Enjoyable, but the postmodernist flourish for which it is known felt more cheap than refreshing. ( )

Compared to Youth and Heart of Darkness, this is screamingly funny, though Conrad's sense of humor is dry as a bone. It's a little like the first part of Darkness, where Marlow is dealing with the corrupt Europeans and before he goes off into the jungle -- it's the sarcastic commentary without the horrific self-scrutiny. ( )

8481300586

Quel coup de vent ! On est secoué, trempé, balayé, on étouffe, on tend l'oreille, on s'agrippe. Et on vit dans la tension à bord de ce navire en pleine Mer de Chine, qui transporte des coolies, ces travailleurs chinois émigrés, que l'on ramènent chez eux. Les conditions de vie à bord sont terribles pour ces invisibles exploités, à fond de cale, qui vont subir de plein fouet le typhon angoissant. Et c'est aussi tendu entre les marins, et avec leurs supérieurs. Un petit monde étroit et extrêmement hiérarchisé, où les personnalités de chacun font de cette communauté un miroir des sociétés humaines.
Très fort roman, très réaliste. Et dans cette belle petite collection "Les Grands Romans" chez Autrement. Préface de Mathias Enard. ( )

Fieldnotes:
1 Unimaginative Stolid Captain (closely resembling a Bear of Very Little Brain)
1 Excitable First Mate
1 Brand New Ship
200 Irascible Chinese workers
1 Hellacious Titular Typhoon
Several Instances of Regrettable (though Period-Appropriate) Racism

The Short Version
On the whole an interesting enough tale of how people react in a crisis - and how they respond to authority/someone else taking responsibility no matter how ill-conceived the plan. But I was never particularly engaged nor captivated and the little side-story about the Chinese workers locked in the hold fighting over money was distasteful and I'm not sure why it was in the least bit necessary. ( )