Finished Conrad's Chance today. It isn't in the same league as Nostromo, The Secret Agent, Under Western Eyes and Heart of Darkness, but it's definitely hovering at the top of the second division of the works of the great modernist. This reader really fell for Flora, once he'd grasped her plight, and my guess is that Conrad's early readers felt the same way. I was genuinely relieved that the outcome of the novel can be seen as a reasonably happy one, despite the attendant melancholy. Must say, I also liked the way that Mister Powell's role in the story worked out - unexpected but fitting. Helped considerably in explaining the seemingly slow start to the novel and the curious indirectness of its opening.
It further struck me that Floral's father, de Barral, was a wonderfully convincing villain, and brilliant portrait of a financial speculator - worthy of Dickens, with less of the melodrama.
No comments:
Post a Comment