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29th out of 172 books
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46 voters
Almayer's Folly
Almayer’s Folly, Joseph Conrad’s first novel, is a tale of personal tragedy as well as a broader meditation on the evils of colonialism. Set in the lush jungle of Borneo in the late 1800s, it tells of the Dutch merchant Kaspar Almayer, whose dreams of riches for his beloved daughter, Nina, collapse under the weight of his own greed and prejudice. Nadine Gordimer writes in...more
paper, 208 pages
Published
October 8th 2002
by Modern Library
(first published 1895)
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Joseph Conrad's first novel is fascinating and atmospheric -- an amazing first effort for a non-native English speaker. It tells the story of Kaspar Almayer, an isolated Dutch trader in the East Indies in the late 19th century. Almayer has an arranged, loveless marriage to a Malaysian woman, and a beloved daughter Nina, who falls in love with a Malaysian adventurer Dain. The narrative focalization shifts across a number of characters, including Almayer, Nina, Dain, and Almayer's adversaries (not...more
Apr 24, 2011
Lisa
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Lisa by:
C20th Yahoo reading group
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Almayer's Folly is one of my favorite books written by Joseph Conrad. I liked it much better in comparison to Lord Jim, partly because Lord Jim was much longer and because it seemed like the characters were getting absolutely nowhere. I only really understood the end, and even now I'm still not sure what exactly happened in the novel.
But Almayer's Folly was different. It gave a whole new perspective to colonialism. Almayer, the main character, is a Dutch man who resides in Malaya. He's married t...more
But Almayer's Folly was different. It gave a whole new perspective to colonialism. Almayer, the main character, is a Dutch man who resides in Malaya. He's married t...more
This tale of misfortune and mental breakdown is not as dark as you'd expect,as you never feel any sympathy for the main character.
The novel is the template for much of Conrad's best work, based on what I assume was the first hand observation of colonialism in the southern hemisphere and the effects of a tropical climate and culture on the men who pioneered trade there.
At the start his writing style is slightly less convoluted than his later works ,but the seeds of his luscious and verdant ver...more
The novel is the template for much of Conrad's best work, based on what I assume was the first hand observation of colonialism in the southern hemisphere and the effects of a tropical climate and culture on the men who pioneered trade there.
At the start his writing style is slightly less convoluted than his later works ,but the seeds of his luscious and verdant ver...more
I'm a devoted fan of Conrad but I'm sorry to say this is easily his worst effort. It was appallingly bad. A chore to read. Only brute will kept me at it. Only a die-hard completist (like myself) should force oneself to muddle through this one.
All his worst traits are not just 'on occasional display'--but exposed with full force. Long passages of labored, repetitive, saying-the-same-thing-a-dozen-ways prose. Poor description of the setting; leaden and unlively narrative. Weakly conceived story ov...more
All his worst traits are not just 'on occasional display'--but exposed with full force. Long passages of labored, repetitive, saying-the-same-thing-a-dozen-ways prose. Poor description of the setting; leaden and unlively narrative. Weakly conceived story ov...more
I've been a long-time Conrad fan. I like his formalism. I like his modernism. I like his humane, broad-view politics. I like his psychological insights.
Rules have exceptions. Although I agree with the idea that one should follow his dreams, there are limitations. Some dreams are unrealistic. Some dreams are narrow and self-centered. Some dreams are delusions. When one's dreams involve others, it's probably best to have the others share the dreams.
Kaspar Almayer is the creator of his own profoun...more
Rules have exceptions. Although I agree with the idea that one should follow his dreams, there are limitations. Some dreams are unrealistic. Some dreams are narrow and self-centered. Some dreams are delusions. When one's dreams involve others, it's probably best to have the others share the dreams.
Kaspar Almayer is the creator of his own profoun...more
This is a sad book, an insightful book, a strange book, and ultimately a good book. The prose is descriptive and beautiful; it does a magnificent job of painting this far off place, just as it does a great job of showing the political, cultural, and social struggles of the time.
I say it is strange because the characters are almost too set in their ways. There is no room for change or development. But they do not feel like caricatures. And maybe that tells us something. About the time certainly,...more
I say it is strange because the characters are almost too set in their ways. There is no room for change or development. But they do not feel like caricatures. And maybe that tells us something. About the time certainly,...more
You can definitely see the nascent stages of some of conrads heart of darkness characters in this book. thebook is about a "white" guy who gets maried to a malay girl and goes to live in her part of the world in search of riches. His plan is thwarted by his beautiful daughter who absconds with a local malay. the plot is essentially geared around Almayer's demise. the scenery beautifully described as is some of the poignant moments between father and daughter. gets a bit confusing in the middle b...more
I started this book three times before finally plunging in. Then I loved it. It resonates powerfully with many of Conrad's other novellas--Heart of Darkness, Freya of the Seven Isles, The Shadow-Line, The Secret-Sharer. (The Secret Agent also came to mind.)
Set in Borneo, the narrative describes Almayer, a trader of Dutch origin, and his decline into poverty, disgrace, grief, madness, dementia, opium-addiction, and death. The work's vivid characters include Almayer's hated "witch" Malay wife, his...more
Set in Borneo, the narrative describes Almayer, a trader of Dutch origin, and his decline into poverty, disgrace, grief, madness, dementia, opium-addiction, and death. The work's vivid characters include Almayer's hated "witch" Malay wife, his...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Conrad's first novel has a lot of the themes that he worked with in his later books, such as Heart of Darkness. The atmosphere of colonial Malaysia in the 19th century is so palpable that I sometimes thought I was sweating in the jungle as I was reading it. Conrad's prose style is dense and rich. While the book may seem physically short (i.e. in pages), the reading goes pleasantly slow.
On reflection, the passion stuff near the end is horribly overdone, but carried me along while I was reading it - he makes a good job of matching emotions to landscape. I found the plot a bit hard to follow in the middle of the book - I believe he wrote it over a long period, and this shows. The characterisation is utterly convincing, from major to minor characters, and it seems fairly clear that Conrad hadn't a high opinion of human nature. Well worth reading.
I thought this was much better than Lord Jim, which I never could finish. I love Conrad's poetic style. I am always amazed that he wrote such lyric prose, considering that English was his third language. This story is a great sultry south seas novel, and I usually hate anything with this setting.
I have read this one several times. I really admire it. Conrad is probably my favourite author and this is my favourite book. It's not a perfect book but it has a pulse and passion. I always feel connected to the current of life whenever I read anything by Conrad and I feel it most strongly here.
Apparently soon to be made into film set in 50's which I find hard to believe will be able to tell the same story. I really enjoyed the bits about the turbulence in Almayer's mind near the end of the book as he struggles with his conditioned social attitudes. A bit more Mills&Boon than his later books....
Jun 18, 2012
Stew
added it
Interesting to compare this to Heart of Darkness and see how Conrad grew as a writer from the former to the latter. This is an interesting story that had at several points the potential to be a great adventure story, but to mirror the many foibles of man, it managed to be a story of heart break and disappointment for it's namesake. Anyone who considers themselves a student of Conrad should read this book.
Early Conrad, before he became modernist and interesting. So it reads like a boys own adventure story. Still, interesting enoughfor Conrad nerds (like me!)
Fantastic! Conrad's first novel has some amazing passages weaving the human psyche in unison with the dynamics of the surrounding nature. A pleasure to read.
Not my favorite Conrad, not even second tier, but it is still amazing to read. This was Conrad's debut novel and you can see flashes of his big themes (not yet mature) swirling in the deep water of his words.
'Almayer's Folly' reminded me of a gloomy, obsessive Melville novella or an alienated E. M. Forester story. It is one of those novels that if you love Conrad, you will want to read eventually (I'd read Heart of Darkness, Nostromo, Lord Jim, and Typhoon first). If your only exposure to Conrad...more
'Almayer's Folly' reminded me of a gloomy, obsessive Melville novella or an alienated E. M. Forester story. It is one of those novels that if you love Conrad, you will want to read eventually (I'd read Heart of Darkness, Nostromo, Lord Jim, and Typhoon first). If your only exposure to Conrad...more
Conrad's first, and possibly weakest, effort. Still a thought-provoking read, though.
Oh, white people. When will you learn to leave other cultures alone?
i love his sentences but i couldn t follow the story.
About as fine a first novel as I've ever read.
Almayer's live on the Malay archipelago. The only white man.
The characters were more real than in "Heart of Darkness" and "The Lagoon".
Mar 06, 2008
Connie
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people interested in the complexity of human experience
Conrad wrote three books I LOVE set in Malaysia. The Planter of Malaya, An Outcast of the Islands and Almayers Folly. All three are related and really give a wonderful wonderful picture of what it was like to be sent there in the 19th century. I highly recommend these books over most others of Joseph Conrad. As usual I cannot remember exactly the year I read them, but not too long ago. And they stay with me.
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'Almayers Folly' is Conrads first novella and, like all his stories, is beautifully written and proves he's one of the worlds greatest writers.
That being said, very little happens in this story and, despite how short it is, takes a while to get through. This is primarily because each sentence feels like a story in of itself, which is both good and bad.
Overall, I'd say 'Almayers Folly' is worth the read.
Conrad's first and well worth the time. Don't let my three-star review scare you away. This just allows for the four- and, yes, five-star reviews that some of his more mature works deserve. This was my second time through Almayer and I enjoyed it a good bit more this time 'round.
Was about to start 'An Outcast of the Islands' and decided to re-read this one first since it follows some of the same characters and it's been years since I read Almayer, and I really liked it. I think I like it even more upon the second reading--a very nice beginning to my upcoming Conrad binge.
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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 aboard Bri...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 aboard Bri...more
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“The well-known shrill voice startled Almayer from his dream of splendid future into the unpleasant realities of the present hour. An unpleasant voice too. He had heard it for many years, and with every year he liked it less. No matter; there would be an end to all this soon.”
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updated Jun 28, 2009 01:15am