The Shadow-Line: A Confession (20th Century Classics)

Rating:
Summary: Good but not the best Conrad
Review: As a true Conrad lover I must say that this is a very ggod read though not among Conrads greatest (Nostromo, the secret agent). To focus on the good points: it is less wordy than lesser works like Victory and has the (expected) cast of strongly drawn characters. The story seems a bit slow (doesn't Conrad always?) and Conrad readers may have a sense of dèja vu, but he lets the content develop out of the story and less from philosophical meanderings (cf. Victory again).

The Shadowline is a good introduction to Conrad (either this or Heart of Darkness), but the master has given us better things

Rating:
Summary: Crank the Windlass and set sail
Review: I enjoyed reading about the main characters experience of crossing the line from youthfulness into true adulthood. Conrad's eloquent, descriptive, and almost surreal writing style allows the reader to almost experience the stagnation, heat, and frustration that envelop the characters in this book. Perhaps not Conrad's best book, but certainly a good read, and it is quite short and to the point. Especially if you have an affinity for sailing and the power and majesty of the sailing vessels of old. I have always felt that there is a certain amount of effort required to enjoy Conrad's books, but I also feel that this, in a sense, is directly proportional to effort in life. The more you put in, the more you get out.

Rating:
Summary: Oh the Humanity!
Review: If you are ever aboard a ship with Mr. Conrad as it's captain, and you happen to notice a dead madman playing a violin while frantically following the vessel from beneath the stagnant waters of the South Asian seas, then get the H#ll off the boat before you and your crew start dropping like flies.
To me this novel was leagues better than Heart of Darkness. It's obvious that Joseph knew a thing or two about Human behavior as well as how to frighten the trousers off readers.

Rating:
Summary: The Shadow-line : a war novel ?
Review: Many critics like to categorize novels, authors in boxes. My thought is that the Shadow-line is a novel apart. The first world war is obliquely alluded in this novel, like a Kurt Vonnegut did for the second world war in his Slaughter's house five. This is not the easier of Conrad's novel to read, though it looks like a bildungsroman at first glance. Other oblique subjects lye behind the plot and the words. A must-have !