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Tomorrow
This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.
48 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1902
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About the author
Joseph Conrad
2,530 books4,864 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 - 30 of 116 reviews
February 21, 2020
For all one could tell, he had recovered already from the disease of hope; and only Miss Bessie Carvil knew that he had said nothing about his son’s return because with him it was no longer ‘next week’, ‘next month,’ or even ‘next year.’ It was ‘to-morrow.’
Hope is a disease or cure? Cure of hopelessness, to move forward in life, for we need some purpose or motivation to keep the eternal wheel of life rolling; or disease, for our eyes may get blinded of our surroundings which may be shielded by fabric of hope, we may become so immersed in our world that we become oblivious to reality, our beliefs may become our myth; hope may be an expression of a misguided relationship to the world that is unable to face the demands of human existence, perhaps it’s the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man. But it is impossible to live without hope, even if one wishes to be free of hope. The world of hope and despair, universe of deluded hope and dramatic irony, Conrad shows us the darkness of human existence.
Captain Hagberd did not belong to Colebrook, he had come to settle there under circumstances not at all mysterious-he used to be very communicative about them at the time- but extremely morbid and unreasonable. He appeared, with the color and uncouth stiffness of the extraordinary material in which he chose to clothe himself-‘for the time being,’ would be his mumbled remark to any observation on the subject-like a man roughened out of granite, standing in a wilderness not big enough for a decent billiard-room. His manner abroad had lost its excitable watchfulness; it had become puzzled and diffident, as though he had suspected that there was somewhere about him something slightly compromising, some embarrassing oddity; and yet had remained unable to discover what on earth this something wrong could be. The sailor developed a delusional hope about return of his son that he would return “to-morrow”, the day changed but tomorrow never came, other villagers see him as a bit of a character, and can only humor his self-deception to avoid violent outbursts of indignation. The villagers did not believe him but had been with the sailor to make him feel better, for the reality might have been frightening for a delusional character and might have shattered his life built upon delusions and irrational hope.
The prose of the short story is dense as one would expect from Conrad wherein it forces your visualization to jump from situation to another and your brain keeps on getting surprised in an unforeseen manner, and bliss it provides makes you want to be astonished time and again. Wit comes wrapped around in layers in seemingly humble sentences-it used to be ‘next week”, now it has come to “next month”, and so on- soon it will be next spring, for all I know. , the comedy has an under laying profound feeling of tragedy but so well amalgamated that one may miss it during a glance not so cautious-he and his wife had advertised for years; only she was an impatient woman. The news from Colebrook had arrived the very day after her funeral; if she had not been so impatient she might have been here now, with no more than one day more to wait. The traits of post-modernism are well evident in the story as usual in Conrad’s case, the narrator gives events obliquely, partially revealing them, speculating on their cause and possible meaning, and then adding new and often essential information, so that the reader must participate in interpreting the unfolding story.
Only once she had tried pitying to throw some doubt on that hope doomed to disappointment, but the effect of her attempt had scared her very much. All at once over that man’s face there came an expression of horror and incredulity, as though he had seen a crack open out in firmament.
Conrad set the premise of this heart-wrenching tale on a profound and emotional animosity for the sea, and then lets the characters act out in three different directions while all experiencing the events; in words as few as a stream of water, he developed the characters on a scale as large as sea. The delusional proclamations of the Captain Hagberd strike a heart breaking blow to you and pour out our sympathy towards him and a shiver runs through your spine releasing that all the hope captain has may be just delusional. Suddenly awakening strikes you and character of Ms. Bessie, who has taken a profound place in sympathetic repositories, timidness and non- existence of whose character make your heart fall most for, stab a blow, more powerful than that by a knife, straight to your heart and it came upon you that whatever inclinations, you might have developed, proved to delusional and misled but there lies the climax-absolute bliss of his prose and the more you reassemble the events the more privileged you feel to read it.
He rebelled against her authority in his great joy at having got rid at last of that ‘something wrong.’ It was as if all the hopeful madness of the world had broken out to bring terror upon her heart, with the voice of that old man shouting of his trust in an everlasting to-morrow.
A must read for those who want to delve in to deep repository of human psychology, someone who wants to explore deep, dark universe of Conrad- this is a nice introduction.
4/5
Hope is a disease or cure? Cure of hopelessness, to move forward in life, for we need some purpose or motivation to keep the eternal wheel of life rolling; or disease, for our eyes may get blinded of our surroundings which may be shielded by fabric of hope, we may become so immersed in our world that we become oblivious to reality, our beliefs may become our myth; hope may be an expression of a misguided relationship to the world that is unable to face the demands of human existence, perhaps it’s the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man. But it is impossible to live without hope, even if one wishes to be free of hope. The world of hope and despair, universe of deluded hope and dramatic irony, Conrad shows us the darkness of human existence.
Captain Hagberd did not belong to Colebrook, he had come to settle there under circumstances not at all mysterious-he used to be very communicative about them at the time- but extremely morbid and unreasonable. He appeared, with the color and uncouth stiffness of the extraordinary material in which he chose to clothe himself-‘for the time being,’ would be his mumbled remark to any observation on the subject-like a man roughened out of granite, standing in a wilderness not big enough for a decent billiard-room. His manner abroad had lost its excitable watchfulness; it had become puzzled and diffident, as though he had suspected that there was somewhere about him something slightly compromising, some embarrassing oddity; and yet had remained unable to discover what on earth this something wrong could be. The sailor developed a delusional hope about return of his son that he would return “to-morrow”, the day changed but tomorrow never came, other villagers see him as a bit of a character, and can only humor his self-deception to avoid violent outbursts of indignation. The villagers did not believe him but had been with the sailor to make him feel better, for the reality might have been frightening for a delusional character and might have shattered his life built upon delusions and irrational hope.
The prose of the short story is dense as one would expect from Conrad wherein it forces your visualization to jump from situation to another and your brain keeps on getting surprised in an unforeseen manner, and bliss it provides makes you want to be astonished time and again. Wit comes wrapped around in layers in seemingly humble sentences-it used to be ‘next week”, now it has come to “next month”, and so on- soon it will be next spring, for all I know. , the comedy has an under laying profound feeling of tragedy but so well amalgamated that one may miss it during a glance not so cautious-he and his wife had advertised for years; only she was an impatient woman. The news from Colebrook had arrived the very day after her funeral; if she had not been so impatient she might have been here now, with no more than one day more to wait. The traits of post-modernism are well evident in the story as usual in Conrad’s case, the narrator gives events obliquely, partially revealing them, speculating on their cause and possible meaning, and then adding new and often essential information, so that the reader must participate in interpreting the unfolding story.
Only once she had tried pitying to throw some doubt on that hope doomed to disappointment, but the effect of her attempt had scared her very much. All at once over that man’s face there came an expression of horror and incredulity, as though he had seen a crack open out in firmament.
Conrad set the premise of this heart-wrenching tale on a profound and emotional animosity for the sea, and then lets the characters act out in three different directions while all experiencing the events; in words as few as a stream of water, he developed the characters on a scale as large as sea. The delusional proclamations of the Captain Hagberd strike a heart breaking blow to you and pour out our sympathy towards him and a shiver runs through your spine releasing that all the hope captain has may be just delusional. Suddenly awakening strikes you and character of Ms. Bessie, who has taken a profound place in sympathetic repositories, timidness and non- existence of whose character make your heart fall most for, stab a blow, more powerful than that by a knife, straight to your heart and it came upon you that whatever inclinations, you might have developed, proved to delusional and misled but there lies the climax-absolute bliss of his prose and the more you reassemble the events the more privileged you feel to read it.
He rebelled against her authority in his great joy at having got rid at last of that ‘something wrong.’ It was as if all the hopeful madness of the world had broken out to bring terror upon her heart, with the voice of that old man shouting of his trust in an everlasting to-morrow.
A must read for those who want to delve in to deep repository of human psychology, someone who wants to explore deep, dark universe of Conrad- this is a nice introduction.
4/5
March 14, 2016
I love delusional characters. Edgar Allan Poe writes the best ones, but Conrad’s attempt isn’t half bad. His character has created a fictional hope, a false hope; it’s the only way he can get through life. Captain Hagbeard- great name by the way- lost his son at sea, though he keeps telling himself that the boy will return tomorrow. Tomorrow comes and he says the same thing again. This has been going on for years. Nothing has changed. This situation immediately grabbed my attention, and, like all good short stories should, forced me to carry on reading.
“'Don’t alarm yourself, my dear,’ he said a little cunningly. ‘The sea can’t keep him. He does not belong to it. None of us Hagbeards ever did belong to it. Look at me; I didn’t get drowned. Moreover, he isn’t a sailor at all, and if he is not a sailor, he’s bound to come back. There’s nothing to prevent him coming back…’
His eyes began to wonder.
‘To-morrow’”
It reminded me a little of Waiting for Goddot here. It has tragic elements in the fact that this guy is perpetually waiting for what appears impossible. As the story progresses it becomes apparent that the captain is quite a character round the sea port; he is a bit of an odd ball whilst not a figure for ridicule, he is clearly quite strange. The villagers avoid him. The title of Captain is a little redundant, as he admits he has never even been to sea. Yet he wears the cloths of a sailor that he made for himself. Very odd. The other villagers pity him; thus, they entertain his delusion; they go along with it for his sake to make him feel better about himself and his everlasting tomorrow.
They don’t believe that his son exists, even if after years and years he keeps up this charade. Eventually people begin to fear his madness; they pretend the Captain doesn’t even exist. I don’t want to ruin the ending, but I will say that the true depths of the character’s delusion are revealed as is the realisation of tomorrow’s hope. This is a strong short story, though it was hindered by its weak ending. It beckoned be to read it though it didn’t deliver what it could have. However, it was still immensely entertaining throughout, so it is still an enjoyable read. I do recommend it. Conrad is an eloquent writer.
I’m going to be reading more of Conrad’s work in the future. I’ve already read his most renowned work, The Heart of Darkness. I’m in the early stages of planning my dissertation, and Conrad is one of the authors I’m going to be writing on. So I need to make myself familiar with more of his writing.
Penguin Little Black Classic- 64
The Little Black Classic Collection by penguin looks like it contains lots of hidden gems. I couldn’t help it; they looked so good that I went and bought them all. I shall post a short review after reading each one. No doubt it will take me several months to get through all of them! Hopefully I will find some classic authors, from across the ages, that I may not have come across had I not bought this collection.
“'Don’t alarm yourself, my dear,’ he said a little cunningly. ‘The sea can’t keep him. He does not belong to it. None of us Hagbeards ever did belong to it. Look at me; I didn’t get drowned. Moreover, he isn’t a sailor at all, and if he is not a sailor, he’s bound to come back. There’s nothing to prevent him coming back…’
His eyes began to wonder.
‘To-morrow’”
It reminded me a little of Waiting for Goddot here. It has tragic elements in the fact that this guy is perpetually waiting for what appears impossible. As the story progresses it becomes apparent that the captain is quite a character round the sea port; he is a bit of an odd ball whilst not a figure for ridicule, he is clearly quite strange. The villagers avoid him. The title of Captain is a little redundant, as he admits he has never even been to sea. Yet he wears the cloths of a sailor that he made for himself. Very odd. The other villagers pity him; thus, they entertain his delusion; they go along with it for his sake to make him feel better about himself and his everlasting tomorrow.
They don’t believe that his son exists, even if after years and years he keeps up this charade. Eventually people begin to fear his madness; they pretend the Captain doesn’t even exist. I don’t want to ruin the ending, but I will say that the true depths of the character’s delusion are revealed as is the realisation of tomorrow’s hope. This is a strong short story, though it was hindered by its weak ending. It beckoned be to read it though it didn’t deliver what it could have. However, it was still immensely entertaining throughout, so it is still an enjoyable read. I do recommend it. Conrad is an eloquent writer.
I’m going to be reading more of Conrad’s work in the future. I’ve already read his most renowned work, The Heart of Darkness. I’m in the early stages of planning my dissertation, and Conrad is one of the authors I’m going to be writing on. So I need to make myself familiar with more of his writing.
Penguin Little Black Classic- 64
The Little Black Classic Collection by penguin looks like it contains lots of hidden gems. I couldn’t help it; they looked so good that I went and bought them all. I shall post a short review after reading each one. No doubt it will take me several months to get through all of them! Hopefully I will find some classic authors, from across the ages, that I may not have come across had I not bought this collection.
April 18, 2019
I'll review this novella to-morrow!
January 26, 2020
La struggente storia di un'illusione creatasi dal nulla per celar la verità a un cuore incapace di sopportarla. Una toccante costruzione ad arte di una vita che, per seguitar ad andare avanti, ha scelto di rinnegare l'amarezza della verità per condiscender alla dolcezza della speranza...
February 11, 2020
يبدو أنه يأساً وليس أملاً.. يظل المرء للأبد ينتظر الغد.....
July 8, 2020
“The ground was so much dug up all over, that as the season advanced it turned to a quagmire.”
Meet Captain Hagberd, who has settled down ”in the little seaport of Colebrook”, where he bought himself two small houses, one for himself and one to let, spending his time preparing a home for his long-lost son Harry, who, as he is convinced, is bound to return to him. Old Hagberd is a tragicomic figure to the inhabitant of Colebrook in that against all odds he is keeping up his hopes for the arrival of his son in this very place, which has been pointed out to him as a likely spot in an anonymous letter and in that he lives in constant expectation that “to-morrow” will be the day bringing an end to his patient waiting. While he is lingering in Colebrookian obscurity, he befriends Bessy Carvil, the daughter of his lodger, a tyrannical blind man of a hippopotamus’s proportions, telling her, always safely across the garden fence, how happy their life will be, once his son comes back, and while he is doing this, he digs up his own garden for his son to plant whatever he wants to grow there, again and again, until that garden becomes a stretch of sticky swampland.
What a wonderful metaphor of hope this bit of garden is! And here, it’s probably high time to say, “Meet Joseph Conrad, the incredible writer who fathoms the depths of the human heart of darkness!” In another writer’s hands, a story like To-morrow, which is about hope, would probably have become a maudlin and tearful tale of sentimentality at the end of which Hagberd would either have embraced his prodigal son to live happily ever after or died peacefully, knowing that he prepared a homely nest into which his Harry would sooner or later find his way. Conrad, however, looks more deeply into the reality of the human heart, into its self-serving, and yet possibly innocent tangle of lies because he allows Harry to make his appearance, but it is a different Harry than Captain Hagberd has sheltered in his memories. Harry is an insouciant drifter, a women’s man, who does not think twice about exploiting the girls he charms, and a son who has anything but fond memories of his father and would yet not spurn some quid from the old man’s purse. Still, for all the disgusting flippancy and callousness of the young man, Conrad’s insight into human nature is far too profound to have him side with the father by describing him as the innocent victim of his own hopes and paternal love. If we look carefully at the old man, we find him none too different from the monstrous blind Mr. Carvil, who exploits his daughter from sheer laziness, ”hanging all his atrocious weight on her shoulder” and who
Captain Hagberd may not be that gross in his possessiveness, but from the little we learn on his relationship with his son in the old days, he had mapped his son’s life all out for him, dismissing Harry’s wishes and imprinting his own with the help of drubbings on the young man’s back, and even now he is mapping his son’s life out for him – without giving a thought to the fact that Harry might have his own intentions –, even including Bessie in his plans by setting up a marriage between herself and Harry as something beyond question. His tyranny may be less obvious than old Mr. Carvil’s, but it is nonetheless adamant, coming in the guise of provident love – that kind of love which may well be symbolized by a garden full of holes for something to plant in in the future, but all the while turning into a greedy and stagnant swamp.
Amidst the two possessive fathers, each one blind in their own way, and the rather unscrupulous son, it is Bessie – who cannot run away because she is a girl, as Hagberd points out – who ends up with shattered hopes and heart, and who
To-morrow may not be the strongest of Conrad’s short stories, but it clearly bears witness to the man’s knowledge of the human heart, which often resembles a muddy garden full of holes.
Meet Captain Hagberd, who has settled down ”in the little seaport of Colebrook”, where he bought himself two small houses, one for himself and one to let, spending his time preparing a home for his long-lost son Harry, who, as he is convinced, is bound to return to him. Old Hagberd is a tragicomic figure to the inhabitant of Colebrook in that against all odds he is keeping up his hopes for the arrival of his son in this very place, which has been pointed out to him as a likely spot in an anonymous letter and in that he lives in constant expectation that “to-morrow” will be the day bringing an end to his patient waiting. While he is lingering in Colebrookian obscurity, he befriends Bessy Carvil, the daughter of his lodger, a tyrannical blind man of a hippopotamus’s proportions, telling her, always safely across the garden fence, how happy their life will be, once his son comes back, and while he is doing this, he digs up his own garden for his son to plant whatever he wants to grow there, again and again, until that garden becomes a stretch of sticky swampland.
What a wonderful metaphor of hope this bit of garden is! And here, it’s probably high time to say, “Meet Joseph Conrad, the incredible writer who fathoms the depths of the human heart of darkness!” In another writer’s hands, a story like To-morrow, which is about hope, would probably have become a maudlin and tearful tale of sentimentality at the end of which Hagberd would either have embraced his prodigal son to live happily ever after or died peacefully, knowing that he prepared a homely nest into which his Harry would sooner or later find his way. Conrad, however, looks more deeply into the reality of the human heart, into its self-serving, and yet possibly innocent tangle of lies because he allows Harry to make his appearance, but it is a different Harry than Captain Hagberd has sheltered in his memories. Harry is an insouciant drifter, a women’s man, who does not think twice about exploiting the girls he charms, and a son who has anything but fond memories of his father and would yet not spurn some quid from the old man’s purse. Still, for all the disgusting flippancy and callousness of the young man, Conrad’s insight into human nature is far too profound to have him side with the father by describing him as the innocent victim of his own hopes and paternal love. If we look carefully at the old man, we find him none too different from the monstrous blind Mr. Carvil, who exploits his daughter from sheer laziness, ”hanging all his atrocious weight on her shoulder” and who
”[…] would not eat one single mouthful of food without her close attendance. He had made himself helpless beyond his affliction, to enslave her better.”
Captain Hagberd may not be that gross in his possessiveness, but from the little we learn on his relationship with his son in the old days, he had mapped his son’s life all out for him, dismissing Harry’s wishes and imprinting his own with the help of drubbings on the young man’s back, and even now he is mapping his son’s life out for him – without giving a thought to the fact that Harry might have his own intentions –, even including Bessie in his plans by setting up a marriage between herself and Harry as something beyond question. His tyranny may be less obvious than old Mr. Carvil’s, but it is nonetheless adamant, coming in the guise of provident love – that kind of love which may well be symbolized by a garden full of holes for something to plant in in the future, but all the while turning into a greedy and stagnant swamp.
Amidst the two possessive fathers, each one blind in their own way, and the rather unscrupulous son, it is Bessie – who cannot run away because she is a girl, as Hagberd points out – who ends up with shattered hopes and heart, and who
”[…] began to totter silently back toward her stuffy little inferno of a cottage. It had no lofty portal, no terrific inscription of forfeited hopes – she did not understand wherein she had sinned.”
To-morrow may not be the strongest of Conrad’s short stories, but it clearly bears witness to the man’s knowledge of the human heart, which often resembles a muddy garden full of holes.
June 9, 2020
He rebelled against her authority in his great joy of having got rid at last of that 'something wrong'. It was as if all the hopeful madness of the world had broken out to bring terror upon her heart, with the voice of that old man shouting of his trust in an everlasting to-morrow.
February 14, 2016
Is it very cruel if I say I can write better things than this with my eyes closed and metal music clogging my ears? Well, if so, then I am a cruel creature. Drama? Excuse you Conrad, apart from your casual racism, your stories try to reach such a point of heartbreak, and then all you do is piss on it. I hardly felt affection for any of these characters, much less that ending that only came about because you could come up with nothing better to finish it. I will now have to go and cleanse my eyes and put Rise Against on blast to erase the memory of this work.
November 4, 2015
3.5 stars
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
Over the summer I've collected all the Little Black Classics that were published by Penguin to celebrate their 80th birthday! Every now and then I'm reading one of them, and my reviews are mostly some thoughts about each of the books.
Joseph Conrad was a new author for me, but this short story didn't disappoint me, although it had a very uncanny feel to it. The whole village seems a bit off, and both father and son don't come across as likeable or nice people. The father's been waiting for years for his son who's returning to-morrow.
I liked the writing and would like to read more from this author after reading this story.
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
Over the summer I've collected all the Little Black Classics that were published by Penguin to celebrate their 80th birthday! Every now and then I'm reading one of them, and my reviews are mostly some thoughts about each of the books.
Joseph Conrad was a new author for me, but this short story didn't disappoint me, although it had a very uncanny feel to it. The whole village seems a bit off, and both father and son don't come across as likeable or nice people. The father's been waiting for years for his son who's returning to-morrow.
I liked the writing and would like to read more from this author after reading this story.
June 1, 2018
This was such an unexpectedly gorgeous short story from the
Heart of Darkness
author.
Focusing on an old sailor desperate to find his missing son, we see his preparations and plans for his ultimate return, with the old sailor always claiming this will happen “to-morrow”. This is a seemingly delusional hope, as his neighbours and the other villagers see him as a bit of a character, and can only humour his self-deception to avoid violent outbursts of indignation.
I felt a warmth in my heart for the old man. His meticulous planning, collecting of household objects, consideration for what his son would say or how he would feel about certain particulars, showed a real love. Conrad creates this, I feel, in order to ensure the finale hits as hard as it possibly can.
Without spoiling it, the ending is utterly heartbreaking, and really underlines the extent of the sailor’s delusion. It speaks of perception of people we haven’t seen in a long time, interpretation of memories, the holding of grudges, and more typical family behaviour. Most of all, it speaks of routine, and how letting go, whether knowingly or not, is a difficult thing to do.
A crushing tale on waiting, and being unable to live until our dreams fulfil, this was an absolute little diamond from Conrad.
Focusing on an old sailor desperate to find his missing son, we see his preparations and plans for his ultimate return, with the old sailor always claiming this will happen “to-morrow”. This is a seemingly delusional hope, as his neighbours and the other villagers see him as a bit of a character, and can only humour his self-deception to avoid violent outbursts of indignation.
I felt a warmth in my heart for the old man. His meticulous planning, collecting of household objects, consideration for what his son would say or how he would feel about certain particulars, showed a real love. Conrad creates this, I feel, in order to ensure the finale hits as hard as it possibly can.
Without spoiling it, the ending is utterly heartbreaking, and really underlines the extent of the sailor’s delusion. It speaks of perception of people we haven’t seen in a long time, interpretation of memories, the holding of grudges, and more typical family behaviour. Most of all, it speaks of routine, and how letting go, whether knowingly or not, is a difficult thing to do.
A crushing tale on waiting, and being unable to live until our dreams fulfil, this was an absolute little diamond from Conrad.
January 4, 2024
Hope is a fickle little thing and this rather sad story proves that when dreams interfere with reality, it tends to end in tragedy.
To-morrow is a short story set in a desolate English port. Captain Hagberd has only just arrived in town, looking for his son whom he hasn't seen years. Convinced that his son will return tomorrow, we watch a man failing to let go of his hopes and face a rather harsh reality.
The message of this is rather uncomfortable. I have to admit that I didn't expect to have any emotional reaction to this, as the only thing by Conrad I have ever read I did not just dislike, but also simply didn't understand, but the theme of this story is intriguing: Conrad examines hope as a hinderance. It's what makes Hagberd delusional, what makes it impossible for him to really live in the present. Hope transports our thoughts and efforts into a vague and unknown future. Looking at it like this, hoping for anything sounds absolutely insane. But when is the right time to actually let go of hope, when there's always going to be a tomorrow that might finally bring what you desire?
I'm not the biggest fan of the ending and overall the whole story is so pessimistic and bleak that I'm torn in my opinion on it, but it's at least one of those Little Black Classics publications that make sense as such. The series Penguin introduced to celebrate Penguin's 80th birthday includes stories from "around the world and across many centuries" as the publisher describes and I'm hoping to sooner or later read and review all of them.
To-morrow is a short story set in a desolate English port. Captain Hagberd has only just arrived in town, looking for his son whom he hasn't seen years. Convinced that his son will return tomorrow, we watch a man failing to let go of his hopes and face a rather harsh reality.
The message of this is rather uncomfortable. I have to admit that I didn't expect to have any emotional reaction to this, as the only thing by Conrad I have ever read I did not just dislike, but also simply didn't understand, but the theme of this story is intriguing: Conrad examines hope as a hinderance. It's what makes Hagberd delusional, what makes it impossible for him to really live in the present. Hope transports our thoughts and efforts into a vague and unknown future. Looking at it like this, hoping for anything sounds absolutely insane. But when is the right time to actually let go of hope, when there's always going to be a tomorrow that might finally bring what you desire?
I'm not the biggest fan of the ending and overall the whole story is so pessimistic and bleak that I'm torn in my opinion on it, but it's at least one of those Little Black Classics publications that make sense as such. The series Penguin introduced to celebrate Penguin's 80th birthday includes stories from "around the world and across many centuries" as the publisher describes and I'm hoping to sooner or later read and review all of them.
April 20, 2022
bad, boring and Conrad is also a piece of shit but i can't rate this 0 stars so here we are.
it was a gift so yay.
it was a gift so yay.
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February 3, 2019Jag har hört denna jämföras med Kejsaren av Portugallien, och det är en ganska träffsäker jämförelse - även om denna var ändå mörkare, ändå mer ångestladdad.
Sidenote: Som nybliven förälder har jag upptäckt att läsning får sig en törn - tänkte prova att läsa massa såna här kortromaner. Tar tacksamt emot tips!
Sidenote: Som nybliven förälder har jag upptäckt att läsning får sig en törn - tänkte prova att läsa massa såna här kortromaner. Tar tacksamt emot tips!
May 13, 2015
Typical Conrad: basically a negative revealing of man's soul, coupled with a primal, tragic and understated general awfulness of the human condition. As a father waits for his son's return from the sea, he constantly forestalls life until tomorrow, until his reliance on the future as his place of happiness erodes his ability to be happy in the present. Worse still, as he descends into his trap, a kindly neighbour is drawn into his crushing worldview with him. Painful and brilliant.
October 2, 2016
An amusing little tale but not for me. It isn't the sort of thing I want to read and definately not a great introduction to this man. When one thinks of books such as The Secret Agent and then reads this, it'not the same.
Only reccomended after reading some of his better works.
Only reccomended after reading some of his better works.
October 11, 2025
İngiliz ressam J.M.W. Turner’ın tabloları gibi Conrad da eserlerinde denizi merkeze oturtmasıyla bilinir. Ne var ki Turner ingiliz doğmuşken, yirmili yaşlarına kadar ingilizce bilmeyen Conrad tamamen kendi azmi ile bu dilin ustası olup bir sanatçı olarak ‘edebi izlenimci’ adını hakkıyla kazanır.
Novella tadındaki bu otuz sayfalık öykü, denizde geçmese bile merkezinde denizden emekli bir kaptan ve onu on altı sene önce terk etmiş ha bugün ha yarın gelecek diye yolunu gözlediği oğlu var. Şüphesiz yazarın kendi hayatından da izler taşıyor. Zira Conrad’ın politik oyunlar yazan babası Polonya’daki 1863-1864 Ocak Ayaklanmasının liderlerinden olduğu için sürgüne gönderiliyor ve oğlu dayısının yanında baba figüründen yoksun büyüyor. Belki de bu yüzden eserlerinde hep antikahramanlarla karşılaşıyoruz. Sonuçta bir erkeğin yolculuğu babasından sağlıklı bir şekilde ayrılıp adam olmaksa Conrad bunu kaderin yardımı ve daha çok kendi azmi ile fazlasıyla başarmıştır.
Ben bu öyküdeki iki bencil ve gaddar babadan ve kayıp oğuldan çok Bessie karakterine takıldım. Pek çok kadın gibi yetersiz erkekleri idare etmek, umutlarını hep yarına ertelemek zorunda kalıyor. Yolculuğunu tamamlayamayan kahraman bir türlü gelmiyor.
Novella tadındaki bu otuz sayfalık öykü, denizde geçmese bile merkezinde denizden emekli bir kaptan ve onu on altı sene önce terk etmiş ha bugün ha yarın gelecek diye yolunu gözlediği oğlu var. Şüphesiz yazarın kendi hayatından da izler taşıyor. Zira Conrad’ın politik oyunlar yazan babası Polonya’daki 1863-1864 Ocak Ayaklanmasının liderlerinden olduğu için sürgüne gönderiliyor ve oğlu dayısının yanında baba figüründen yoksun büyüyor. Belki de bu yüzden eserlerinde hep antikahramanlarla karşılaşıyoruz. Sonuçta bir erkeğin yolculuğu babasından sağlıklı bir şekilde ayrılıp adam olmaksa Conrad bunu kaderin yardımı ve daha çok kendi azmi ile fazlasıyla başarmıştır.
Ben bu öyküdeki iki bencil ve gaddar babadan ve kayıp oğuldan çok Bessie karakterine takıldım. Pek çok kadın gibi yetersiz erkekleri idare etmek, umutlarını hep yarına ertelemek zorunda kalıyor. Yolculuğunu tamamlayamayan kahraman bir türlü gelmiyor.
December 23, 2021
Conrad's greatness as a writer cannot be disputed at all. Many critics place him in the list of greatest English writers to have ever lived. This book by Conrad titled as "To-morrow" shows his greatness and bleakness as a writer. The story is about a man named Captain Hagberd waiting for his son to come back home from his running away from house. He builds a house at an English shore. He also promises his neighbor Bessie that he will get his son Harry to her.
This seems to ha a simple story but when we start looking more closely we notice the dramaticbirony of the whole story. Captain Hagberd has to do nothing with his son but to get him into domestic life. Even when his son comes back, he fails to notice him. Harry falls in love with Bessie but tells her that he cannot stay with a woman for more than a week. This is another dramatic irony in the story. The story is very simple but the way Conrad puts it in words using the psychological characteristics of people is a treat to read. Pick up this classic. You won't be disappointed.
This seems to ha a simple story but when we start looking more closely we notice the dramaticbirony of the whole story. Captain Hagberd has to do nothing with his son but to get him into domestic life. Even when his son comes back, he fails to notice him. Harry falls in love with Bessie but tells her that he cannot stay with a woman for more than a week. This is another dramatic irony in the story. The story is very simple but the way Conrad puts it in words using the psychological characteristics of people is a treat to read. Pick up this classic. You won't be disappointed.
February 4, 2024
Sad and psychologically complex. Reminded me of Owen Wister a bit, not sure why.
CN: mental illness, amnesia, domestic abuse
CN: mental illness, amnesia, domestic abuse
May 15, 2016
A clever story looking into the heart of a man; since his Wife's death he has redoubled his efforts to find his son. At the time of the story his son Harry has been gone some 16 years. Following some earlier news he has made a new life for himself in the little seaport of Colebrook in the hope that his son will return where once he stayed.
An old sea Captain, old Hagberd is riddiculed initially by the local people but over time they have accepted his ways, unusual attire and pity his made ravings.
Hagberd has built two small cottages; one he prepares for his son's return the other he lets out. his tenants are an old blind man and his daughter Bessie who has grown old caring for him.
In talking over the fence Bessie has learned to humour her landlord and his plans for the future have Harry returning home and taking her for his wife.
Bessie has become as hopeful of this future beyond the drudgery of her single life caring for her lazy father who beckons her everytime he wants something even if it is within his reach.
There is a hope of a better future and summed up with the mantra that Harry will return tomorrow.
There is a saying be careful what you wish for...... Is it possible Harry would return like a prodigal son or is his absense for more straightforward than sinister. Does he choice to stay away? If he returned would his Father recognise him?
Hagberd says his wife died of impatience, but surely his hope is a living death as he remains at home, waiting always for tomorrow.
Good short story seen through the lives of 3 main characters, about life, love and obsession.
An old sea Captain, old Hagberd is riddiculed initially by the local people but over time they have accepted his ways, unusual attire and pity his made ravings.
Hagberd has built two small cottages; one he prepares for his son's return the other he lets out. his tenants are an old blind man and his daughter Bessie who has grown old caring for him.
In talking over the fence Bessie has learned to humour her landlord and his plans for the future have Harry returning home and taking her for his wife.
Bessie has become as hopeful of this future beyond the drudgery of her single life caring for her lazy father who beckons her everytime he wants something even if it is within his reach.
There is a hope of a better future and summed up with the mantra that Harry will return tomorrow.
There is a saying be careful what you wish for...... Is it possible Harry would return like a prodigal son or is his absense for more straightforward than sinister. Does he choice to stay away? If he returned would his Father recognise him?
Hagberd says his wife died of impatience, but surely his hope is a living death as he remains at home, waiting always for tomorrow.
Good short story seen through the lives of 3 main characters, about life, love and obsession.
March 16, 2007
When Joseph Conrad retired from the sea to write, he moved to a small coastal town in England.
He wrote a series of short stories based on the people of the town, sort of a Spoon River Anthology for an English coastal village.
Tomorrow unfolds three stories of three characters, the embittered retired-sea-captain father, the wild son returned home from America, and the girl next store who dreams of a release from her hellish existence.
How is reality so far from their expectations, that they all fail to recognize each other?
In short order Conrad sets the premise, and then lets the characters act out in three different directions while all experiencing the events.
I love the description of the men of the wilderness of Mexico who must sleep under the stars or die.
A miniature gem.
hba
He wrote a series of short stories based on the people of the town, sort of a Spoon River Anthology for an English coastal village.
Tomorrow unfolds three stories of three characters, the embittered retired-sea-captain father, the wild son returned home from America, and the girl next store who dreams of a release from her hellish existence.
How is reality so far from their expectations, that they all fail to recognize each other?
In short order Conrad sets the premise, and then lets the characters act out in three different directions while all experiencing the events.
I love the description of the men of the wilderness of Mexico who must sleep under the stars or die.
A miniature gem.
hba
August 9, 2018
Real rating: 7.9/10
A subtle tale written with nuanced prose that never fully reveals itself to the reader which allows for an overestimation that is on par with the two main characters of the piece.
What is reality and what is the fiction of desire? When do we let ourselves fall down this path and how willing we are to accept the untrue and deny the truth pending on our desire to live in this fantasy world our minds have created.
A recommendable piece if one wishes to tease the vices and virtues of the ego and its sublime weakness.
A subtle tale written with nuanced prose that never fully reveals itself to the reader which allows for an overestimation that is on par with the two main characters of the piece.
What is reality and what is the fiction of desire? When do we let ourselves fall down this path and how willing we are to accept the untrue and deny the truth pending on our desire to live in this fantasy world our minds have created.
A recommendable piece if one wishes to tease the vices and virtues of the ego and its sublime weakness.
May 26, 2016
One of Conrads short stories published in the Pension Little Black Classics series.
An enjoyable short story, first published in 1902, and yet it somehow doesn't read as dated.
There are other plot descriptions, written better than I will, and as usual with a short story it is hard to say much without spoilers!
Enjoyable writing, good plot, quick easy read.
Solid 3 stars, good without being great.
An enjoyable short story, first published in 1902, and yet it somehow doesn't read as dated.
There are other plot descriptions, written better than I will, and as usual with a short story it is hard to say much without spoilers!
Enjoyable writing, good plot, quick easy read.
Solid 3 stars, good without being great.
April 30, 2020
سؤال لطالما راودنا .. هل ما يأتي متأخرا أفضل مما لا يجئ أبدا ؟؟
وماذا لو جاء مبكرا عن موعده ؟؟
هل هي مشكلة لو جاءتك أحلامك مبكرا عن موعدها ؟؟
سؤال آخر ... هل الإفراط في الأمل يؤدي إلي الوهم ؟
أم إن الأفراط في الأمل غير المبرر هو في الحقيقة يأس مقنع بالصبر ؟
......
تساؤلات كثيرة تثيرها الرواية في ذهنك ..
لقاء ممتع مع جوزيف كونراد الأديب البولندي
February 3, 2017
A really small book; brilliant prose.
December 8, 2018
Odd short story, with Conrad’s voice, confident only of doubt, rehearsing four people’s dysfunction and loss.
March 6, 2019
Joseph Conrad’s short story “To-morrow,” was first published in the pages of The Pall Mall Magazine in 1902. The following year it appeared in book form in the collection Typhoon and Other Stories. In 2015, Penguin Classics issued “To-morrow” as a stand-alone book in their “Little Black Classics” series. It seems somewhat silly to issue just one story on its own, especially as “To-morrow” is only 50 pages long, but I happened upon “To-morrow” at Half Price Books for 99 cents, and since I don’t have the story in any of my other Conrad books, I decided to buy it.
“To-morrow” tells the story of Captain Hagberd, who moves to the seaport of Colebrook in the hope of being reunited with his son, whom the Captain has not seen in many years. The Captain is a widower, and his one friend is his next-door neighbor, Bessie Carvil, who takes care of her father, a boat-builder who has gone blind.
The story is full of Conrad’s beautiful prose. He describes Bessie looking at Captain Hagberd: “She would look at her father’s landlord in silence—in an informed silence which had an air of knowledge, expectation, and desire.” (p.2)
After Captain Hagberd has been in Colebrook for a while, he stops speaking to the townspeople about when he thinks his son will be back. Conrad writes: “For all one could tell, he had recovered already from the disease of hope; and only Miss Bessie Carvil knew that he said nothing about his son’s return because with him it was no longer ‘next week,’ ‘next month,’ or even ‘next year.’ It was ‘to-morrow.’” (p.8-9)
Captain Hagberd is convinced that his son will return tomorrow. He is continually optimistic, as he is always looking forward to the next day. “To-morrow” reminded me a bit of a Samuel Beckett play, with a character living in constant anticipation of the future, rather than living in the present.
“To-morrow” is a superb story, and it highlights Conrad’s ability to craft an engaging tale.
“To-morrow” tells the story of Captain Hagberd, who moves to the seaport of Colebrook in the hope of being reunited with his son, whom the Captain has not seen in many years. The Captain is a widower, and his one friend is his next-door neighbor, Bessie Carvil, who takes care of her father, a boat-builder who has gone blind.
The story is full of Conrad’s beautiful prose. He describes Bessie looking at Captain Hagberd: “She would look at her father’s landlord in silence—in an informed silence which had an air of knowledge, expectation, and desire.” (p.2)
After Captain Hagberd has been in Colebrook for a while, he stops speaking to the townspeople about when he thinks his son will be back. Conrad writes: “For all one could tell, he had recovered already from the disease of hope; and only Miss Bessie Carvil knew that he said nothing about his son’s return because with him it was no longer ‘next week,’ ‘next month,’ or even ‘next year.’ It was ‘to-morrow.’” (p.8-9)
Captain Hagberd is convinced that his son will return tomorrow. He is continually optimistic, as he is always looking forward to the next day. “To-morrow” reminded me a bit of a Samuel Beckett play, with a character living in constant anticipation of the future, rather than living in the present.
“To-morrow” is a superb story, and it highlights Conrad’s ability to craft an engaging tale.
July 5, 2020
Conrad's simple short story conveys the impact of false hope. Captain Hagberd moves to spot near the sea after his wife's death in the hopes that his son (a teenage runaway) returns to him. He is a disagreeable fellow and has for his company a young Miss Bessie, who has her own personal load of suffering, and commiserates with Hagberd. The tale goes on to show the ironical manifestation of Hagberd's wishes and the impact it has on the indifferent Miss Bessie.
I love compact stories with a singular motive and an ending that leaves one reeling in thought. And this is a perfect one of its kind.
I love compact stories with a singular motive and an ending that leaves one reeling in thought. And this is a perfect one of its kind.
August 8, 2019
Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski ! i wasn't ready for this assault on my emotions so early in the morning. A resolute old man so hopeful of his runaway son returning, for over 16 years, that its really melancholic how the conversation flows over the yard fence with the ever-patient Bessie, the parting note never changing, that his son would be here 'to-morrow'. This story was adapted into a play early on given the entire plot unfolds over conversations over a garden fence. Tinged with pity for the old man, the story takes a interesting turn when the son actually does turn up but his father refuses to believe it. Weird. Sometimes we spend all our lives wanting something and never know what to do when that moment comes.
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