Almayer's Folly
By:
- Synopsis
- The tale of a man's inability to escape his self-delusion and the tragic results that ensue, Almayer's Folly unfolds with the lush prose and keen psychological insights for which its author is renowned. Set in nineteenth-century Borneo, the novel recounts the brief rise and protracted fall of Kaspar Almayer, a Dutch merchant who has struggled for 25 years to practice his trade in the jungle. Only his daughter, Nina, brightens Almayer's embittered marriage to a Malayan, and he dreams of their triumphant return to civilization — a fantasy undermined by Almayer's own greed and prejudice. This tale of personal tragedy offers a wider perspective on the disastrous effects of colonialism, a view familiar to the author from the worldly wealth of experience he acquired in fifteen years of service as a merchant seaman. Conrad infused his first novel with many of the themes and settings that he would return to again and again in his later fiction: the clash of Western and Eastern cultures, the sovereignty of the natural world, and the consequences of cowardice and racism. A gripping and thought-provoking chronicle, Almayer's Folly abounds in the page-turning excitement that won Conrad his place among the greatest storytellers in English literature.
- Copyright:
- 1992
Book Details
- Book Quality:
- Publisher Quality
- Book Size:
- 144 Pages
- ISBN-13:
- 9780486153780
- Related ISBNs:
- 9780486426778
- Publisher:
- Dover Publications
- Date of Addition:
- 12/07/18
- Copyrighted By:
- Adult content:
- No
- Language:
- English
- Has Image Descriptions:
- No
- Categories:
- Literature and Fiction
- Grade Levels:
- Ninth grade
- Submitted By:
- Bookshare Staff
- Usage Restrictions:
- This book is in the public domain and is freely available to all.