‘It was a very, very long time since he had seen the sea—that sea that leads everywhere, brings everything, and takes away so much. He had almost forgotten why he was there, and dreamily he could see all his past life on the smooth and boundless surface that glittered before his eyes.’
Dutch merchant Kaspar Almayer dreamed of great riches in the forests of Borneo. Yet he never found the gold mine that he dreamed of and now spends his days hopelessly daydreaming of riches and splendour. One day, a Malay prince gave Almayer hope by promising to help him find the gold mine, but this hope eventually collapses around him under the weight of his own greed and prejudice.
Almayer's Folly, Joseph Conrad's first novel, is not only a powerful tale of personal tragedy but also a study of the evils of colonialism and their imprints on the human psyche.
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist widely considered to be one of the best novelists of his time. Writing during the peak of the British Empire and influenced by his own experiences as a merchant mariner, Conrad's writings often focus on the sea and reflect upon the effects of imperialism and colonialism in a European dominated world. He is most famous for his novella Heart of Darkness which eventually provided the inspiration for Francis Ford Coppola's film Apocalypse Now. His other famous novels include Lord Jim, Nostromo, and The Secret Agent.