Notes on My Books by Joseph Conrad: Notes on My Books by Joseph Conrad

by Joseph Conrad

I am informed that in criticizing that literature which preys on strange people and prowls in far-off countries, under the shade of palms, in the unsheltered glare of sunbeaten beaches, amongst honest cannibals and the more sophisticated pioneers of our glorious virtues, a lady—distinguished in the world of letters—summed up her disapproval of it by saying that the tales it produced were "de-civilized." And in that sentence not only the tales but, I apprehend, the strange people and the far-off countries also, are finally condemned in a verdict of contemptuous dislike. A woman's intuitive, clever, expressed with felicitous charm—infallible. A judgment that has nothing to do with justice. The critic and the judge seems to think that in those distant lands all joy is a yell and a war dance, all pathos is a howl and a ghastly grin of filed teeth, and that the solution of all problems is found in the barrel of a revolver or on the point of an assegai. And yet it is not so. But the erring magistrate may plead in excuse the misleading nature of the evidence.

140 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2007

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

[Whatever]

-Reddit thread interesting/unique book recommendations; seems Speculative Fiction focused.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.redd...

-Article 20 Best Novels of the Decade.

https://lithub.com/the-20-best-novels...

- Books on self-knowledge/biographies to help you understand yourself
https://positivepsychology.com/self-a...

-It’s hard to get Book Recommendations, and a eh fix

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.sc...

[Zuzana · Rating 2 out of 5]

poměrně zklamání, na mě moc kostrbatej, komplikovanej jazyk a rozvláčná upovídanost a mravokárnost minulého století, rozšafnou reflexí sebe sama mi připomíná Zweiga, ale ten čtivější a víc zaměřený ven, než dovnitř. Nejlepší první kapitola o Rusku.