Victory

Rating:
Summary: One of Conrad's best novels, if not one of his best known.
Review: Victory is the story of a man named Heyst who leads an isolated life in the South Pacific. However, he is drawn out of his isolation when he brings a woman to his island home. A chance encounter between a dishonest German who dislikes Heyst and two criminals sets up the dramatic ending. Conrad's style is as fluid as in his better known books, such as Lord Jim, and it is amazing that someone could write English so well who did not learn it until later in life and who always spoke it with a heavy Polish accent. Victory is similar to Conrad's other works in that the plot flirts with melodrama, but always is rooted in realism. Those who read the book will find the title apt.

Rating:
Summary: Distance and closeness and a way to bridge the gap.
Review: _Victory_ is the first Conrad that I have read since reading _Heart of Darkness_ and _The Secret Sharer_ in high school. I was unsure what to expect before I picked up the book. In any case, I didn't expect it to be what it was-- so contemplative and so concerned with notions of isolation and the ability to act.

Despite the abstract themes, the book is neither slow nor unreadable. An adventure story wraps the whole thing up:

A recluse on a deserted island breaks his solitude and rescues a girl from a life with a semi-shady gang. This act of kindness starts a chain of events that brings violence and change to his small world.

The story moves along nicely, and you can read for the plot even if you are uninterested in the bigger issues the book raises. I found that I was interested in them. Heyst (the main character) has been infected by his father's skepticism and analytical viewpoint and never manages to find a way after that to engage with the world or other people in it. His few attempts at engagement are awkward and almost unwilling.

Everybody in the book is to some degree isolated. Wang removes himself from Chinese society to go native. Mrs. Schomberg is locked behind her mask of fear. Mr. Jones and Ricardo are set apart because of the obsessive fear the Gentleman has of women. Alma/Magdalena/Lena is set apart by her past. Everybody is trying to connect, but (with the exception of Lena) always on their own terms and always within limits.

It's tempting to read Conrad's own background and separations into the mix, but I'll leave that to the Conrad scholars.

Worth reading.