Within the Tides [Paperback]

Joseph Conrad (Author), 1stWorld Library (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2004

Purchase one of 1st World Library's Classic Books and help support our free internet library of downloadable eBooks. Visit us online at www.1stWorldLibrary.ORG - - In the private editorial office of the principal newspaper in a great colonial city two men were talking. They were both young. The stouter of the two, fair, and with more of an urban look about him, was the editor and part-owner of the important newspaper. The other's name was Renouard. That he was exercised in his mind about something was evident on his fine bronzed face. He was a lean, lounging, active man. The journalist continued the conversation. "And so you were dining yesterday at old Dunster's." He used the word old not in the endearing sense in which it is sometimes applied to intimates, but as a matter of sober fact. The Dunster in question was old. He had been an eminent colonial statesman, but had now retired from active politics after a tour in Europe and a lengthy stay in England, during which he had had a very good press indeed. The colony was proud of him.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This 1915 volume contains the four short pieces "The Planter of Malata," "The Partner," "The Inn of the Two Witches," and "Because of the Dollars." Throughout, the great Conrad displays his masterly use of the language and his understanding of the human mind and soul. All public and academic libraries will want a copy.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

8 1-hour cassettes --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 236 pages
• Publisher: 1st World Library - Literary Society (December 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595406697
• ISBN-13: 978-1595406699
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Four Tales of "Men Who Go to Sea or Live on Lonely Islands", June 10, 2003

By 

James Paris "Tarnmoor" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Within the Tides (Paperback)

These are not Conrad's most famous stories: Until I read the book, I had not heard of any of them. Nonetheless, this is one author whose worst work is better than most others' best. On a recent plane trip to Seattle, I found two of the four stories merely diverting, and the other two equal to his best.

"The Partner" is a grim tale of human weakness spiralling down to a predictable horror; whereas his humorously baroque "The Inn of the Two Witches" reminds me in its tone of Washington Irving in LEGENDS OF THE ALHAMBRA, though set in a later time period.

What happens when you fall so deeply in love so fast that you can't act to save your life? Conrad gives his answer in "The Planter of Malata," in which a successful loner named Renouard confronts the yawning vastness of an empty life. Felicia Moorsom is a bit two-dimensional and a prim and proper Victorian to the nth degree. This tale is a psychological thriller that does not let you breathe until the last line.

The final tale -- "Because of the Dollars" -- is my favorite. It reminds me of ALMAYER'S FOLLY and OUTPOST OF THE ISLANDS with its shallow-draft vessels penetrating into the heart of remote islands. Captain Davidson is a classic Conrad hero caught in a trap: How he manages to escape it at the cost of a wife who doesn't love him and, by the way, his ability to smile is one of the author's most perfectly taut stories.

It is amusing to read Conrad's preface to the stories: He seems to be wincing excessively in response to early criticism after circulating the stories to his friends. Needless to say, his friends were over-critical: WITHIN THE TIDES struck me as a treasure that I had somehow overlooked all these years.