Book, Restless Narratives: six short stories and two plays[LS]

Language: Brazilian Portuguese. Conrad is also an exceptional author in short narratives. In addition to the detailed construction of the scenes and the landscape where his stories are set, there are characters constructed with depth in contexts marked by accurate critical observation. In his pen, atmosphere, settings and characters are confused and amalgamated into a dramatically constituted whole in which adventure, criticism and complexity make his work always intensely current and captivating. FOURTH COVER Unsettled Narratives presents six short stories and two plays, unpublished in Portuguese, by Joseph Conrad. Conrad is best known for his novels. In the Heart of Darkness, Lord Jim, Nostromo, Under the Eyes of the West, The Secret Agent are among the most popular works in world literature. However, he has always dedicated himself to short narratives, which form an extraordinary ensemble in his production. “Os Idiotas”, in fact, which opens the collection, was the first complete work he wrote and published. In these texts, we find concentrated everything that would enchant readers in longer works: the description of distant places inhabited by people few have ever heard of, the refined language, the adventure, the anti-heroes. And with it, the further you go into the jungle or the sea, the deeper you enter the human psyche. The reader must not be fooled by colonialism or exoticism, because when traveling with Joseph Conrad through a British empire where the sun never sets, he will end up recognizing in his portraits a complex humanity that makes the Other a mirror of itself. PARALELOS COLLECTION The Paralelos collection houses fiction literature and short stories of obvious literary quality. FROM THE COVER Cover image: Yorkshire Coast, engraving by William Turner, 1806-1807. Tate Britain. Storms, winds, tornadoes, the agitation of the sea and the smallness of man in the work of British author William Turner provide the atmosphere of adventure and psychological depth that we find in Conrad. EXTRACTS FROM THE PRESENTATION Alcebiades Diniz Miguel In fact, the study of characters occupies a considerable space in Conrad's brief narratives. Some of his short stories, in fact, are titled after the names of their central characters – “Karain”, “Um Anarquista”, “Il Conde” –, making it even more explicit how, around this central character, the entire narrative is structured. The breadth also allows for a constructive aspect much appreciated by Conrad in his longer narratives and which, again, contradicts the “composition philosophy” applied to short stories: the descriptive emphasis on places. Conrad's narratives, in this collection, occur in the most diverse locations: on the South Sea islands; on the French coast; in Naples; in Spain at the end of the 18th century; in South America; in suburban London neighborhoods. This variety and descriptive penchant could suggest that Conrad would be an author who would invest in character profiles combined with the exoticism of landscapes, in order to drive his plots, something that recalls the artificialism of a certain type of contemporary best-seller, centered on travel, landscapes , discoveries and constructive, positive messages. However, this is not the case with Conrad – far from it. Firstly, the psychological profile of the characters constructed by the author is extremely rich, which neutralizes stereotypes and clichés. Even though he is a man of his time, with the prejudices of the period, Conrad goes beyond racist discourse at several points, by building strong and torn non-European (and non-white) protagonists. FROM THE BOOK OF “THE IDIOTS” The house was isolated among the rocks. A track of mud and stones led to the door. The sea breezes that came from the coast to Ponta da Pedreira, full of the vigor of the tumult of the waves, howled violently towards the immobile piles of black boulders, which seemed to firmly support high crosses with short arms in the face of the tremendous onslaught of the invisible. Amid the inclemency of the wind, the room remained in its protected serenity, resonant and restless, similar to the calm in the eye of a hurricane. On stormy nights, when the tide went out, the Bay of Fougère, located fifty feet below the house, resembled an immense black well, from which murmurs and sighs rose, as if the sands were alive and their complaints were heard. At high tide, the returning waters assaulted the rocky edges in the form of brief assaults, culminating in bursts of livid light and columns of foam that advanced inland, stinging until the grass of the pastures was killed. [...] The atmosphere was so thick that it would have been possible to cut it with a knife. The narrow and long hall was lit by three candles that emitted a diffuse, red light, like sparks that crumble into ashes. The slight click of the iron latch, at such a late hour, sounded sudden and frightening, like a thunderclap. Madame Levaille placed the bottle with which she was going to fill the glass she was holding with liquor on the table; the players turned their heads; the whispered discussion ended; only the singer, after casting a glance at the door, continued whistling his song, impassively. Susan appeared on the threshold, entered and, closing the door, exclaimed, almost loudly: “Mother!” OF “THE RETURN” He, of course, saw nothing; He climbed another flight of steps and headed for the dressing room. A bronze dragon, pinned by its tail to a support, writhed away from the wall in calm convolutions, whilst maintaining, with the conventional fury of its jaws, a butterfly-like flame of gas. The room was empty, of course; however, as soon as he entered, he was suddenly filled with the bustle of countless people; because the sheets of glass that covered the closet doors and his wife's large mirror reflected his image from head to toe, multiplying it into a multitude of servile and chivalrous imitators, dressed exactly like him; who had the same restrained and rare gestures; who moved only when he moved, stood still with him in obsequious immobility, completely demonstrating appearances of life and feelings identical to what he thought worthy and safe for any man to manifest. And, like real people, who are slaves to banal thoughts, which are not even their own, the images simulated a strange independence through the superficial diversity of their movements. They moved with Alvan; however, they either advanced towards him or moved away from him; they appeared, disappeared; they apparently crept behind walnut furniture before being seen again, immersed in the polished windowpanes, taking clear and unreal steps in the convincing illusion of the room. And, like the men he respected, he could be trusted to never do anything personal, original, or surprising—nothing unexpected and nothing inappropriate. CONTENTS Presentation: From Peripécia to Impact [Alcebiades Diniz Miguel] SHORT STORIES The Idiots Karain: Reminiscences The Return Tomorrow An Anarchist (A Tale of Despair) Il Conde (A Pathetic Narrative) The Inn of the Two Witches – A Find TWO PLAYS About the Theater of Conrad [Alcebiades Diniz Miguel] Introduction [1924] [John Galsworthy] Anne Gargalhada Another Day Chronology