The Rescue [Hardcover]

Joseph Conrad (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 18, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0554308916 | ISBN-13: 978-0554308913

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The great Conrad's 1920 novel was one of the last to be published before his death four years later. The plot follows the mislaid plans of protagonist Captain Tom Lingard, who, on his way to help a native friend regain his land, falls in love with a married woman whose yacht he saves from floundering.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

12 1.5-hour cassettes --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 380 pages
• Publisher: BiblioLife (August 18, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0554308916
• ISBN-13: 978-0554308913
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 9.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,507,655 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lingards Dilemna, November 11, 2001

By 

Doug Anderson (Miami Beach, Florida United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Rescue: A Romance of the Shallows (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century) (Paperback)

The familiar Conrad hero Captain Tom Lingard(Outcast of the Islands) comes to the rescue of an English pleasure yacht that has foundered in the shallows just as war is about to break out between Malay tribes. Tom has war supplies including gunpowder stored in his own boat that has been turned into a fort and Tom's decisions will greatly effect the outcome of the war. Meanwhile though there is the English problem which Tom sees as being just that until he spies on board a lovely woman. Thats enough to distract our hero from his more pressing war time duties. Romantic Tom recalls Lord Jim and is in fact Jims brother, but he is not as complex or as troubled as Jim was so this is more a tale of pure adventure. External events take precedence over internal conflicts and so the adventure can be enjoyed for just that. Not one of Conrads most important works but still it exerts a lot of appeal. Anything by the best writer ever of sea and island tales is worth my time.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ponderous, Powerful, Prescient and definitely worth a read., November 4, 2008

By 

Mendicant Pigeon "Mendicant Pigeon" (pdx, or United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The rescue: A romance of the shallows (Collected edition of the works of Joseph Conrad) (Hardcover)

Conrad is one of those authors whose books I read years apart in order to make his oeuvre last the course of my lifetime, and because they are emotionally disturbing. This book is one that I would put in the same category as his book titled 'The Rover.' Although the themes of the two books are dissimilar, they pull upon the same heartstrings in their treatment of love, loyalty and duty.
'The Rescue' expands these themes beyond the merely personal and places them within the context of the clash of cultures; social, historical, and political.
Enough of pretentiousness. What happens is that a magnificent specimen of a man gets caught up in native intrigue in the Indonesian Archipelago as he seeks to make good on a promise made years ago to a native prince intent upon restoring his claim to the throne. Problems arise when the personal yacht of a British diplomat enroute from Manila to Singapore runs aground at precisely the spot where our hero's promise is to be kept.
Suffice it to say that the yacht and its contents become the objects of desire to all the parties involved for various conflicting reasons.
Resolution of these conflicts invariably ends in tragedy, as Conrad himself predicts numerous times in the course of his narration.
Anyone who has been smitten by love at first sight will find this story especially engaging and sad and wonderful.
I take especial pleasure in Conrad's wonderfully improbable sentence structure and eccentric word play. His are the only sentences that I can take pleasure from reading repeatedly to myself in order to fully appreciate or comprehend the thought being conveyed.
I call this novel prescient because it appears obvious to me that F. Scott Fitzgerald borrowed heavily from this book when writing 'The Great Gatsby,' as the underlying themes of the two books are too similar and non-universal for there not to be a connection. Read them both and see if you don't agree.

2.0 out of 5 stars Trying to get to the plot, November 22, 2011

By 

glitzgirl - See all my reviews

This review is from: The rescue: A romance of the shallows (Paperback)

I have read some of Joseph's books, but was entirely bogged down in this. I found it to be very verbose. I can manage some descriptions but felt this was entirely overdone. I am only 25% through the story and can barely find the plot among all the words. I am not sure I will complete it, although from previous reviews it appears to be worthwhile. I'm not certain I will make it.