Rating: 
Summary: Secret Agent
Review: Again Conrad shows his adroitness at developing a plot. Not only was Conrad a gifted storyteller but he is equally adept at both charcater develpoment and descriptiveness. The Secret Agent is the story of a double agent who becomes a pawn,not only of the government he supposedly represents but with the British officials who have turned him. Trying to impress his handlers, he decides to plant a bomb that ends in tragedy for his own family.Conrad's portyal of anarchists as a bumbling lot with their own self serving agenda is the important point that is characteristic of all of Conrad's woks. The Secret Agent is not a stylishly written as Nostromo and lord Jim and is a bit faster paced. It also contains a somewhat comedic tone which is unlike Conrad's other works. What i appreciate most about Conrad is that he writes with all the talent and descriptiveness of other great authors but he is also a greta storyteller.
Rating: 
Summary: riveting
Review: The secret agent of the title is not a character you can root for but merely pity, as his rather bland vanity sets in motion not only a shocking tragedy but his own downfall as well. The disharmony right below the surface of his fragile, awkward family life finally explodes right about the time he sends his frail mother off to live by herself; the even bigger plot explosion to follow becomes a catalyst for the rest of the story's major events. Conrad's narrative style is often so dense you may lose track of what's going on, but you never lose track of the finely etched characters, whose motives here all cross paths over the same sad (and ultimately pointless) episode. Patient readers will be lulled into a heartbreaking tale whose story elements eerily parallel the terrorist schemes of today. But then again, terrorism isn't exactly a modern day nightmare. (It's been going on throughout history.) Overall, the heavy, thick writing magicially gives way to some very memorable and forlorn people, who never do get to realize their dreams. The clash of law and lawlessness, morality and indifference, and love and family loyalty, feature strongly on practically every page.
Rating:
Summary: entertaining and absorbing on multiple levels--NOT difficult
Review: This novel can be read as a psychological character study, as a political critique, or as a thriller. Each way it is thoroughly satisfying. Although it was written in 1904, its political premise closely parallels the situation the United States has been in since September 11, 2001. The ethically dubious "anti-terrorist" tactics of the foreign embassy that protagonist Verloc works for are essentially the "anti-terrorist" tactics of a certain 21st-century un-elected American president. This novel has twice been adapted into film, by the bye. There is a bowdlerized, squeamish, and ineffectual 1937 Alfred Hitchcock version, and there is a faithful and brilliant 1996 version starring Bob Hoskins, Patricia Arquette, Gerard Depardieu, and Robin Williams with music by Philip Glass. Re: "If you examine his sentences, he [Joseph Conrad] is without question, along with Theodore Dreiser, perhaps the worst constructor of sentences in the English language." Presumably, the author of this remark is not familiar with the works of pulp science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, for example, and has perhaps read no other newspaper but the New York Times for the past decade. In any case, I found "The Secret Agent" particularly well written, evocative, and easy to read. There were only three sentences in the entire novel that struck me as awkward, confusing, or unidiomatic. The one I remember is a line of dialogue: "Have you been waiting long here?" A 21st-century American would say, "Have you been waiting here long?". Possibly I've caught Conrad thinking in his native Polish here (or in his here native Polish), but for aught I know a Englishman in 1904 would have put it as Conrad has his character put it. In any case, the solecism, if solecism it be, is easily forgiven.
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece
Review: The beginning of The Secret Agent was a little disappointing to me, but that was mostly because of the style of writing. Although I do not feel this book was as good as Heart of Darkness, Conrad wrote an amazing finish. I felt myself thinking what might have happened, who the bomber may have been. Then when Conrad revealed my thoughts were correct, I felt shaken. Stevie's character had my pity and sympathy, and his end left me saddened. I felt Mrs. Verloc's only recourse would be to kill her husband, yet I was still surprised at her actions. I was almost surprised at how much she picked up from Mr. Verloc when she was in such a derranged state. But what Conrad does best in this novel is portray human emotions. He accurately described how many humans think, and how they react to traumatic situations. The last seventy pages of the novel more than make The Secret Agent worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Dark and Despairing, but Revealing and Insightful
Review: In _The Secret Agent_, Conrad takes an incisive look at post-Victorian England. Even as it emerged from the Industrial Revolution as Mistress of the World - the last and the greatest of the old, geographically-powerful empires, and one on which the sun never set - Conrad reveals the British culture to be at a cross-roads with itself. Morally and ideologically bankrupt, struggling to come to grips with its deep-seated past even as it looked despairingly into the future, this England is a mix of characters straight from a Dickens novel living in a world of drudgery and despair worthy of Kafka. The story focuses on Verloc, a secret agent who has outlived his time. Included in the narrative, as well, is the circle of naive and outdated visionaries and utopians with whom he comes into contact. The plot follows Verloc's stated task - the planting of a bomb at the Greenwich Observatory, a metaphor relating to the struggle of science versus ideology that cannot be missed. The end result bespeaks not the superiority of science over ideals, or vice versa, so much as it testifies to human weakness and fickleness. Above all, Conrad has written a psychological novel - a broad narrative that examines human motive and methodology against the backdrop of a city that hangs stubbornly on to the mores of the late Victorian Age. More poignant still, its citizens seek to find the meaning of their existence beyond the impersonal, mechanical demands of their place in society - and failing that, they seek to inject their own meaning and sense of purpose into the world around them. Accordingly, Conrad's analysis of the masks people wear is masterful and gripping. Seemingly rather pointless as far as plot development is concerned, _The Secret Agent_ was never meant to be a thriller and should not be read as such. Instead, it is a brilliantly ironic and incisive look at human nature and the lengths we will go to to preserve our perceived purpose in life. Read it and you will come away with a new sense of perception not only of yourself and those around you but also of the reality you live in. - Benjamin Gene Gardner
Rating:
Summary: withering
Review: Surely one of the greatest books I've ever read, The Secret Agent is a horrifying, oppressively bleak, vastly entertainly masterpiece that sets out to explain the absurdity of any form of political fanaticism. No one is justified in this novel and the pathetic results of the high-minded ideals of every character in the book unlines the nature of both order and anarchy. I do not wish to sully my reading experience with one of the usual, piece-by-piece soliloquys. Conrad is better than me--
Rating:
Summary: Powerful and despairing
Review: I must admit to having a love-hate relationship with Conrad. His novels possess an undeniable power, and I have read each of his novels with the utmost fascination. Yet, I can't say that actually reading a Conrad novel is an enjoyable experience. His vision of the world is a tad too bleak, his confidence in human nature way too despairing, and the overall atmosphere way too gloomy for me to derive pleasure from reading Conrad. Although not set in one of the exotic locales which we associate with Conrad, THE SECRET AGENT is both one of his finest and one of his most typical novel, with one exception. In most of his books, the plot revolves around situations which inevitably lead to tragedy and disaster, but in which a central character is often able to somewhat redeem his life by an act or acts of personal heroism. The feel is usually quite similar to that of Norse mythology, in which Gods and men will struggle at the end of the world against the forces of evil, but will lose. The challenge is to oppose the evil heroically. But in THE SECRET AGENT, the central character is anything but heroic, and is in no truly important way opposed to the powers of evil. I have to admit to being perplexed by claims that Conrad was a great prose stylist. I will confess that I find that with his prose, the sum is greater than its parts. If you examine his sentences, he is without question, along with Theodore Dreiser, perhaps the worst constructor of sentences in the English language. Perhaps having learned English only after reaching adulthood is to blame. Many of his sentences are grammatically opaque. Frequently his sentences are incomplete or badly constructed. Almost never does Conrad seem to sense the rhythm of the language. Perhaps this lack of rhythm is what many mistake for a great prose style. I have spent a fair amount of time in the secondary literature on Conrad, and so far I have yet to find a single Conrad scholar who felt that he possessed a command of the English language. The consensus seems to be that he is a great writer despite his struggle with the English language, not because of any mastery he possesses over it. Overall, I hold this to be one of Conrad's most important novels, on a par with UNDER WESTERN EYES, HEART OF DARKNESS, VICTORY, and NOSTROMO. Ironically, Alfred Hitchcock filmed a version of THE SECRET AGENT, but it was not the movie with the same name. Hitchcock's THE SECRET AGENT was actually based on Maugham's Ashenden stories (which Maugham says were based upon his own experiences as a secret agent; he claims to have been one of the more inept agents in history). Hitchcock's version of the Conrad novel was SABOTAGE. Hitchcock changed many of the details, and his religious beliefs never allowed him to engage in the despair one finds in Conrad (Hitchcock was a devout Catholic). Although his version resembles Conrad, it isn't a very faithful adaptation either in plot or in spirit.
Rating:
Summary: Marvelous, if you give it a chance
Review: I don't want to in any way be condescending, either to those who will read this review, or to those marvelous writers who have gone before, but I do think modern readers do not always approach older writing in the proper frame of mind. We need to remember that the only mass entertainment they had was novels, and the pace, because that's all there was in those days, is understandably slower. What modern writers would dismiss in a line or two might take a page or more for people like Conrad and Dickens. But, oh my, the places you can go, if you just consent to be seated in one of those old-time carriages! THE SECRET AGENT is certainly a case in point. Like all Conrad--for my tastes, at least--he was a bit difficult to read in places. Conrad really loaded up a sentence. But when he's on his form, he writes some of the best sentences ever crafted in English Literature. Other reviewers have given many of the plot points, so I won't repeat them here. Let me just say that I just finished reading the novel last night, and many of those images are still with me--epecially those in the last section of the novel. It was tough sledding in the beginning. Quite frankly, I found myself wondering why some consider this novel to be one of Conrad's finest, but there were enough of Conrad's marvelous sentences to keep me in the book. Then I got to the part where Winnie learned of her brother Stevie's fate, and Mr. Verloc's role in it, Verloc being Winnie's husband. From then to the end of the book it was a ride in a rocket! Conrad's depiction of Winnie's feelings, culminating in her own ghastly actions, must surely rank among the very finest scenes in literature. It was just astounding, especially when one considers that Conrad wrote at a time when women's thoughts and feelings were considered trivial, if they were thought of at all. But those passages that revolved around Winnie's reaction to Stevie's death could have been written yesterday, in the sense of getting down to how a woman in her place would feel. As for the sentences... well, only the masters wrote at that level, and Joseph Conrad is certainly one of these. If you're one of those avid readers who takes the time to read reviews like this, read THE SECRET AGENT. You won't be sorry you did.
Rating:
Summary: Crime and Punishment
Review: It is amazing how well this terribly story fits into nowadays reality. Terrorism, with all its hideous irrationality and contradictions is masterly depicted by Conrad. And so is human nature. Every single character is treated here as the center of his/her own universe, which results in wonderful psychological creations. From the very Mr Verloc -the secret agent- to an apparently insignificant cabman, all of them are given here the opportunity of redemption, since they are so humanly feeble. The author reaches this goal by arriving at numerous standstills where action seems to be suspended in the air while characters are sunk in deep reflection -or else are aided by Conrad's voice on account of their difficulties to express themselves. The whole story is encircled in a gloomy atmosphere that turns to be very difficult to escape from. It starts with Mr Verloc's visit to "the embassy" where he is assigned a mission to "justify" his work as secret agent. Being scornfully treated, he finds himself involved in a plot that leads him to take actions he would have never think of...wouldn't he...? Thus, his initial attempt to blow up the Greenwich observatory ends up in a dreadful tragedy whose unspeakable consequences had not been meant by his author. Although not easy to follow for the non-native reader, which is my case, this appalling and great story is really worthwhile. I am glad I have made the effort.
Rating: 
Summary: A Mixed Classic
Review: Many classics of literature seem destined to be either loved or hated by modern readers, as the many of the surrounding reviews attest. Personally, I fall somewhere in the middle on this one, while I can appreciate the book's satirical qualities and commentary on the ugliness of humanity and a morally bankrupt world, I found it choppy, at times tedious, and only occasionally funny. Conrad helped start the thriller genre (and apparently inspired Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski) with this tale of a small group of ineffectual anarchists and revolutionaries, their pseudo-leader Verlock and his family, and the attempt to destroy the Greenwich Observatory in London. Verlock is a small time pornography dealer who enjoys his uneventful family life as well as his personae as secret agent for a foreign power. His existence is thrown into turmoil when a new Russian control officer orders him to take some action or lose his status (and paycheck) as agent. Unable to convince any of his circle to take action, he rather predictably enlists his mildly retarded brother-in-law to carry a bomb to Greenwich. Conrad based the outlines of his plot on a real-life unsuccessful attempt to blow up the Observatory by a French anarchist, who apparently duped his dimwitted brother-in-law into carrying the bomb, which then exploded prematurely. The story was first published as a serial in the New York weekly Ridgeway's during 1906-07 and did not appear in book form until 1907. Its origin as a serial perhaps accounts for some of the choppiness in pacing, although some of the descriptive sequences are quite nice. The tone throughout is one of despair and bleakness (in this area one can see the seeds of noir style), as Verlock's wife is ensconced in a loveless marriage designed to provide her retarded brother and elderly mother with a stable and secure life. When the bombing goes awry, Conrad's cynical family unit implodes, as betrayals lead to murder and then suicide, the innocents are swept away in a tide of injustice. The story seems self-consciously melodramatic at the end and it's hard to feel any true sense of tragedy.
|
