Three Sea Stories: Typhoon, Falk, and the Shadow-Line (Wordsworth Classics) [Paperback]

Joseph Conrad (Author)

Book Description

Series: Wordsworth Classics | Publication Date: December 5, 1999

Edited and with an Introduction by Dr Keith Carabine, Chairperson of the Joseph Conrad Society of Great Britain As these three specially commissioned stories amply demonstrate, Conrad is our greatest writer of the sea. His characters are tested by dramatic events 'that show in the light of day the inner worth of a man, the edge of his temper, and the fibre of his stuff; that reveal the quality of his resistance and the secret stuff of his pretences, not only to others but also to himself'. In Typhoon, Conrad's funniest story, Captain MacWhirr blunders into a hurricane that reveals the sea's treachery, violence and terror. Falk is desperate to get married, but first he must tell of his terrible experiences as sole survivor of a stricken ship that once drifted into the ice-caps of Antarctica. The Shadow-Line is a poignant and beautiful story. Written during the First World War and based on Conrad's fond evocation of his own first command, it expresses his solidarity with all who were obliged to cross in early youth the shadow-line of their war-torn generation. Includes a glossary of nautical terms.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Wordsworth Editions Ltd (December 5, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1853267430
• ISBN-13: 978-1853267437
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,646,046 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The unexpected influences of the hour, September 14, 2007

By 

Luc REYNAERT (Beernem, Belgium) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Three Sea Stories: Typhoon, Falk, and the Shadow-Line (Wordsworth Classics) (Paperback)

These stories give an eminent picture of Conrad's craftsmanship in building short tales and in brushing a vitally true portrait of live on the sea. For him, `the sea is the only world that counted' and ships `the test of manliness, of courage and fidelity - and of love.'

`Typhoon' relates the brutal battle between a ship (and its crew) against the combined forces of raging winds and water. The violent struggle for survival sharpens the already strained relations between friends and foes within the crew and the passengers (Chinese coolies).
In `Falk: A Reminiscence', the storyteller becomes a match-maker between a German girl and a `cannibal'. Cannibalism was forced on him by the cruel sea, which has `no respect for decency. An elemental force is ruthlessly frank.'
In `The Shadow Line' (`warning one that the region of early youth must be left behind'), the storyteller relates his first job as a captain: `a ship, spellbound, unable to live, to get into the world (till I came), like an enchanted princess.' The journey becomes a nightmare with a sick crew, no medicines and no wind. After the voyage, `well I am no longer a youngster.'

In these stories, the elemental forces of nature are combined with professional and emotional frontal collisions between crew members at all levels and even with jealous bureaucrats. `Human nature is, I fear, not very nice right trough. There are ugly spots in it.'

Not to be missed.