Almayer's Folly

Written by Joseph Conrad

Narrated by Geoffrey Howard

Set in Malaya, Almayer’s Folly is Joseph Conrad’s first novel. In it he charts the decline of a Dutch merchant after a twenty-five-year struggle against overwhelming odds. Unhappily married to a bitter and hateful Malayan wife, Almayer refuses to accept the financial ruin which he has precipitated. Instead, he dreams of fantastic wealth and a return to the civilization of his youth, accompanied by his loving daughter, Nina. Almayer’s Folly was published in 1895, and it became the first in a long series of novels and stories including Heart of Darkness, Lord Jim, The Secret Agent, Nostromo, Victory, and Under Western Eyes, which have distinguished Conrad in the top rank of English stylists. The romance and adventure of Conrad’s own life form the basis for his incomparable novels of the sea and the magical Eastern islands.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blackstone Audio
• Release date: Jan 1, 2006
• ISBN: 9780786139132

Joseph Conrad

Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) was a Polish-British writer, regarded as one of the greatest novelists in the English language. Though he was not fluent in English until the age of twenty, Conrad mastered the language and was known for his exceptional command of stylistic prose. Inspiring a reoccurring nautical setting, Conrad’s literary work was heavily influenced by his experience as a ship’s apprentice. Conrad’s style and practice of creating anti-heroic protagonists is admired and often imitated by other authors and artists, immortalizing his innovation and genius.

Reviews for Almayer's Folly

[thornton37814 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is one of Conrad's early novels, and I found the pace to be a bit slow for me. Conrad developed an excellent sense of place in the novel. One gets a feel for some of the customs of the region as well from the moment he agrees to marry Lingard's Malay daughter. It shows how this and other circumstances and choices led to his ruin. He seems to be driven by the desire to acquire wealth. Some of the characters lacked depth. Conrad's later novels are more engaging to the readers.

[dinadansfriend · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Of the Conrad Novels I have read, this one left the weakest impression on me. This study of the divergence of all the parties to an unhappy marriage is very careful work, but the twenty-year old me was not all that impressed. Perhaps the sixty-year old would now find this novel more engaging. It certainly was not a trip to the south seas of adventure.

[jeffome · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This one was a challenge for me.....I struggled initially with who all the characters were, especially with respect to names, titles, and positions in the social structure all being interchanged in the narrative......thus with confusing multiple references to the same characters, and with the significance of all the racial implications not readily clarified for me, I found myself puzzled a lot early on.....however, I persevered as always and the story eventually began to gel.......and a somewhat dark and sad tale it was.....hopes of riches dashed, living only for others without shared dreams and goals is a recipe for failure, and the bringing together of very diverse cultures to form a family can sometimes create insurmountable challenges. Somewhat interesting at best.....but that is all I can say.....a rare under 3 star rank for me.....proceed at your own risk.

[missizicks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Conrad's prose is beautiful. His understanding of human nature is complete. Almayer's Folly is a tragic tale of hopes thwarted by the hardship of life and the weak spirit of one man. Almayer's Folly is the name given to the house built by the titular hero to house his family and demonstrate his wealth and success. It is also the theme of his life - from presuming he would inherit the fortune of his boss by marrying his adopted daughter, to thinking he could throw that daughter off when he no longer needed her, and his belief that his position as the only white man on the east coast of Malaysia would secure his fortunes. He is a weak man, who can't rid himself of the angry woman who has been forced to marry, can't prevent his father in law from taking his own daughter from him, and ultimately can't make reparation with his only child. In the middle is a love story, told simply and perfectly. It's only a short book, but it properly filled my brain.

[schmerguls · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I read this when I was a senior in high school and made no mention of it one way or the other while I was reading it. I do not think I mush appreciated it since Conrad does not write down to his readers.

[lkernagh · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

After a bit of a slow start and being nagged by thoughts that this story seemed oddly familiar to me (even though I have never read anything by Conrad before now), I found this to be a rather interesting read. Conrad has a bit of the romantic in him, which comes through in this story. Conrad does a wonderful job capturing the exotic nature of a steamy tropical jungle in the Dutch East Indies, giving the feeling of separation from the rest of the world. This is kind of an anti-adventure story, given that Almayer’s attempts to gain wealth have been on-going for more than 20 years. Almayer’s continued attempts are those of a man obsessed and no longer in touch with reality, not the enthusiasm of adventuring heroes. The title is an apt one. Almayer’s life is one filled with folly, which seems to have started when he agreed to marry Lingard’s adopted Malay daughter. Every aspect of Almayer’s life is one of misdirection, lack of respect and unrewarding toil. Even the house he built on the river as a showcase for his dreamed of wealth is an unfinished ruin. Conrad’s attack on colonialism/resource-based imperialism runs counter to what one usually expects in an exotic adventure story. Conrad does a wonderful job charting Almayer’s decline. for this very reason, this is a rather dark story of human ruin. For a first novel, I found it to be rather well written, without any of the awkwardness or teething pains of a first time author.

[steve6clason · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Conrad's first novel, with an good sense of place (though as someone else noted, not so much of geography) and very interesting characters, not so well developed. Not bad (not bad at all) but I was left feeling like I didn't really get why characters were doing what they did.

[thorold_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This has been sitting on my shelves for many years, either unread or completely forgotten: I returned to it after reading Ocean Sea and wondering where Barrico got the name "Almayer". As Kennewell says, it's a beautifully written little book, sometimes a touch too poetic, perhaps, but it isn't too easy for a modern reader to identify with the subject-matter. It's probably more sexist than racist in the assumptions it asks us to make about the characters: Conrad makes it clear that Mrs Almayer's nastiness comes from the nature of her upbringing and the way she's been treated by white people, not from her race. But really, reading between the lines, we know that she's despicable because she's a woman who won't accept the submissive role the world sets out for her. Conrad doesn't even give her a name of her own...