I hear of Joseph Conrad in a movie. Yes, you can find good tips on what to read next practically everywhere. So on my next trip to the Dalles (Noi) bookstore, I stopped at the English section and looked for something by him. This is how I found "Selected Short Stories".

They are stories speaking of inner daemons, of going crazy, of love, of peasants and aristocrats, of patriots and anarchists, of children and grown ups, of exotic places and strange people, and more often of life on great ships wandering on the seas and oceans of Earth.

Although everything is described in great detail, each shade, each feeling, each glance and word, Conrad's stories never seem to limit the extent to which one can use their own imaginations to build around the stories one is reading. The great waves seem to touch one's skin, the desperation and ultimate joy seem to make room into one's heart. And all the magical colors of distant lands seem to be brought to life.

Escapism. You are no longer in a train, crowded and with all the alarms of personal space invasions screaming in your head. You are traveling in a small boat on a great river, hunting crocodiles and talking to a fierce Malay whose beloved wife is about to die. You are walking free in a world of superstitions, in perfect cohabitation with new ideas. You have haunted friends, acquaintances who wear a daily mask of fortitude.

You see the weak, those fearing their own chances to a better life. And those accepting every challenge with an ironic smile on their face. Those denying nothing and those denying everything. A beautiful, mad world.

About the Author

Józef Teodor Conrad Korzeniowski was born on 3 December 1857 in the Russian occupied city of Berdyczów, Ukraine. He was the only child born to Evelina Bobrowska (1832–1865) and Apollo Korzeniowski, (1820–1869) patriot, writer, and translator of such authors’ works as Victor Hugo’s and William Shakespeare’s.

As a child he dreamed of a life at sea and of seeing the great Black Continent. He grew up to become a master mariner and at the same time a great writer. More on Joseph Conrad here.