Conrad's psychological thriller, both Shakespearean and Biblical. The characters, the bad guys in particular, are exquisitely drawn. Quite a group of weirdoes. This book is on Joan Didion's handwritten list of her favorite books (as reproduced on brainpickings.org), and another reviewer here quotes her saying that she always re-reads Victory before beginning a new novel. The novel doesn't really drag, but Conrad takes his time, as usual. In the last quarter of the book, this deliberate pace helps to build tension. There is a sort of philosophical allegorical character to things, especially since the principle character is so introverted and vague, but what it all means, especially with the garden of eden business, I could only guess.
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Addendum: According to a recent nightmare, the story in Victory has something in common with that of the movie Key Largo. ( )

I didn't know anything about this book when I started it other than 2 facts: it was written by the author of The Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad, and it was on the Guardian's list of 1000 novels everyone should read.

After I started, I quickly found myself engaged in this somewhat odd story about a very odd man, Heyst. A little farther into the story, I went back to find in which category the Guardian's list had placed this book & was surprised to find it was in the "Love" category rather than the "War and Travel" category I had expected. By the end of the book, I understood the placement! If I had to describe it in one sentence, it would be as a cross between his earlier book Heart of Darkness and Romeo and Juliet. Heyst and Lena are surely just as star-crossed as Romeo and Juliet and their end is just as tragic.


While the love story gains in prominence as the plot progresses, the other main theme remains in the forefront. That theme is the power of suggestion or illusion over reality. Schomberg doesn't know or understand Heyst but instead sets a terrible chain of events in motion through his belief in the false image of Heyst he created. Even before Heyst comes to stay at Schomberg's hotel & meets the girl Alma (later named Lena), Schomberg had a long-standing grudge against him. As Conrad puts it:

"Schomberg believed so firmly in the reality of Heyst as created by his own power of false inferences, of his hate, of his love of scandal, that he could not contain a stifled sound of conviction as sincere as most of our convictions, the disguised servants of our passions, can appear at a supreme moment."

This false image of Heyst is then filtered through Ricardo, who adds in his own personality traits, believing all men are like himself. These men are unable to conceive of Heyst as he really is and this inability to recognize reality without the filter of one's own personal experiences is what causes the tragedy.
( )

A love story over top of a struggle between shunning the world and life and embracing it. A book with a collection of complicated and memorable characters, some evil incarnate. ( )

I read this in an Anchor Doubleday edition. I have no recollection of having done so. This is the edition I will use when I reread the book and I will probably get rid of the other one at that point.

I have this version of the novel with my notes in it. I honestly do not recall anything about it nor when I read it. So another reading is probably in order.