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Freya of the Seven Isles (The Art of the Novella)
There is a degree of bliss too intense for elation.
This little-known novella from one of the masters of the form is so unusual for Joseph Conrad's work in several respects, although not in its exotic maritime setting or its even more exotic prose—it is unusual in that it is one of his very few works to feature a woman as a leading character, and to take the form of a r...more
This little-known novella from one of the masters of the form is so unusual for Joseph Conrad's work in several respects, although not in its exotic maritime setting or its even more exotic prose—it is unusual in that it is one of his very few works to feature a woman as a leading character, and to take the form of a r...more
Paperback, 118 pages
Published
October 1st 2007
by Melville House
(first published January 1912)
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Some people can read a book just for the art of the writing. They can read anything the author writes, it doesn't matter what it is, because the way he (or she) writes is so powerful, that is what captivates them, even if the subject, the characters, the storyline does not.
I've never understood that, until now. Sure, I can tell a good writer from a bad one. I can observe the craft of the novel, short story, novella, poem. It adds a great deal to my experience of reading. I just never ...more
I've never understood that, until now. Sure, I can tell a good writer from a bad one. I can observe the craft of the novel, short story, novella, poem. It adds a great deal to my experience of reading. I just never ...more
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This is my favorite kind of book: beautifully written with hilarity snuck in. The heroine is mythically stunning and slowing waving her handkerchief at you from the pier, her pale skin glowing in the setting sun. The one she loves is a mischievous but lovable rapscallion beneath her social class. Her father is adoring and blissfully ignorant, tending his tobacco. The narrator, in one slip, confesses he just wants to smooch the maid. Essentially, everyone is breathtakingly lovely and constantly l...more
I'd forgotten how much I enjoy Joseph Conrad, with his tropical marine settings and his thoughtful, melancholy narrators. Spending a sunny afternoon with Freya of the Seven Isles kindled my interest in revisiting Lord Jim, Victory and Heart of Darkness, and in exploring the rest of his work that I haven't read.
Freya is a classic tragedy of the kind the reader sees coming from the opening pages due to the flaws-which-are-often-actually-virtues of the characters, yet still hopes will ...more
Freya is a classic tragedy of the kind the reader sees coming from the opening pages due to the flaws-which-are-often-actually-virtues of the characters, yet still hopes will ...more
I liked the prose, the characters were vivid and the setting was great. If someone had pointed out to me that a lot of Conrad's stories and books have a marine setting, I would have picked up his books a long time ago. I educated myself now and read about him on Wikipedia. I also added Heart of Darkness and Lord Jim to my list of books-you-should-read-before-you-die and my ever growing free Kindle library.
For someone whose first or second language was not English, Conrad wrote in it...more
For someone whose first or second language was not English, Conrad wrote in it...more
Freya of the Seven Isles might be seen as Conrad's experiment in how far the novella genre could dip into the tragio-comic mode. It is, indeed, a tale torn "between laughter and sobs" (69). Freya tells the story of a love triangle in which two seamen compete for the hand of the beautiful Freya Nelson. Freya plans to run away to sea with the amiable, if foolish, Jaspar Allen. The plan is ruined by the cruel intervention of the Dutch naval officer Heemskirk, can't bear the thought of ...more
Everett Darling
rated it
Recommends it for:
Sailors
Recommended to Everett by:
A Sailor. A Lady, Sailor.
Shelves:
2008
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Enjoyable short book by Mr. Conrad. I actually think my heart broke for the man chasing the heroine.
This beautifully packaged series of classic novellas includes the works of Anton Chekhov, Colette, Henry James, Herman Melville, and Leo Tolstoy. These collectible editions are the first single-volume publications of these classic tales, offering a closer look at this underappreciated literary form and providing a fresh take on the world's most celebrated authors.
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Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski) was a Polish-born English novelist who today is most famous for Heart of Darkness, his fictionalized account of Colonial Africa.
Conrad left his native Poland in his middle teens to avoid conscription into the Russian Army. He joined the French Merchant Marine and briefly employed himself as a wartime gunrunner. He then began to work...more
More about Joseph Conrad...
Conrad left his native Poland in his middle teens to avoid conscription into the Russian Army. He joined the French Merchant Marine and briefly employed himself as a wartime gunrunner. He then began to work...more
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