Rating: 
Summary: a fascinating and hopeless account of revolutionaries
Review: This is a bitter and brutal book. Conrad is not an easy read, but this book is probably one of his most accessable and my own personal favorite. Written in 1904 its prophetic content amazes with the accuracy of its narrative. It focuses on the absurd country of Costaguana, a small Central or South American nation constantly changing governments through bloody revolutions and constantly being plundered by foreign interests (The United States, England and France). and how these interlopers assist the revolutions and help to slaughter the citizens so they can exert even more control over the nations through puppet dictators that are overthrown by more agreeable puppet dictators, and on and on and on, ad infinitum. No single character has a happy outcome, no one seems to ever experience joy as greed and power-hunger and passion and lust and paranoia corrupt every one in their own unique ways. Mandatory reading for anyone wishing to understand Central American dictator! ! ships and how life in countries like Guatemala or Nicaragua got to be so helpless and cruel. A masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: The creation of a world with real humans
Review: This magnificent novel is proof of the importance of character-development in literature. As I have said several times in these reviews, the main reason why a book of fiction becomes a classic is that it can be interpreted from different -even opposite- points of view.Plus, you have a wonderful tale of political intrigue, adventures in the sea, romance, decadence and violence, set in a fictional South American, exotic nation with a lush subtropical landscape, and you are in for a treat. And Conrad is simply excellent at crafting sentences that you will remember. The plot: Costaguana is in the middle of political upheaval. Sulaco, the Western province, is rich and relatively peaceful, thanks to the asset represented by the San Tomé Mines, rich in silver. When the town is in danger of being seized by corrupt rebel forces, the need arises to save the most recent lot of silver. Nostromo, an Italian of great prestige and courage who works at the docks, is charged with the responsibility to save the silver. He will be assisted by Decoud, an expatriate who has come back in search of the woman he loves, but who has become entangled in politics. The chapters about their escape aboard a small boat, in the darkest night, are impressive. From then on, everything will be adventure, intrigue and violence. The tension builds up excitingly, and at the end, what has to happen happens. The magical side of this novel is that Conrad creates a whole country, with its history, geography, society. As I said before, the development of the characters is excellent. We get to know the Gould house just as well as the inhabitants (and you can't help desiring to have met Mrs. Gould); we know the story of Dr. Monygham (for me, the real hero of the novel), of Don José Avellanos and his daughter, of Decoud, of Giorgio Viola. Curiously enough, the most enigmatic person is Nostromo himself (and certainly not the most likable): all we know is that he's arrogant, brave, smart and insufferably vain. But don't worry, he'll get what he deserves. By the moment it happens, you will have enjoyed a tropical tale of epic proportions, full of well-rounded, complete personalities competing for power, money, love or honour. The novel is rich with revealing passages, among them, besides the escape in the dark: Nostromo and the Doctor's dialogue as a high point in the tension of the book; Nostromo's awakening after returning to land, surely the most beautifully written chapter; and the final confrontation. Great book.
Rating: 
Summary: A great story about a revolution caused by some silver mines
Review: This took place in a small South American state. It all atarted when some people threatened to attack some silver mines, and take all the silver. Nostromo was the people's man. He was to hide all the silver so that nobody could still it.
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