Reviews

The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad

tonyf111's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

2.5

paola_mobileread's review against another edition

4.0

Very very enjoyable!

What struck me most is Conrad mastery at displaying a collection of egotist to tell us a story where admittedly the degree of pettiness seems to go hand in hand with social class. But be it Verloc, or his wife, or Ossipon, or the Professor, or inspector Heat, each is completely and utterly preoccupied with his or her immediate needs, taking for granted that everything else accords to his or her picture of the world. Tragic is the vane attempt to change the course of their lives - peppered with irony, humor and tragedy it could be referring to events 100 years later!

my version: audiobook read by David Threlfall

black_october's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

What even to say about The Secret Agent... terrorism, espionage, police intrigue; Conrad absolutely cooked with this one and I couldn't recommend it more to anyone who's a fan of revolutionary sedition, or a good old fashioned story of failed, dissatisfied lives and grimy Victorian London.

campbelle's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

hjr05's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

thymussilvestris's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

nolegirl's review against another edition

Need to read when not reading another 1001 book. Plan to pick it up again latter this year. 

brewill's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

kurtwombat's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I was expecting a political thriller, maybe throw in some action and intrigue, but instead THE SECRET AGENT is a delicious satire of a political thriller. The book starts with Adolf Verloc’s overly dramatic walk to a secret meeting where he is immediately admonished for never doing anything dramatic. The language is pure Conrad and the story creates tension and occasional shocks (including the astonishing fates of Verloc and his wife) but winks and nods abound. If the soul has a pulse, Conrad had his finger on it. His characters motivations scream in a tone they cannot hear but is clear enough to the reader. Active participants in their own mockery, the characters are sustained by their illusions. A passionless revolution is really just a pastime and anarchy is more lethargy than dangerous lively antics. A prescient mocking of what one day would be its own genre but at the time of it’s creation was just groundbreaking, this joins my list of favorite books including a few others by Conrad (LORD JIM, HEART OF DARKNESS & NOSTROMO).  

dietsmarrissjohnson's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5