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A review by margot_meanders
Almayer's Folly: A Story of an Eastern River by Joseph Conrad
4.0
I am rereading all Conrad's works this year, because it HAS been a while. Rereading is a good measure of how we progressed in terms of personal growth, whether what we see and notice is different
Starting with Almayer's Folly, a story about a Dutch trader and his failed ambitions but also so much more.
Kaspar Almayer is a trader in the jungle of Borneo who has never seen his native Europe but idealises it as a a paradise almost. Tom Lingard, known as the King of the seas, uses him for his purposes: marries Almayer off to a Malay girl he rescued, and promises a gold mine of riches, for the finding of which he uses Almayer's money. Except he eventually disappears never to be heard from again. Almayer is left to his own schemes- sends his daughter Nina to Singapore, dreams of the British, gets driven out of business by an Arab, finds himself in conflict with the local chief Rajah Lakamba but most of all he wants to take Nina and go live in his perfect Europe. The Dutch don't really care about him. All his ventures fail, and it's symbolised by his unfinished house- his "folly". Then he finds an ally in Dain Maroola, a noble from Bali but Dain and Nina fall in love, which puts an end to Almayer's plans. All he's got left is his unfinished house- Folly.
The novel is adventurous. Conrad wanted to carve out a new region in fiction in the style of Kipling and Stevenson. It signals his later themes and is in itself a story with complex human relations and Conrad's understanding of human nature. Almayer has strong prejudices against marrying Lingard's adopted daughter, he also considers Dain not good enough for his daughter. He doesn't understand his wife and he hates her. On her part, Mrs Almayer has her own perspective on being "saved" by Lingard. She has a voice and agency to show what it actually meant for her and it's not as simple as bring rescued. Almayer's makes the mistake of not asking why Nina, his daughter of mixed roots, ends up escaping Singapore and he seems unable to imagine what life must have been for her there, even when he gets hints about it. Nina is a strong character, she carves a path for herself. Arabs, Malays, Europeans share similar vices, desires and ambitions in this story. It's possible to sympathise with Almayer too and it's always striking to me how Conrad's characters are strangers to their own cultures, in this case Nina and Almayer and Almayer's wife, although both Nina and her mother quickly adapt, whereas Almayer cannot. Thetrs a multitude of perspectives and each character is driven by their one desires. Almayer cannot escape , for Nina there's still a chance.
It's not a novel to be overlooked in my opinion. Nina has always been a favourite of mine.
Starting with Almayer's Folly, a story about a Dutch trader and his failed ambitions but also so much more.
Kaspar Almayer is a trader in the jungle of Borneo who has never seen his native Europe but idealises it as a a paradise almost. Tom Lingard, known as the King of the seas, uses him for his purposes: marries Almayer off to a Malay girl he rescued, and promises a gold mine of riches, for the finding of which he uses Almayer's money. Except he eventually disappears never to be heard from again. Almayer is left to his own schemes- sends his daughter Nina to Singapore, dreams of the British, gets driven out of business by an Arab, finds himself in conflict with the local chief Rajah Lakamba but most of all he wants to take Nina and go live in his perfect Europe. The Dutch don't really care about him. All his ventures fail, and it's symbolised by his unfinished house- his "folly". Then he finds an ally in Dain Maroola, a noble from Bali but Dain and Nina fall in love, which puts an end to Almayer's plans. All he's got left is his unfinished house- Folly.
The novel is adventurous. Conrad wanted to carve out a new region in fiction in the style of Kipling and Stevenson. It signals his later themes and is in itself a story with complex human relations and Conrad's understanding of human nature. Almayer has strong prejudices against marrying Lingard's adopted daughter, he also considers Dain not good enough for his daughter. He doesn't understand his wife and he hates her. On her part, Mrs Almayer has her own perspective on being "saved" by Lingard. She has a voice and agency to show what it actually meant for her and it's not as simple as bring rescued. Almayer's makes the mistake of not asking why Nina, his daughter of mixed roots, ends up escaping Singapore and he seems unable to imagine what life must have been for her there, even when he gets hints about it. Nina is a strong character, she carves a path for herself. Arabs, Malays, Europeans share similar vices, desires and ambitions in this story. It's possible to sympathise with Almayer too and it's always striking to me how Conrad's characters are strangers to their own cultures, in this case Nina and Almayer and Almayer's wife, although both Nina and her mother quickly adapt, whereas Almayer cannot. Thetrs a multitude of perspectives and each character is driven by their one desires. Almayer cannot escape , for Nina there's still a chance.
It's not a novel to be overlooked in my opinion. Nina has always been a favourite of mine.