Joseph Conrad
1904
Around 550 pages
Okay, I realize the above picture isn't the Nostromo we are talking about, but if I get the chance to pay homage to Alien, I take it.
Nostromo is set in Costaguana, a fictional South American country that is likely based on Colombia. Charles Gould is a native Costaguanian (Costaguaner? Costaguanic? Whatever, he is from Costaguana) who owns a silver-mine. He enlists Nostromo, a daring Italian longshoreman, to protect his silver from local warlords by transporting it offshore.
It was kind of difficult writing that summary, because Conrad takes a little while to get to what I would call the main plot of novel. There's something about Conrad's prose that is tedious to me, I'm not sure what it is. I am always ready to be taken on a swash-buckling adventure and somehow he never seems to take me there.
Still, I can see the appeal for people who want something gritty and real. It's also an interesting setting, and there are some memorable characters here.
Not a favorite, but deserving of its place on the List.
RATING: ***--
Interesting Facts:
F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, "I'd rather have written Nostromo than any other novel."
47 on Modern Library's list of 100 best English language novels of the 20th century.
UP NEXT: Where Angels Fear to Tread by E.M. Forster. I have always wanted to read more of him so I am looking forster to this. Geddit? ... I haven't left my apartment in a long time.
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