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Victory (Penguin Classics)
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Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
Author: Joseph Conrad
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Average Customer Rating:
Our Price: $11.20
You Save: $ 2.80 ( 20% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
Author: Joseph Conrad
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Average Customer Rating:
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Victory (Penguin Classics) Description
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780140189780
ISBN: 0140189785
Label: Penguin Classics
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 416
Publication Date: 1995-11-01
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Studio: Penguin Classics
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780140189780
ISBN: 0140189785
Label: Penguin Classics
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 416
Publication Date: 1995-11-01
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Studio: Penguin Classics
Editorial Review of Victory (Penguin Classics)
Axel Heyst, a disenchanted Swede, becomes involved in the operation of a coal company on a remote island in the Malay archipelago. When that fails, he turns his back on humanity until, once again, he is drawn into contact with the world by a girl whom he rescues and bears off to his island retreat.
Customer Reviews of Victory (Penguin Classics)
Customer Rating: 
Review Summary: Good Story
Review: I'm no literary critic so excuse my terse review. I found the beginning of this book a little slow and disjointed. I almost put it down but fortunately kept reading. The second half of this book is more engaging than the first and more "exciting". It is a romance story including a battle between good and evil and the ultimate sacrifice for love. If you read Victory be patient and you will end up enjoying the story.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Paradise was lost forever
Review: "Victory" is not so much a conventional novel as a fable, with strong influences of the Bible, Milton's "Paradise Lost" and Shakespeare's "The Tempest". This story is absolutely marginal, that is, it occurs to people who inhabit the margins of the world, the margins of society, and within the margins of a common life. The characters also operate in one or the other of the two extremes of morality. Axel Heyst, a Swede son of a bitter and disenchanted philosopher, is extremely influenced by the parental way of thinking, to the point that he follows the advice provided by his dying father. When Heyst, disconcerted at the foot of the bed, asks him what is the proper way to live, Heyst senior answers: "Look on, and make no sound". So, after his father dies, Axel emigrates to the colonies in Southeastern Asia, where he makes a living as a merchant, coming and going about the islands. Heyst is a distant but kind guy, always with a smile on his face and willing to help others, but always refusing any kind of intimacy. One day, he enters a business about a coal mine with an associate, the death of whom (not a murder) he is later accused of provoking, which gives him a reputation throughout the islands as a mysterious, somewhat mischievous man. His main detractor is a hotel keeper, one Schomberg, a hateful, coward, and calumnious man. After the business goes broke, Schomberg escalates his tirades about "that Swede", slowly developing an irrational hatred towards him. Meanwhile, unaware of his reputation and of Schomberg's hatred, Heyst decides to stay on the remote island where the coal mine used to be, totally isolated from humanity, except for the silent and shadowy company of his servant, Wang.
One day, on account of old business affairs, Heyst travels to the island where Schomberg's hotel is, and stays there. There he meets a young woman who plays in a "ladies orchestra", managed by a sinister couple who practically treats their employees as slaves. The girl, Lena, tells Heyst that the hideous Schomberg has been sexually harassing her, and begs him to get her out of there. Heyst, attracted by the beauty and mystery of the girl, manages to smuggle her out of the hotel and take her to his island. This, of course takes Schomberg's hatred to extremes. A little time later, three criminals arrive to the hotel. They force Schomberg to host illegal gambling, and make his life hell, practically taking over the place. As the secretary of the boss (one Mr. Jones), Martin Ricardo, reveals their past (true or imaginary, but certainly scary), Schomberg comes up with an idea. He tells them that Heyst keeps vast amounts of money on the island. Ricardo convinces his boss to go there and assault him. He hides from his boss the fact that there is a girl, for Mr. Jones has an irrational hatred and fear of women. Meanwhile, Heyst and Lena lead a loving, peaceful life. It's easy to see here the metaphor of Adam and Eve. One day, the three thugs arrive, almost dead, and Heyst rescues and shelters them, but with a gloomy feeling of something bad to come.
It would be foolish to reveal anything more. The rest is a hair-rising game of psychological chess, where suspense and tension are almost unbearable. The intruders in Paradise and the primeval Man and Woman struggle to achieve their ends, in sequences of undescribable beauty and sadness.
As I said at the beginning, this is more a fable than a common novel. I think it is wrong to do what another reviewer here, Bruce Kendall (otherwise an excellent one) did: to concentrate on novelistic technique. Yes, the narrator begins by being a casual follower of the story, and ends by being omniscient. Yes, some of Heyst's and Lena's dialogues are almost corny. Yes, the allusions to Paradise Lost are too obvious. But that's not the content nor the point. This is a powerful, moving, unforgettable tale of innocence violated, of pure evil against goodness, of the pain stupid and useless people can inflict on persons who are only minding their own business. It is also a cautionary tale about the perils of isolation. About the dangers incurred on by giving up on people, on love, on trust. At some point, Heyst wishes he had learned to hope and to fight as a young man. So many subjects, the quality of character development, so beautiful a literature (you will find passages and sentences that are real poetry), make for a great piece of art. Joseph Conrad grows in time as one of the quintessential writers of history.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: One of My Favorite Books
Review: Joseph Conrad is my favorite novelist. His characters live and breathe and you don't just read about them, you keep company with them long after the book ends. You're not just reading a story, you are going on an adventure and after the last page is turned you have made a new friend. In this book especially you are brought up short about how Fate turns on the smallest detail and the knowledge that we must find something in life to sustain us other than getting what we want.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Great story and great art
Review: Conrad once again proves his excellence as both a storyteller and a stylist. The images and ideas of this book are sharp. I haven't stopped thinking about Victory since turning the last page. The villains are more fleshed out than the protagonists which makes for delicious reading.
Despite the small number of pages devoted to her, Lena is the focus of the story. Her victory provides the title of the novel. A symbol of strength and loyalty, Lena's actions speak of far more depth than a generic heroine. When she first encounters Heyst, she inspires his courage and re-ignites his contact with the world. A lesser author would have made her stunningly beautiful, but Conrad uses her inner-beauty to ignite the flame that Heyst and Ricardo find spellbinding. I believe that the smoldering volcano in the background of the story is a symbol of Lena.
While it is clear that there is underlying symbolism of Adam, Eve, and the garden, these symbols only have limited usefulness in examining Victory. Conrad uses these allusions to add depth and strength to the story, but the plot and themes of the story only vaguely follow biblical references.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Victory requires sacrifice
Review: Victory. Seven letters that seem so clear and simple to understand. Yet Conrad weaves a story around the meaning of this word that is beautiful yet tragic, clear yet confusing, delightful yet disasterous. Conrad intentionally creates these contradictions to remind the reader that life is not simple, and has many contradictions. Any victory requires sacrifice, and it is only at the end of Heyst's life that he understands this truth both intellectually and experientially. Victory is a must read, as it reminds the reader that love and freedom require sacrifice at some level. This is a message that is often lost in the age of cell phones, instant messaging, and video streaming.
Review Summary: Good Story
Review: I'm no literary critic so excuse my terse review. I found the beginning of this book a little slow and disjointed. I almost put it down but fortunately kept reading. The second half of this book is more engaging than the first and more "exciting". It is a romance story including a battle between good and evil and the ultimate sacrifice for love. If you read Victory be patient and you will end up enjoying the story.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Paradise was lost forever
Review: "Victory" is not so much a conventional novel as a fable, with strong influences of the Bible, Milton's "Paradise Lost" and Shakespeare's "The Tempest". This story is absolutely marginal, that is, it occurs to people who inhabit the margins of the world, the margins of society, and within the margins of a common life. The characters also operate in one or the other of the two extremes of morality. Axel Heyst, a Swede son of a bitter and disenchanted philosopher, is extremely influenced by the parental way of thinking, to the point that he follows the advice provided by his dying father. When Heyst, disconcerted at the foot of the bed, asks him what is the proper way to live, Heyst senior answers: "Look on, and make no sound". So, after his father dies, Axel emigrates to the colonies in Southeastern Asia, where he makes a living as a merchant, coming and going about the islands. Heyst is a distant but kind guy, always with a smile on his face and willing to help others, but always refusing any kind of intimacy. One day, he enters a business about a coal mine with an associate, the death of whom (not a murder) he is later accused of provoking, which gives him a reputation throughout the islands as a mysterious, somewhat mischievous man. His main detractor is a hotel keeper, one Schomberg, a hateful, coward, and calumnious man. After the business goes broke, Schomberg escalates his tirades about "that Swede", slowly developing an irrational hatred towards him. Meanwhile, unaware of his reputation and of Schomberg's hatred, Heyst decides to stay on the remote island where the coal mine used to be, totally isolated from humanity, except for the silent and shadowy company of his servant, Wang.
One day, on account of old business affairs, Heyst travels to the island where Schomberg's hotel is, and stays there. There he meets a young woman who plays in a "ladies orchestra", managed by a sinister couple who practically treats their employees as slaves. The girl, Lena, tells Heyst that the hideous Schomberg has been sexually harassing her, and begs him to get her out of there. Heyst, attracted by the beauty and mystery of the girl, manages to smuggle her out of the hotel and take her to his island. This, of course takes Schomberg's hatred to extremes. A little time later, three criminals arrive to the hotel. They force Schomberg to host illegal gambling, and make his life hell, practically taking over the place. As the secretary of the boss (one Mr. Jones), Martin Ricardo, reveals their past (true or imaginary, but certainly scary), Schomberg comes up with an idea. He tells them that Heyst keeps vast amounts of money on the island. Ricardo convinces his boss to go there and assault him. He hides from his boss the fact that there is a girl, for Mr. Jones has an irrational hatred and fear of women. Meanwhile, Heyst and Lena lead a loving, peaceful life. It's easy to see here the metaphor of Adam and Eve. One day, the three thugs arrive, almost dead, and Heyst rescues and shelters them, but with a gloomy feeling of something bad to come.
It would be foolish to reveal anything more. The rest is a hair-rising game of psychological chess, where suspense and tension are almost unbearable. The intruders in Paradise and the primeval Man and Woman struggle to achieve their ends, in sequences of undescribable beauty and sadness.
As I said at the beginning, this is more a fable than a common novel. I think it is wrong to do what another reviewer here, Bruce Kendall (otherwise an excellent one) did: to concentrate on novelistic technique. Yes, the narrator begins by being a casual follower of the story, and ends by being omniscient. Yes, some of Heyst's and Lena's dialogues are almost corny. Yes, the allusions to Paradise Lost are too obvious. But that's not the content nor the point. This is a powerful, moving, unforgettable tale of innocence violated, of pure evil against goodness, of the pain stupid and useless people can inflict on persons who are only minding their own business. It is also a cautionary tale about the perils of isolation. About the dangers incurred on by giving up on people, on love, on trust. At some point, Heyst wishes he had learned to hope and to fight as a young man. So many subjects, the quality of character development, so beautiful a literature (you will find passages and sentences that are real poetry), make for a great piece of art. Joseph Conrad grows in time as one of the quintessential writers of history.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: One of My Favorite Books
Review: Joseph Conrad is my favorite novelist. His characters live and breathe and you don't just read about them, you keep company with them long after the book ends. You're not just reading a story, you are going on an adventure and after the last page is turned you have made a new friend. In this book especially you are brought up short about how Fate turns on the smallest detail and the knowledge that we must find something in life to sustain us other than getting what we want.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Great story and great art
Review: Conrad once again proves his excellence as both a storyteller and a stylist. The images and ideas of this book are sharp. I haven't stopped thinking about Victory since turning the last page. The villains are more fleshed out than the protagonists which makes for delicious reading.
Despite the small number of pages devoted to her, Lena is the focus of the story. Her victory provides the title of the novel. A symbol of strength and loyalty, Lena's actions speak of far more depth than a generic heroine. When she first encounters Heyst, she inspires his courage and re-ignites his contact with the world. A lesser author would have made her stunningly beautiful, but Conrad uses her inner-beauty to ignite the flame that Heyst and Ricardo find spellbinding. I believe that the smoldering volcano in the background of the story is a symbol of Lena.
While it is clear that there is underlying symbolism of Adam, Eve, and the garden, these symbols only have limited usefulness in examining Victory. Conrad uses these allusions to add depth and strength to the story, but the plot and themes of the story only vaguely follow biblical references.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Victory requires sacrifice
Review: Victory. Seven letters that seem so clear and simple to understand. Yet Conrad weaves a story around the meaning of this word that is beautiful yet tragic, clear yet confusing, delightful yet disasterous. Conrad intentionally creates these contradictions to remind the reader that life is not simple, and has many contradictions. Any victory requires sacrifice, and it is only at the end of Heyst's life that he understands this truth both intellectually and experientially. Victory is a must read, as it reminds the reader that love and freedom require sacrifice at some level. This is a message that is often lost in the age of cell phones, instant messaging, and video streaming.