Nostromo

After a year of false starts, I finally admitted I just couldn't get into this book. It's strange because I've loved a lot of Conrad's work, and I certainly see the same beauty of writing here, but this one just wasn't grabbing me. I don't know if it's the slower pace than most of his (but his other relatively long books also start slowly), that he was writing further outside his experience than usual, or that I've changed and some of the troubling things about Conrad now bother me more than they used to.

After a year of false starts, I finally admitted I just couldn't get into this book. It's strange because I've loved a lot of Conrad's work, and I certainly see the same beauty of writing here, but this one just wasn't grabbing me. I don't know if it's the slower pace than most of his (but his other relatively long books also start slowly), that he was writing further outside his experience than usual, or that I've changed and some of the troubling things about Conrad now bother me more than they used to.

After a year of false starts, I finally admitted I just couldn't get into this book. It's strange because I've loved a lot of Conrad's work, and I certainly see the same beauty of writing here, but this one just wasn't grabbing me. I don't know if it's the slower pace than most of his (but his other relatively long books also start slowly), that he was writing further outside his experience than usual, or that I've changed and some of the troubling things about Conrad now bother me more than they used to.

Dense fiction but a worthwhile read. I enjoyed the intriguing storyline, the excellent writing and the way in which Conrad attempted to wrestle with imperialism. It has its negatives, such as its sexism and racism, but what makes Conrad interesting is his effort to mediate a Eurocentric, racist, sexist world - which he has partially bought into - and his sense that all is certainly not right with the way things are. And on top of it it's some brilliant fiction. Check out Said's Culture and Imperialism for a more thoughtful exposition upon Conrad, Nostromo and imperialism.