(Drivebycuriosity) - I am impressed by Joseph Conrad and I also envy him. He was born and raised in Poland and spent his youth on ships. Conrad learned English later in his life and became eventually one of the most accomplished writers in the language of Shakespeare - admired for his style. Me, born in Germany, still struggling with English & American, even though there are so many Germanic parts.
The anthology "Typhoon And Other Stories" shows Conrad´s mastership (134 pages amazon). I indulged in the finesse of his tales. Unfortunately I did not find the plots very plausible and disliked some of the leadingn characters. In one story a pretty and nice girl is falling for a man, who is described as a bully, a monster and a creep. But that might be purpose because Conrad is known as
There is one exception, the name giving novella "Typhoon". It follows the captain of a steamship and his crew, who are transporting a group of local workers along the coast of South China. The captain stubbornly steers his ship into as typhoon to spare the costs and time to avoid the storm. The descriptions of the massive cyclone, the violent ocean and the mess on the ship are breathtaking.
Here an excerpt: "It was something formidable and swift, like the sudden smashing of a vial of wrath. It seemed to explode all round the ship with an overpowering concussion and a rush of great waters, as if an immense dam had been blown up to windward".
"Typhoon" alone justifies the 99 cents that the Kindle version costs in the moment of writing.
No comments:
Post a Comment