The Arrow of Gold
by Joseph Conrad
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During his lifetime, Polish-born Joseph Conrad emerged as one of the masters of English prose. Best known for works such as The Heart of Darkness and Lord Jim, many of Conrad's tales focus on seafaring men and expeditions into unknown lands. The Arrow of Gold, one of Conrad's later works, follows and expands upon these themes, relating the tale of a young sailor who is drawn into the fight to seat Don Carlos de Bourbon on the Spanish throne..
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There's something unconvincing about the construction of this novel. At its heart it's a story of obsessive infatuation with a rich widow who supports the "Legitimist" cause of the Carlists during the disputes in Spain. A young gun runner "M. George", is the man involved.
Unfortunately, the approach to letting the reader into the narrative, and into some clarity as to motivations among the cast of characters, is oblique and unsatisfying.
The principal players are vaguely introduced and developed. Once they are established, vapid dialogue and a vague plotting never help to engage the reader.
Unfortunately, the approach to letting the reader into the narrative, and into some clarity as to motivations among the cast of characters, is oblique and unsatisfying.
The principal players are vaguely introduced and developed. Once they are established, vapid dialogue and a vague plotting never help to engage the reader.
In the last chapter, "Second Note", the author says discusses a book saying that it "might appear merely a lot of vapid verbiage in the morning." That's what this books seemed to be. I couldn't follow the story until the third part! It was not what I was expecting, since Joseph Conrad was a sea captain, & I expected a sea story, not a love story!
Monsieur George's new girlfriend turns into a disappointment.
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Publisher's Weekly Bestsellers Part I - 1895-1939
399 works; 8 members
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722+ Works 90,865 Members
Joseph Conrad is recognized as one of the 20th century's greatest English language novelists. He was born Jozef Konrad Nalecz Korzeniowski on December 3, 1857, in the Polish Ukraine. His father, a writer and translator, was from Polish nobility, but political activity against Russian oppression led to his exile. Conrad was orphaned at a young age show more and subsequently raised by his uncle. At 17 he went to sea, an experience that shaped the bleak view of human nature which he expressed in his fiction. In such works as Lord Jim (1900), Youth (1902), and Nostromo (1904), Conrad depicts individuals thrust by circumstances beyond their control into moral and emotional dilemmas. His novel Heart of Darkness (1902), perhaps his best known and most influential work, narrates a literal journey to the center of the African jungle. This novel inspired the acclaimed motion picture Apocalypse Now. After the publication of his first novel, Almayer's Folly (1895), Conrad gave up the sea. He produced thirteen novels, two volumes of memoirs, and twenty-eight short stories. He died on August 3, 1924, in England. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Original title
- The Laugh
- Alternate titles
- The Arrow of Gold: A Story Between Two Notes
- Original publication date
- 1919
- People/Characters
- Doña Rita; Captain Blunt; Monsieur George
- Important places
- Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
- Important events
- Third Carlist War
- Dedication
- TO
RICHARD CURLE - Original language
- English
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 384
- Popularity
- 81,224
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.48)
- Languages
- 8 — English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 83
- ASINs
- 35
