Customer Reviews

Youth, a Narrative

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Youth" is one of Conrad's most famous and acclaimed stories though not in my view one of his best. It is certainly well worth reading, but the fact that it is in so many collections - e.g., Heart of Darkness and Selected Short Fiction or Typhoon and Other Tales - makes it difficult to justify purchasing a standalone, especially as some collections cost little or no more than this.

Like the better-known "Heart of Darkness," "Youth" is told by the character Marlow through another first-person narrator, but the plot is more akin to the symbolic, adventure-esque seafaring stories of prior Conrad. There is more traditional excitement and suspense than in most Conrad, especially later work, which may attract those who usually dislike his fiction. However, as nearly always with him, symbolism is the real point. As the title suggests, this is a tale about youth and all it stands for and arguably one of its best literary representations. Marlow recalls the excitement and elation he felt when he first captained a ship, fondly recalling exuberance and naïveté long since lost. However, as so often in such situations, nearly everything goes wrong, and youthful ideals are put to experience's harshly dramatic test. "Youth" is thus a sort of mini-bildungsroman, though Marlow's mad rush for the symbolic finish at the end of his story proper shows he learned very little at the time. However, he is now wiser and older, and retelling the old story brings several ambivalent feelings. He sees how much he has conventionally grown and learned but cannot help lamenting the loss of idealism that is possible only in youth and that steadily dissipates with age to the extent that it becomes hardly recognizable. Many will unfortunately relate strongly to this, and there is a good dose of Conrad's always beautiful prose and, very unusually for him, even a little humor. "Youth" would easily be most writers' masterpiece but lacks the scope, ambition, and style of Conrad's best works. Anyone interested in Conrad should read it, but not necessarily here.

While I agree with the other review on this site, by Bill R. Moore, which ranks Youth as a example of Conrad's most celebrated writings, I find it more to my personal taste than he does. It is many years since I first read it, but I still find it a remarkable short story.

I give it 5 stars for two reasons:

1. Any work of Conrad is outstanding. His command of English is made all the more impressive by the fact that he learned English as an addition to his maternal Polish. How great is that? In Youth he uses a voice less grave than that in Heart of Darkness or Typhoon, but that, it seems to me, is reflective of the youth and impressionable nature of his narrator. The view of the world is fresh; the adventure is all.

2. I find images and phrases from Youth creeping through from my subconscious so often that it has an almost magical grip on me. The yest exhibited by Marlow's young sailor narrator, when applied to almost any aspect of quotidian life, brings forth the glimmer of hidden gold.

When I think of, or reread, potions of Youth I am reminded of other quotations which illustrate the fleeting nature of life and our young fire.

"The bird of Time has but a little way

to flutter, and the bird is on the wing" - The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

and "We grow so soon old, so late smart." - Anon

P.S. I agree that Youth can be found in other collections, but it was on offer here for free the day I downloaded it. It is a wonderful story to have always at you finger tips.