great moments of truth, brilliant narration

I was more amazed by the penetration into the inner workings of the characters and the eternal truths captured indirectly in the development of background and scene than by the arc of the story itself, but this is certainly a superb novel. The audacious variation from character to character in the highly skilled narration impressed. Wonderful.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

A great story well told

I absolutely loved this. Conrad is a magnificent writer. The narration was excellent. I may listen again
Definitely one of the best I've listened to

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Rarely do you find a book of this quality and dept

This is a book of such depth, grace and passion. Despite being written in 1904, Nostromo still presents a fresh thought provoking story. The story starts slow but you will be rewarded by sticking with it and will come to the point where will not be able to put it down. The characters are of incredible depth and complexity and the story is timeless.

The narration is ideal for the story and is superb.

There is a reason this book is in the top 100 modern library choices, and this performance brings out the story in its fullness.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

a good reading, but I was distracted by the accent

I already knew the book well. Although this reading is highly praised, I did tire of the foreign accents after a while. I also found Mrs Gould's voice annoyingly weak. but these are minor matters in a good overall reading.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Disappointment

Walter Allen in ‘The English Novel’ says, “. . . . a good case could be made out for considering it the greatest novel in English of this century”. Arnold Bennett regarded it as ‘one of the greatest novels of any age”, Conrad’s biographer compared it to ‘War and Peace’ and F.R.Leavis admired it greatly, but I just don’t see it, I have to say. Of course, it is well written, but it would definitely not be in my ‘Top 10’.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

A MASTERPIECE

Audiobooks made this classic come alive. I could both sense and see the time and place, a masterful production -brilliant.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

The Master of Language

Conrad's masterful use of the English language is wonderfully interpreted by Nigel Anthony in his reading of Nostromo.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Loooong and not exactly interesting

I came into this book on the very flimsy foundation of its weak ties to the Alien movie franchise (re: Nostromo and Sulaco), so I wasn't sure what to expect. At face value it seems like a decent proposition: A post-colonial adventure drama set in a fictitious South American country, about the myriad problems a load of silver can bring such a society and individuals within it. But Conrad's writing style is very dry, his pacing somewhat archaic, even for the time. You get to know the characters very well, and to Conrad's credit they feel incredibly varied and well-realised, all of them with their own motivations, personalities, and faults. But in the end the length of Nostromo is what kills it for me. Compared to the much shorter Heart of Darkness, this story feels over-long and bloated, especially around the midway point. As such I would only recommend this to fans of historically significant literature and character-centric dramas.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Very difficult to engage with

Nigel Anthony's performance is average, not his best but far from poor. The story itself however is very hard to engage with. There's something lacking in the characters and story that was so evident and enrapturing in other Conrad books.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful