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anti_formalist12's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
addieweaver's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
kismazsola's review against another edition
3.0
Hirtelen felindulás volt, a LibriVox dobta fel, mint Bellona Times felolvasását. Arra is kíváncsi voltam, hogy ugyanolyan nehezen hallgatható-e, mint Maugham [b: Rain|18794066|Rain|W. Somerset Maugham|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1385948912l/18794066._SX50_.jpg|65291740]-je (spoiler: igen) vagy ott még csak meg volt szeppenve. Azon kívül Conradról még nem hallottam, épp itt volt az ideje elkezdeni az ismerkedést, még ha csak egy elbeszéléssel is.
Nem fogott meg annyira, mint Maugham, valószínűleg azért, mert nem tudott/akart olyan jól karaktereket írni. Viszont atmoszférát teremteni Conrad is nagyon jól tud, bár inkább egyfajta kollektív hozzáálláson, nem az individuum milyenségén keresztül. Valójában mind a falu lakói, mind a hajótörött egy élethelyzetet, életmódot képviselnek. Senkinek nincs személyisége. A címadó Amy Foster pedig az a tehetetlen női karakter, aki bár ott van hídként a két életmód között, valójában nem tud javulást előidézni. A nemzeti érzések, a lokálpatriotizmus és az ismeretlentől, másmilyenségtől való félelem kiteljesedését láthatjuk ebben az elbeszélésben. Külön „csavar”, hogy egy falubeli névtelen valakinek a narrációjában, akiről nehéz eldönteni, hogy valójában mit gondol a helyzetről. A végső tragikum persze elkerülhetetlen. Nem is tudom, láttam-e már vidám elbeszélést…
lemeilleurs's review against another edition
3.0
zoemcl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
epic_maik's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
jola_g's review against another edition
3.0
What is the difference between this short story and the other five books by Joseph Conrad I have read so far? Amy Foster is much more romantic and melancholy, it brims with emotions. At first sight, it is a moving tale of a shipwreck survivor's attempts to integrate with the local community. Actually, there is much more.
I had the impression Conrad weaved into the story many autobiographical experiences, his nostalgia and longing for Poland. It was not difficult to detect quite a few similarities between Yanko Goorall and the author himself who must have often felt like a man transplanted into another planet also. Conrad emigrated to the United Kingdom in his teens and at first, did not speak English at all.
Apparently, the linguistic aspect seems to be important in Amy Foster. The communication barrier between the strange, repulsive foreigner and the villagers is often emphasized: his broken English resembled anxious baby-talk. I know from the author's son's memoir, [b: Joseph Conrad: Times Remembered|7258542|Joseph Conrad Times Remembered|John Conrad|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347509329l/7258542._SY75_.jpg|8312538] that the writer's pronunciation was a bit ridiculous too, even when he learnt English perfectly. I guess his interlocutors' reactions were not always friendly, like the villagers' in the story. A lot of his own humiliation, anger and exasperation must have been depicted in Amy Foster.
The autobiographical layer is just one of a few possible interpretations. Conrad delves into the contrast between the mentality of the West and the Slavonic countries in many aspects. Besides, Amy Foster is an account of a painful clash between a down-to-earth, primitive crowd and a sensitive, very emotional person. As you can guess, the reaction to the weird stranger was far from warm at first.
I appreciated the author's literary mastery and his remarkable writing style in this short story, its heartbreaking atmosphere, but I faced a problem. I kept repeating to myself constantly, like a mantra, that it is not fair to judge Conrad by our norms, that some things were different 121 years ago. Notwithstanding, I find his misogynism intolerable. As it irritated me in his other books also, it must be a constant element of his repertoire. I was so curious and hopeful to see a female name in the title of this short story and wished that Amy Foster would break the spell.
Well, my happiness didn't last long and it was dashed by the way Amy Foster was portrayed. The keyword in her characterization is dull:
I had the time to see her dull face, red, not with a mantling blush.
“She seems a dull creature,” I remarked listlessly.
“‘Please, sir, nobody seems to care to come,’ she muttered, dully resigned all at once.
Ah! but you should have seen stirring behind the dull, blurred glance of these eyes the spectre of the fear.
His memory seems to have vanished from her dull brain as a shadow passes away upon a white screen.
Quite a lot for 48 pages, isn't it? If you still did not grasp that Amy Foster was dull, just in case, Conrad reminds us about the inertness of her mind—an inertness that one would think made it everlastingly safe from all the surprises of imagination.
I am aware that most probably Amy symbolizes the unpredictability, irrationality and complexity of human nature but the intensity of the author's aversion was truly creepy. I am afraid, I need another break with Joseph Conrad.
Allan Douglas Davidson, The Castaway.
paulataua's review against another edition
4.0
A foreigner is shipwrecked off the coast of an English town and finds himself rejected by virtually all the townsfolk save one young woman. A beautiful and image rich tale in which Conrad focuses on a community’s response to an outsider. It was good to revisit this powerful short story with its multi-leveled symbolism.
coss01's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
the_brewed_bookworm's review against another edition
3.0
They fell in love and married but this ends in tragedy when the man fell ill and stopped making sense and mother instinct took over their love.