirmed Conrad's place in literature as one of the first 'modernists' of English letters. Set in the Malay Archipelago, not only does the novel provide a gripping account of maritime adventure and romance, but also an exotic tale of the East. Nostromo is the only man capable of the decisive action needed to save the silver of the San Tome mine and secure independence for Sulaco, Occidental Province of the Latin American state of Costaguana. Is his integrity as unassailable as everyone believes, or will his ideals, like those which have inspired the struggling state itself, buckle under economic and political pressure?
The Secret Agent, Conrad's story of espionage and anarchists, tells of Winnie Verloc and her devotion to her peculiar and simple-minded brother, Stevie. Its savagely witty themes of human absurdity and misunderstanding are written in an ironic style that provokes both laughter and unease.
This volume also includes a selection of Conrad's matchless short stories - Youth, Typhoon, Heart of Darkness, The End of the Tether and The Shadow-Line
The Secret Agent, Conrad's story of espionage and anarchists, tells of Winnie Verloc and her devotion to her peculiar and simple-minded brother, Stevie. Its savagely witty themes of human absurdity and misunderstanding are written in an ironic style that provokes both laughter and unease.
This volume also includes a selection of Conrad's matchless short stories - Youth, Typhoon, Heart of Darkness, The End of the Tether and The Shadow-Line
1376 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1911
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About the author
Joseph Conrad
2,504 books4,852 followersJoseph 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 7, 2024
In which our Goodreader comments on (but doesn't actually review) several of the stories within
HEART OF DARKNESS: After reading King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa, I couldn't say farewell to Belgium and the Congo without rereading Conrad's classic, (which I first - and last - read some 40 years ago, when I was considerably younger and smarter). Still some dense, elegant, and dreamlike - or perhaps more correctly, nightmarish - writing here, but frankly not a whole lot in terms of plot. And so it's more impressive than I remembered that Coppola was able to turn this into a full-length movie; largely, it turns out, because so much of what we remember from the film - the nightmare episode at the bridge, the helicopter attack on the village, the tiger; the "extended cut" scenes with the Playboy bunnies and the French colonist - don't have any equivalents in the book. One thing that -surprisingly - did make it from book to movie is much of "the Russian's" dialogue. I had originally thought that was mainly Dennis Hopper's stoned improvising, but turns out it was largely Conrad's - at least in tone, if not word for word. Otherwise, I was also surprised that Kurtz actually plays such a small role in the book - he's more a background presence than a physical character.
Am getting the 3-hour director's cut of "Apocalypse" from the library, and would also like to watch the accompanying documentary made at the same time by Coppola's wife, "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse." Our library also has another book called Readings on Heart of Darkness, which at 200+ pages is nearly twice as long as the original story itself; and which I may at least give a look, as it can be fun to see what hidden themes and subtleties "the professionals" find there that I totally missed.
THE SECRET SHARER: First time reading this one. For whatever reason, this story is often published together with Heart of Darkness - probably because the combined length makes for a barely decent paperback. Interesting but unremarkable (to me at least) short story, also told in a dreamy style with some serious homoerotic overtones. I was originally drawn to the Southeast Asian setting - but turns out that plays absolutely no part in the story; it could just as easily have been set off the coast of Iceland or anywhere else in the world.
And finally…LORD JIM: Also read this back in the early '80s, when I'd been just a few years in Taiwan and was still trying to learn "the neighborhood." Remember quite liking it - I gave it an unreviewed "4 stars" when I originally listed it on Goodreads a decade ago - but can no longer distinguish in my memory between the book and the movie, neither of which I've revisited in a LONG time. I seem to remember a lot of homosexual currents there as well - but not sure if that was Conrad or just Peter O'Toole, who between "Jim" and "Lawrence" seemed to specialize in such conflicted characters for a while there.
THE BOOK ITSELF: This is one unwieldy monster of a Barnes & Noble omnibus, published in the mid-'90s that I picked up…somewhere. It also contains the novels Nostromo and Nigger of the "Narcissus," as well as a half dozen short stories, so that even at 900+ pages it's still set in ridiculously small type. So while I'll stick to my original 4 stars for both Heart and Jim, and give Sharer a generous 3; the book itself is one I probably won't revisit, and so it's afraid it’s off to the used bookstore, as I need the shelf space.
HEART OF DARKNESS: After reading King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa, I couldn't say farewell to Belgium and the Congo without rereading Conrad's classic, (which I first - and last - read some 40 years ago, when I was considerably younger and smarter). Still some dense, elegant, and dreamlike - or perhaps more correctly, nightmarish - writing here, but frankly not a whole lot in terms of plot. And so it's more impressive than I remembered that Coppola was able to turn this into a full-length movie; largely, it turns out, because so much of what we remember from the film - the nightmare episode at the bridge, the helicopter attack on the village, the tiger; the "extended cut" scenes with the Playboy bunnies and the French colonist - don't have any equivalents in the book. One thing that -surprisingly - did make it from book to movie is much of "the Russian's" dialogue. I had originally thought that was mainly Dennis Hopper's stoned improvising, but turns out it was largely Conrad's - at least in tone, if not word for word. Otherwise, I was also surprised that Kurtz actually plays such a small role in the book - he's more a background presence than a physical character.
Am getting the 3-hour director's cut of "Apocalypse" from the library, and would also like to watch the accompanying documentary made at the same time by Coppola's wife, "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse." Our library also has another book called Readings on Heart of Darkness, which at 200+ pages is nearly twice as long as the original story itself; and which I may at least give a look, as it can be fun to see what hidden themes and subtleties "the professionals" find there that I totally missed.
THE SECRET SHARER: First time reading this one. For whatever reason, this story is often published together with Heart of Darkness - probably because the combined length makes for a barely decent paperback. Interesting but unremarkable (to me at least) short story, also told in a dreamy style with some serious homoerotic overtones. I was originally drawn to the Southeast Asian setting - but turns out that plays absolutely no part in the story; it could just as easily have been set off the coast of Iceland or anywhere else in the world.
And finally…LORD JIM: Also read this back in the early '80s, when I'd been just a few years in Taiwan and was still trying to learn "the neighborhood." Remember quite liking it - I gave it an unreviewed "4 stars" when I originally listed it on Goodreads a decade ago - but can no longer distinguish in my memory between the book and the movie, neither of which I've revisited in a LONG time. I seem to remember a lot of homosexual currents there as well - but not sure if that was Conrad or just Peter O'Toole, who between "Jim" and "Lawrence" seemed to specialize in such conflicted characters for a while there.
THE BOOK ITSELF: This is one unwieldy monster of a Barnes & Noble omnibus, published in the mid-'90s that I picked up…somewhere. It also contains the novels Nostromo and Nigger of the "Narcissus," as well as a half dozen short stories, so that even at 900+ pages it's still set in ridiculously small type. So while I'll stick to my original 4 stars for both Heart and Jim, and give Sharer a generous 3; the book itself is one I probably won't revisit, and so it's afraid it’s off to the used bookstore, as I need the shelf space.
Want to read
January 20, 2011Have read the Secret Agent. It moved at a snail's pace but was quite enjoyable in the long run. (And a very long run it was.)
April 5, 2014
Masterful. Conrad may be my favorite writer of all time.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews