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The Tragedy of the Korosko
Written in 1898, Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic tale of high adventure portrays an alarmist era of imperial sovereignty, invasive foreign policy, and religious extremism, positing the naivety of a group of Anglo-American holiday-makers against the unbending convictions of Middle Eastern banditti. Among others, a young American ingenue, her matronly aunt, a fusty old bachelor, a loving Irish couple, and an opinionated French graduate gather aboard the Korosko. But during a morning tour of the desert, they are taken hostage by a group whose intention it is either to convert them to Islam or to kill them. Conan Doyle brings his mastery of thrills and suspense to bear on this extraordinary tale of East meets West. Scottish-born writer and novelist Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is best remembered as the creator of the immortal detective Sherlock Holmes.
276 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1898
34 people are currently reading
490 people want to read
About the author
Arthur Conan Doyle
15.9k books24.3k followersSir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was a Scottish writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for A Study in Scarlet, the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Holmes and Dr. Watson. The Sherlock Holmes stories are milestones in the field of crime fiction.
Doyle was a prolific writer. In addition to the Holmes stories, his works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger, and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (1884), helped to popularise the mystery of the brigantine Mary Celeste, found drifting at sea with no crew member aboard.
Doyle was a prolific writer. In addition to the Holmes stories, his works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger, and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (1884), helped to popularise the mystery of the brigantine Mary Celeste, found drifting at sea with no crew member aboard.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
May 12, 2010
I love the language in this book regardless of what some may see as the imperial prejudices in the plot. A party of European tourists is kidnapped by malevolent Dervishes who will kill them unless they convert to Islam. What stands out for me is the skill with which Conan Doyle sketches the tourists so that each is distinctive and memorable. The descriptions of the camels trekking across the desert are also beautifully done and raise the novel above the level of a simply thrilling adventure story, which it also is.
January 18, 2015
Wow, so far I can recommend this to everyone. It is entirely timely for us today as well as a great adventure just for the heck of it.
Having finished, I have two complaints, because readers are just that way sometimes:
1- Doyle has this formula in every book of his I can remember reading. It involves the splitting up of a company of heroes in such a way that it appears that they will never see one another again. Well, it showed up in this book, and as soon as I read it, I knew the entire rest of the book even more than I had already known going in at the beginning. I mean, I knew it in a weary dreary way. I started scanning somewhere at that point.
2- Even the sunsets are an adventure, their exotic colors and beauty in the midst of sudden death and Arabs on snorting camels, I mean, the adventure level got to me at times.
Over all, I enjoyed the book. His descriptions did get to me sometimes, but at other times they really made me feel as if I were in the desert, or bouncing along on the top of a camel. No author can play this with consistent precision. Words fly away from us, but in the meantime, they make the sun glow softly through their wings, so it's all right.
I absolutely was amazed by the discussion in the beginning of the book between the Englishman and the American, discussing their places in the world of politics, war, and as global police forces. The Englishman warned the American about how it feels to have to face this, and says that soon it will be the responsibility of America to do the same, whether they want to or not.
I also loved the many references to prayer. The characters knelt and offered their entire hearts and souls. They did it several times. It was moving. At the end they have a spiritual discussion which wrapped up the emotions of the book very sweetly and concisely. I really, really liked that.
Having finished, I have two complaints, because readers are just that way sometimes:
1- Doyle has this formula in every book of his I can remember reading. It involves the splitting up of a company of heroes in such a way that it appears that they will never see one another again. Well, it showed up in this book, and as soon as I read it, I knew the entire rest of the book even more than I had already known going in at the beginning. I mean, I knew it in a weary dreary way. I started scanning somewhere at that point.
2- Even the sunsets are an adventure, their exotic colors and beauty in the midst of sudden death and Arabs on snorting camels, I mean, the adventure level got to me at times.
Over all, I enjoyed the book. His descriptions did get to me sometimes, but at other times they really made me feel as if I were in the desert, or bouncing along on the top of a camel. No author can play this with consistent precision. Words fly away from us, but in the meantime, they make the sun glow softly through their wings, so it's all right.
I absolutely was amazed by the discussion in the beginning of the book between the Englishman and the American, discussing their places in the world of politics, war, and as global police forces. The Englishman warned the American about how it feels to have to face this, and says that soon it will be the responsibility of America to do the same, whether they want to or not.
I also loved the many references to prayer. The characters knelt and offered their entire hearts and souls. They did it several times. It was moving. At the end they have a spiritual discussion which wrapped up the emotions of the book very sweetly and concisely. I really, really liked that.
February 24, 2017
In 1898, when Arthur Conan Doyle first published "The Tragedy of the Korosko", Egypt was under English rule for 16 years. The second half of the nineteenth century was, according to Eric Hobsbawm, the Age of Imperialism. English domination was very present in different parts of the world-in North America (Canada), in Australia, in India and other Asian locales and in Africa (Scramble for Africa). Numerous books on the matter tell us that this was done in order to protect and further the economic interests of each of the colonial powers, with civilisational and other benefits streaming from it, coming only (if) in second place. Naturally, the hostility of the indigenous peoples towards the colonists/occupiers was the result of the colonial power games. The English had to fight off numerous insurgencies against their government, and they didn't always win (defeat of Gordon in Khartoum). Into this political and historical context, Conan Doyle weaves his story. What happens when a group of tourists, different in their characters, creed etc, travels down the Nile, on a steamer, fitted out with every Western comfort imaginable, to the still not pacified borders of Nubia, with the intent of seeing temples, rocks and desert?
Although champion for the wrongly accused and convicted, Conan Doyle wrote this novel from the colonial standpoint, with all that comes of it, abasing on the way, indirectly, everything Oriental, or not English. This dichotomy is typical for most of the colonial literature of this age. There are quite some usages of black Africans as N..., and his stance on Orientals/Arabs is only slightly better. This was the part of the novel I quite disliked. But Conan Doyle redeems himself with great characterisation of the protagonists (and antagonists as well!!), with the descriptions of the Egyptian countryside (the narrow strip of fertile land by the Nile and the barren desert surrounding it) and with something I am not quite sure how to term it, but spiritualism and justified retribution would come nearest. All in all, the novel left me with some indescribable and mixed feelings.
Although champion for the wrongly accused and convicted, Conan Doyle wrote this novel from the colonial standpoint, with all that comes of it, abasing on the way, indirectly, everything Oriental, or not English. This dichotomy is typical for most of the colonial literature of this age. There are quite some usages of black Africans as N..., and his stance on Orientals/Arabs is only slightly better. This was the part of the novel I quite disliked. But Conan Doyle redeems himself with great characterisation of the protagonists (and antagonists as well!!), with the descriptions of the Egyptian countryside (the narrow strip of fertile land by the Nile and the barren desert surrounding it) and with something I am not quite sure how to term it, but spiritualism and justified retribution would come nearest. All in all, the novel left me with some indescribable and mixed feelings.
August 15, 2014
This is the compelling story of a small group of European and American tourists cruising along the Nile in the late 1800's. They are kidnapped by a brutal group of Islamic terrorists, who insist they convert or die. Written by the author of the Sherlock Holmes series, the personality development of each character as they go through this trauma is excellent.
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December 30, 2019I read this book because I was aware that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was tired of his Sherlock Holmes, and thought that his genius lay in other works. This work is pallid in comparison.
September 9, 2024
Not the one x
January 10, 2015
I bought this book autumn last year and have been meaning to read it. In the light of the terror attacks in Paris, I thought it would be a fitting tribute to read this book which is remarkably a reminder of the troubles our world faces today. After all, the pen is far mighter than the sword.
This story was penned in 1898 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and yet it could have been written last year, given the unfortunate relevancy of the story to today's troubled world. It focuses on a group of tourists who are travelling down the Nile. After many days of sailing down the Nile touring famous sites, they set out on one final tour of an historical site of interest before heading back up the Nile and home. Unfortunately for them they are in dangerous lands and the excursion party and the steamship Korosko are captured by those who wish to convert their hostages to Islam. The story then chronicles the captives ordeal and as they are taken out further into the desert their fate grows more perilous and each of them must face and overcome their own fears and prejudices if they are to survive.
This is a very good story of suspense, and the lush narrative description of the desert, and of their captors. And Doyle through the eyes of the hostages questions the prescene of the West in the Middle East. Not unlike today when such questions and concerns are still raised.
This story does make you think and in many ways Doyle was ahead of his time in his approach with this story. I have no doubt had it been written today it would have been in the running for a book prize or two, this story is one that we all should read as it is as relevant today as it was in 1898.
This story was penned in 1898 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and yet it could have been written last year, given the unfortunate relevancy of the story to today's troubled world. It focuses on a group of tourists who are travelling down the Nile. After many days of sailing down the Nile touring famous sites, they set out on one final tour of an historical site of interest before heading back up the Nile and home. Unfortunately for them they are in dangerous lands and the excursion party and the steamship Korosko are captured by those who wish to convert their hostages to Islam. The story then chronicles the captives ordeal and as they are taken out further into the desert their fate grows more perilous and each of them must face and overcome their own fears and prejudices if they are to survive.
This is a very good story of suspense, and the lush narrative description of the desert, and of their captors. And Doyle through the eyes of the hostages questions the prescene of the West in the Middle East. Not unlike today when such questions and concerns are still raised.
This story does make you think and in many ways Doyle was ahead of his time in his approach with this story. I have no doubt had it been written today it would have been in the running for a book prize or two, this story is one that we all should read as it is as relevant today as it was in 1898.
January 17, 2022
Although there is no end to the ways and manners in which a work can be read and analyzed, there are two main readings of this short novel which I want to focus on.
The first reading is one of otherness. The novel is obviously a pro-imperialist work, which preaches such doctrines as the white man burden and the superiority of the white race. This is, by no means, a matter of surprise considering that the author was a contemporary of the empire, and very probably a supporter too. Therefore, there is a great amount of prejudice, xenophobia, racism, and islamophobia which I am not even going to discuss or talk about (living in the 21st century and knowing that religion and race have absolutely nothing to do with evil deeds)
The second reading of the plot is that which interests me most as it provides a study of human nature under the most fundamental of drives, that is to say fear. The passengers of the Korosko are suddenly confronted with danger and even with the prospect of death. Some display valor, others recklessness. This is an interesting element in the story because the barrier between courage and recklessness is often blurred although the two are extreme opposites. Courage is one of the twelve virtues in Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics. Recklessness is an excess of courage, and therefore a vice. Cowardice is a lack of it and accordingly another vice. The plot thus combines the three variations, and gives a noble aspect to the men who had managed to keep their courage in the face of death without being neither reckless nor cowards.
The first reading is one of otherness. The novel is obviously a pro-imperialist work, which preaches such doctrines as the white man burden and the superiority of the white race. This is, by no means, a matter of surprise considering that the author was a contemporary of the empire, and very probably a supporter too. Therefore, there is a great amount of prejudice, xenophobia, racism, and islamophobia which I am not even going to discuss or talk about (living in the 21st century and knowing that religion and race have absolutely nothing to do with evil deeds)
The second reading of the plot is that which interests me most as it provides a study of human nature under the most fundamental of drives, that is to say fear. The passengers of the Korosko are suddenly confronted with danger and even with the prospect of death. Some display valor, others recklessness. This is an interesting element in the story because the barrier between courage and recklessness is often blurred although the two are extreme opposites. Courage is one of the twelve virtues in Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics. Recklessness is an excess of courage, and therefore a vice. Cowardice is a lack of it and accordingly another vice. The plot thus combines the three variations, and gives a noble aspect to the men who had managed to keep their courage in the face of death without being neither reckless nor cowards.
October 9, 2019
This book is definitely a product of its times and there are a few bits here and there which were borderline racist, but it was also a cracking story of intrigue and adventure. Essentially, we follow a bunch of holidaymakers who’ve travelled to Egypt as they’re hijacked by camel-riding Arabs who plan to sell them into slavery and who give them the choice of converting to Islam or being put to the sword.
Overall, probably not worth reading unless you’re a Conan Doyle fan, but I was pretty happy with it and plan to read everything he wrote. Getting there!
Overall, probably not worth reading unless you’re a Conan Doyle fan, but I was pretty happy with it and plan to read everything he wrote. Getting there!
May 29, 2013
Peculiarly accurate description, from more than a century ago, of political and physical troubles generated by people of a certain religion…stuff that is happening today, 2013.
In this story, the reader is swept out of the placid stream of existence and dashed against the horrible jagged facts of life. And, where then, is the difference between fact and fiction…Doyle's fiction versus today's fact…today's fiction versus Doyle's Korosko fact?
In this story, the reader is swept out of the placid stream of existence and dashed against the horrible jagged facts of life. And, where then, is the difference between fact and fiction…Doyle's fiction versus today's fact…today's fiction versus Doyle's Korosko fact?
May 23, 2015
A well written short story that reminds current day readers that the friction between western cultures and Islam has existed for centuries.
On the plus side it has an almost fairytale happy ending.
Perhaps I'm becoming too cynical. I felt it was a little too much like a fairytale happy ending. Current events and real life do not seem to support endings like this.
On the plus side it has an almost fairytale happy ending.
Perhaps I'm becoming too cynical. I felt it was a little too much like a fairytale happy ending. Current events and real life do not seem to support endings like this.
January 2, 2011
A group of European tourists touring up the Nile are abducted.....
November 15, 2015
Thought this was such a brilliant book.
This could have been written today on the back of a tabloid headline.
So relevant to the horror of terrorism surrounding the modern age.
A must-read.
This could have been written today on the back of a tabloid headline.
So relevant to the horror of terrorism surrounding the modern age.
A must-read.
July 9, 2017
Am astonishing book, as timely today as when it was published in 1898; shot through with wisdom and insights. As relevant to us today as it was to the Victorians
June 26, 2021
Conan Doyle’s The Tragedy of the Korosko brings together a group of mostly strangers, tourists from England, Ireland, France and the USA onboard a steamer on the Nile.
What could possibly go wrong while riding donkeys in the Libyan desert?
…….So they knelt together among the black rocks, and prayed as some of them had never prayed before. It was very well to discuss prayer and treat it lightly and philosophically upon the deck of the Korosko. It was easy to feel strong and self-confident in the comfortable deck-chair, with the slippered Arab handing round the coffee and liqueurs. But they had been swept out of that placid stream of existence, and dashed against the horrible, jagged facts of life. Battered and shaken, they must have something to cling to. A blind, inexorable destiny was too horrible a belief. A chastening power, acting intelligently and for a purpose—a living, working power, tearing them out of their grooves, breaking down their small sectarian ways, forcing them into the better path—that was what they had learned to realize during these days of horror. Great hands had closed suddenly upon them, and had moulded them into new shapes, and fitted them for new uses. Could such a power be deflected by any human supplication? It was that or nothing—the last court of appeal, left open to injured humanity. And so they all prayed, as a lover loves, or a poet writes, from the very inside of their souls, and they rose with that singular, illogical feeling of inward peace and satisfaction which prayer only can give…..
What could possibly go wrong while riding donkeys in the Libyan desert?
…….So they knelt together among the black rocks, and prayed as some of them had never prayed before. It was very well to discuss prayer and treat it lightly and philosophically upon the deck of the Korosko. It was easy to feel strong and self-confident in the comfortable deck-chair, with the slippered Arab handing round the coffee and liqueurs. But they had been swept out of that placid stream of existence, and dashed against the horrible, jagged facts of life. Battered and shaken, they must have something to cling to. A blind, inexorable destiny was too horrible a belief. A chastening power, acting intelligently and for a purpose—a living, working power, tearing them out of their grooves, breaking down their small sectarian ways, forcing them into the better path—that was what they had learned to realize during these days of horror. Great hands had closed suddenly upon them, and had moulded them into new shapes, and fitted them for new uses. Could such a power be deflected by any human supplication? It was that or nothing—the last court of appeal, left open to injured humanity. And so they all prayed, as a lover loves, or a poet writes, from the very inside of their souls, and they rose with that singular, illogical feeling of inward peace and satisfaction which prayer only can give…..
February 13, 2022
La guerra mahdista del Sudán de finales del siglo XIX está hoy en día casi completamente olvidada por el gran público, pero en su momento tuvo un eco enorme y atrajo la atención de medio mundo, y prácticamente pintores, periodistas, escritores y muchos otros dedicaron tiempo a ella. De estos últimos desde Churchill, Kipling, Salgari, Sienkiewicz, Mason...pero también Conan Doyle, el celebérrimo padre de Sherlock Holmes.
"La tragedia del Korosko" es una novela de aventuras bastante interesante, donde además de plantearnos un secuestro y posterior resolución de los europeos por parte de los derviches, se plantean temas como el turismo, la fe, las relaciones internacionales y por supuesto la supervivencia casi darwinista en situaciones límite.
Escrito en la etapa de "desintoxicación" de las novelas de Holmes (al final como sabemos volvería a "reincidir") no se encuentra entre lo mejor de Doyle -sobre todo por situaciones muy poco verosímiles argumentales- pero al que le interese el tema y el autor, es una lectura que no molesta.
"La tragedia del Korosko" es una novela de aventuras bastante interesante, donde además de plantearnos un secuestro y posterior resolución de los europeos por parte de los derviches, se plantean temas como el turismo, la fe, las relaciones internacionales y por supuesto la supervivencia casi darwinista en situaciones límite.
Escrito en la etapa de "desintoxicación" de las novelas de Holmes (al final como sabemos volvería a "reincidir") no se encuentra entre lo mejor de Doyle -sobre todo por situaciones muy poco verosímiles argumentales- pero al que le interese el tema y el autor, es una lectura que no molesta.
October 29, 2023
من الروايات القليلة التى اقرؤها ل ارثر كونان دويل
بعيدا عن عالم "شيرلوك هولمز"
الرواية عن مأساة اختطاف جماعة من الاوروبيين ...ما بين انجليزي و فرنسي و ايرلندي ..و امريكان ...
بواسطة جماعة من السودانيين
حتى استعادتهم بواسطة رجال الهجانة المصريين ....
ترجمة ممتازة للصديقة
نيرمين رشدي
لرواية مش مشهورة اوي ل ارثر كونان دويل
الرواية ...انسانيا فيها دراما و احداث و تفاعل بين الشخصيات
يعيبها من وجهة نظري ...النهاية المقتضبة ...و القصور و السذاجة من المؤلف فى المعرفة بالاسلام ...
الكتاب القادم : عودة شيرلوك هولمز (Sherlock Holmes, #6)
ارثر كونان دويل برضه - بس حاجة امتع
بعيدا عن عالم "شيرلوك هولمز"
الرواية عن مأساة اختطاف جماعة من الاوروبيين ...ما بين انجليزي و فرنسي و ايرلندي ..و امريكان ...
بواسطة جماعة من السودانيين
حتى استعادتهم بواسطة رجال الهجانة المصريين ....
ترجمة ممتازة للصديقة
نيرمين رشدي
لرواية مش مشهورة اوي ل ارثر كونان دويل
الرواية ...انسانيا فيها دراما و احداث و تفاعل بين الشخصيات
يعيبها من وجهة نظري ...النهاية المقتضبة ...و القصور و السذاجة من المؤلف فى المعرفة بالاسلام ...
الكتاب القادم : عودة شيرلوك هولمز (Sherlock Holmes, #6)
ارثر كونان دويل برضه - بس حاجة امتع
January 11, 2018
Am always amazed that Conan Doyle feels so modern.
Fun idea, decent entertainment but definitely not his best work. Not sorry I read it, it passed the time nicely, but it could have been a little more fun. I just felt like it was missing something. Not sure what.
Fun idea, decent entertainment but definitely not his best work. Not sorry I read it, it passed the time nicely, but it could have been a little more fun. I just felt like it was missing something. Not sure what.
February 4, 2023
Definitely a product of its time and a bit tedious. I found the frenchman to be charming though!
August 17, 2017
Though the volume was penned at the end of the 1800s, nevertheless some of the descriptions and dialogue seem as if they are being played out in the present. Instead of the culprits being cultural terrorists in the 21st Century Levant, they are 19th Century Dervish Warriors from Upper Eqypt; but the similarities are stunning. The tale chronicles the capture and conveyance of several European tourists who have wheeled up the Nile to Abousir on the Korosko. Their captors are cunning and cutthroat. Yet the captives grow and change through the ordeal, exposing character flaws as well as genuine courage. There are places where old British colonialism shows through the story, along with it's rationale, which will likely surprise North American readers in its prescient description. It is a book ideal for the younger and older. I happily recommend the book.
May 9, 2017
An exceedingly Victorian book, in which the reader is subjected a Frenchman who starts out hating the British and their imperialism and ends up loving them by the end, derision towards Islam coupled with prayers and Bible quotes, Victorian-era racism, constant reminders about "Anglo-Saxon reserve" and all other manners of heroic bluster, and a turgid ending. This is the exact sort of thing that George MacDonald Fraser mocks in his "Flashman" books, and rightly so.
Want to read
November 11, 2012Free download available at eBooks@Adelaide.
May 27, 2015
Abduction and murder in the desert used as catharsis for the Christian faith of the survivors.
September 27, 2018
A bit boring. After all, it was written a century ago when people were used to tedious descriptions of this and that. Also, the natives mainly served as redshirts for the European protagonists.
March 24, 2024
2 stars, Metaphorosis reviews
Summary
A group of tourists on a pleasure cruise down the Nile set out to visit a local sight and get into trouble.
Review
I’m a fan of Conan Doyle, and think it’s a shame most people don’t get beyond the Sherlock Holmes books. However, A Desert Drama: Being the Tragedy of the Korosko is not the book with which to convince anyone.
I read this in the same day as Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer. Both books make use of ‘the n word’. However, Sawyer, despite being the older book by 30 years or so, comes across as a fairly innocent product of its times – the word is used and class distinctions are clear, but, in part because of its juvenile viewpoint, they’re more observed than intended. Doyle’s Desert Drama, however, comes across a fairly bigoted. It’s an adult adventure, but comes across as shallower than Twain’s children’s book, and more bigoted. It manages to insult a whole host of people and religions without half trying.
I don’t know anything about the provenance of the book, but I hope that Doyle wrote it without trying. Certainly he doesn’t seem to have put much effort into … really any part of it. The characters are stock romantic drama figures who pretty much play the expected roles. Doyle’s more ready to kill people off than you might expect, but heroes are heroes, villains are villains, whites and Europeans have natural virtue, etc. The plot moves smoothly enough, but there’s not much to it, and it’s hard to generate a lot of interest. Not boring, necessarily, but predictable and at times offensive.
Unless you really, really, want to read all of Doyle’s books, skip this one.
Summary
A group of tourists on a pleasure cruise down the Nile set out to visit a local sight and get into trouble.
Review
I’m a fan of Conan Doyle, and think it’s a shame most people don’t get beyond the Sherlock Holmes books. However, A Desert Drama: Being the Tragedy of the Korosko is not the book with which to convince anyone.
I read this in the same day as Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer. Both books make use of ‘the n word’. However, Sawyer, despite being the older book by 30 years or so, comes across as a fairly innocent product of its times – the word is used and class distinctions are clear, but, in part because of its juvenile viewpoint, they’re more observed than intended. Doyle’s Desert Drama, however, comes across a fairly bigoted. It’s an adult adventure, but comes across as shallower than Twain’s children’s book, and more bigoted. It manages to insult a whole host of people and religions without half trying.
I don’t know anything about the provenance of the book, but I hope that Doyle wrote it without trying. Certainly he doesn’t seem to have put much effort into … really any part of it. The characters are stock romantic drama figures who pretty much play the expected roles. Doyle’s more ready to kill people off than you might expect, but heroes are heroes, villains are villains, whites and Europeans have natural virtue, etc. The plot moves smoothly enough, but there’s not much to it, and it’s hard to generate a lot of interest. Not boring, necessarily, but predictable and at times offensive.
Unless you really, really, want to read all of Doyle’s books, skip this one.
April 21, 2021
El Korosko es el vapor inglés que iba por el Nilo río arriba el 13 de febrero de 1895, en la novela de sir Arthur Conan Doyle, paseando turistas ingleses, franceses y estadounidenses. Como es común en este tipo de novelas, dichos turistas van cargados de prejuicios, mal carácter y frases ingeniosas. Mientras miran los paisajes naturales y las viejas ruinas, se aproximan a los límites de los dominios europeos. Para ellos, Egipto es un atractivo papel tapiz en sus tardes de té. De hecho, no lo miran atentamente, es apenas un segundo plano para las remembranzas de sus mansiones llenas de jardines, es la oportunidad de sobrecogerse por un momento al pensar que allí, del otro lado del horizonte, comienza el país de lo ajeno. Pero aquel estremecimiento que parecía ser pasajero se cumple en esta historia, pues al llegar a los límites de su viaje, allá donde se alcanzan a ver siluetas amenazantes, son efectivamente secuestrados por un grupo de derviches y llevados a sus dominios con el fin de obtener un buen rescate por sus vidas. Por suerte, existen entre el grupo de derviches algunos fieles a los secuestrados. Uno de ellos, un derviche negro con la cara marcada de viruelas, se acerca hasta el grupo de cautivos para decirles: “Tippy Tilly”. ¿Qué es eso?, se pregunta el coronel Cochrane, uno de ellos. Luego de meditarlo, se dice: “Claro, en su chapurreo es lo más parecido a Egipty Artillery”. No mucho más allá llega el entendimiento de estos prisioneros por el mundo de sus captores. El líder de los derviches, Alí Wad Ibrahim, piensa que es demasiado trabajo llevar a estos cautivos a su ciudad si sus almas no valen nada. Así que les da la oportunidad de hablar una noche con el imán del grupo para que les hable de las ventajas del islam. Si después de esta conversación se convierten al islamismo, serán perdonados; en su defecto, serán fusilados. Esto sería lo más atractivo de la novela: los diálogos entre hombres mundanos del siglo XIX y la religión de Alá. Desafortunadamente, el novelista nos deja fuera estos conceptos, así que nos quedaremos sin saber qué se conversó en esa noche, aun cuando esas palabras no penetraron en el espíritu de los prisioneros, los cuales prefieren antes la muerte que abjurar de su religión. Mientras que a mí me pareció una lectura atractiva, documento para saber qué transformaciones ha tenido el horror por lo otro entre los europeos, a los contemporáneos de Conan Doyle seguramente les pareci�� algo decepcionante. Es una de las novelas escritas después de la muerte de Sherlock Holmes en las cataratas del Niágara, en 1893, y su resurrección en 1901, en la novela El sabueso de los Baskervilles. Sus novelas se vendían, pero secretamente se añoraba al famoso detective y al doctor Watson. El autor no lo dice, pero hasta estos turistas se aburren en las aguas del Nilo pensando que les gustaría que hubiera más aventuras de Sherlock Holmes…
Arthur Conan Doyle. La tragedia del Korosko / The tragedy of Korosko (1898), trad. Francisca Trepat.Barcelona, Laertes, 1986.
Arthur Conan Doyle. La tragedia del Korosko / The tragedy of Korosko (1898), trad. Francisca Trepat.Barcelona, Laertes, 1986.
January 8, 2022
For a while, I thought this was a novelization based on some true events. But the events within seemed a tad bit too dramatic and tropey, so I checked and confirmed that it is indeed fictional.
As a story, it is quite entertaining to read and would certainly leave you with certain things to reflect upon. The novel deals with the tribulations and self-discovery of a certain group of Westerners who are kidnapped by a bunch of Islamist Dervishes near the Nile. The masterful crafting of Doyle is unmistakable.
The novel gives you a feeling on how a Victorian British aristocrat may have viewed things around in the world - the very subtle endorsement for British imperialism, a rather illustrious character in the form of an upright British officer and Doyle's concerns regarding the religion of Islam.
Character (4/5),
Well-defined unique characters each having their roles in the story.
Setting (4.5/5)
It is set in Egypt and the descriptions paint a very vivid picture of the desert terrain, the picturesque landscapes as our characters travel around.
Plot (4/5)
Writing Style (4/5)
Easy to follow. Brings in anticipation and tension at the correct spots.
Value (3/5)
The value in this book lies in reckoning with Doyle's rather astute observations regarding faith and in the ways struggle and suffering can bring about change within oneself.
Total: 19.5/25
As a story, it is quite entertaining to read and would certainly leave you with certain things to reflect upon. The novel deals with the tribulations and self-discovery of a certain group of Westerners who are kidnapped by a bunch of Islamist Dervishes near the Nile. The masterful crafting of Doyle is unmistakable.
The novel gives you a feeling on how a Victorian British aristocrat may have viewed things around in the world - the very subtle endorsement for British imperialism, a rather illustrious character in the form of an upright British officer and Doyle's concerns regarding the religion of Islam.
Character (4/5),
Well-defined unique characters each having their roles in the story.
Setting (4.5/5)
It is set in Egypt and the descriptions paint a very vivid picture of the desert terrain, the picturesque landscapes as our characters travel around.
Plot (4/5)
Writing Style (4/5)
Easy to follow. Brings in anticipation and tension at the correct spots.
Value (3/5)
The value in this book lies in reckoning with Doyle's rather astute observations regarding faith and in the ways struggle and suffering can bring about change within oneself.
Total: 19.5/25
December 11, 2023
Μια πολύ ωραία έκπληξη μας επιφύλασσαν οι εκδόσεις Seλίνι, μεταφράζοντας στα ελληνικά το "Η τραγωδία του Κορόσκο", ένα όχι και τόσο γνωστό αλλά πάντως κλασικό στο είδος του μυθιστόρημα του Σερ Άρθουρ Κόναν Ντόιλ. Μόλις είδα ότι κυκλοφόρησε, το τσίμπησα και δεν άργησα πολύ να το πιάσω στα χέρια μου και να το διαβάσω, σε δυο μεγάλες καθισιές. Πρόκειται για μια ωραία, κλασική περιπέτεια στην έρημο, έτσι όπως τις έγραφαν κάποτε οι Βρετανοί συγγραφείς στις τελευταίες δεκαετίες του 19ου αιώνα. Είναι μια περιπέτεια που σε αρκετά διαφορετικά επίπεδα δείχνει τα χρόνια της, όμως διάολε εγώ μια φορά απολαμβάνω τα μάλα τέτοιου είδους ιστορίες, που διαδραματίζονται τα παλιά τα χρόνια σε μέρη μακρινά και εξωτικά, και τέλος πάντων εδώ μιλάμε για ένα έργο δια χειρός του Σερ Άρθουρ Κόναν Ντόιλ, έτσι; Απόλαυσα τα τοπία, τα σκηνικά, την όλη ατμόσφαιρα, ο συγγραφέας με την πένα του, με τις ζωντανές και ρεαλιστικές περιγραφές του, με την όλη σκιαγράφηση των χαρακτήρων και την αποτύπωση των τότε κοινωνικοπολιτικών δεδομένων, με ταξίδεψε στον χρόνο και με απόκοψε από την πεζή πραγματικότητα. Αντικειμενικά, δεν είναι κάτι το φοβερό και το τρομερό, σαν περιπέτεια δηλαδή δεν εντυπωσιάζει και τόσο πολύ πια τους σύγχρονους αναγνώστες, αλλά μια φορά εγώ πέρασα τέλεια διαβάζοντάς την, και για μένα αυτό έχει σημασία. Και η αλήθεια είναι ότι στα ελληνικά δεν κυκλοφορούν και πολλές τέτοιες περιπέτειες, που να έχουν γραφτεί τα παλιά τα χρόνια και να διαδραματίζονται σε ερήμους, ζούγκλες κ.λπ.
August 14, 2023
"The Tragedy of the Korosko" is a novel written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the famous author best known for creating the character Sherlock
Holmes. Peradventure, he wanted to write something different.
The novel was first published in 1898. Hence, you could be fooled into thinking that this book was written last year.
The story is set in the late 19th century and follows a group of British and American tourists who embark on a cruise aboard the steamship
"Korosko" for a journey up the Nile River in Egypt. The tourists are seeking adventure, but their trip takes a
dramatic and dangerous turn when they are kidnapped by a group of desert-dwelling Islamic fundamentalists terrorists.
The tourists, along with their Egyptian guides and crew, are taken captive and held in a remote desert oasis.
The Dervishes have a political agenda and are seeking to make a statement by targeting foreign tourists. They try to convert the
tourists into Islam or face death. This still happens today. There is a sense of cultural clashes.
I've always loved the European spirit even in the face of the adversity.
"The Tragedy of the Korosko" is considered one of Conan Doyle's lesser-known works.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The description of the desert was exquisite. The settling was lush and beautiful.
Holmes. Peradventure, he wanted to write something different.
The novel was first published in 1898. Hence, you could be fooled into thinking that this book was written last year.
The story is set in the late 19th century and follows a group of British and American tourists who embark on a cruise aboard the steamship
"Korosko" for a journey up the Nile River in Egypt. The tourists are seeking adventure, but their trip takes a
dramatic and dangerous turn when they are kidnapped by a group of desert-dwelling Islamic fundamentalists terrorists.
The tourists, along with their Egyptian guides and crew, are taken captive and held in a remote desert oasis.
The Dervishes have a political agenda and are seeking to make a statement by targeting foreign tourists. They try to convert the
tourists into Islam or face death. This still happens today. There is a sense of cultural clashes.
I've always loved the European spirit even in the face of the adversity.
"The Tragedy of the Korosko" is considered one of Conan Doyle's lesser-known works.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The description of the desert was exquisite. The settling was lush and beautiful.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews