The End of the Tether

Rating:
Summary: For die-hard Conrad fans only
Review: And I thought I WAS a die-hard Conrad fan! He's one of those writers by whom I must read a book every two or three years -- but this one I did not like at all. Despite the usual brilliant prose, much of it as good as anything Conrad has done, "Tether" is a let-down -- astoundingly depressing! Most Conrad work posits a world that is inimical and uncaring, yet holds out hope that courage and integrity will serve to help us endure it all; "Tether" holds out no such hope. It concerns a captain who continues to pilot his ship even though he is legally blind, doing so in order to provide for his family. Nothing turns out okay, and no one ends up happy. I don't ask for a lot of hope from the books I read -- but at least a little!

Rating:
Summary: For die-hard Conrad fans only
Review: And I thought I WAS a die-hard Conrad fan! He's one of those writers by whom I must read a book every two or three years -- but this one I did not like at all. Despite the usual brilliant prose, much of it as good as anything Conrad has done, "Tether" is a let-down -- astoundingly depressing! Most Conrad work posits a world that is inimical and uncaring, yet holds out hope that courage and integrity will serve to help us endure it all; "Tether" holds out no such hope. It concerns a captain who continues to pilot his ship even though he is legally blind, doing so in order to provide for his family. Nothing turns out okay, and no one ends up happy. I don't ask for a lot of hope from the books I read -- but at least a little!