Preview

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

Almayer's Folly

By: Joseph Conrad
Narrated by: Geoffrey Howard
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.00

Buy for $20.00

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Set in Malaya, Almayer's Folly is Joseph Conrad's first novel. In it, he charts the decline of a Dutch merchant after a 25-year struggle against overwhelming odds. Though married to a bitter and hateful Malayan wife, Almayer refuses to accept the financial ruin which he has precipitated. Instead, he dreams of fantastic wealth and a return to the civilization of his youth, accompanied by his loving daughter, Nina. But when Nina turns away from his elusive fantasies to the stark reality of her native lover, Almayer must face his inevitable destruction.
(P)1996 Blackstone Audio Inc.
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Almayer's Folly

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    16
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    10
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    14
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    15
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Read

Lived in SE Asia for many years and Conrad’s novel, well over 100 years old, stands up against the passage of time. Story and performance are both first class. His mastery of the English language is astounding. It’s worth reading for that alone.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Obsession, alienation, failure and forgetting.

Not my favorite Conrad, not even second tier, but it is still worth the listen. This was Conrad's debut novel and you can see flashes of his big themes (not yet mature) swirling in the deep water of his words.

'Almayer's Folly' reminded me of a gloomy, obsessive Melville novella or an alienated E. M. Forester story. It is one of those novels that if you love Conrad, you will want to read eventually (I'd read Heart of Darkness, Nostromo, Lord Jim, and Typhoon first). If your only exposure to Conrad is 'Heart of Darkness' and you aren't quite sure you liked that ... I'd skip this one.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

fantastic

it is hard to imagine this as a first novel of any writer. i enjoyed it so much. the reader is very professional. he reads a bit fast, and it took me a few minutes to catch up with him. in the beginning of the book you see Almayer waiting for someone, and then the book goes back in time to give background information. it lags a bit there, but that does not last long and then the book moves forward. so much love, so much hatred in such a short novel. the main character is a man, but the book is really about three women and what they do for love.

the book is not as verbose as something like The Heart of Darkness, nor as filled with metaphor or what you might call "artistic touches". it is a pretty straight forward story set in a dark world. it is amazing how he can create those dark worlds. the entire book has a kind of darkness spread out over it, yet it was not in the least depressing. it was a great read and i will listen to it again, probably many times.

somewhere in the middle of the book is a description of a young slave woman. conrad s compassion and understanding of her emotions and her ignorance is astounding. i had to listen to it again before moving on.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Quite a narrative.

It is a “short” story but it surprises by how real it could have been. I witnessed similar histories of individuals that lived on the Amazon region and faced similar situations.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!