Books like Nostromo

Nostromo, Joseph Conrad’s South American novel reminds me somehow of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, perhaps the setting of mines in South America. The underlying political ideologies are also reminiscent to some extent on Rand’s objectivism, and both author’s guileless mistrust of democracy ambles towards, but never wholly approaches, a Nietzschean ideal. In this aspect, Nostromo “the incorruptible” can be compared and contrasted with Kurtz, Conrad's archetypal villain from Heart of Darkness. Whereas Kurtz was a tragic, fallen figure, Nostromo can be seen as perhaps Conrad’s vision of an ideal (though also a tragic hero). This philosophy can be glimpsed obliquely in Rand’s flawed masterpiece and can be read serenely and politely in Conrad’s noble prose. Perhaps Rand complimented Conrad in her own romantic realism with vague but discernable allusions to Conrad’s earlier work. Nostromo is also reminiscent of Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls with its glaringly simple, straightforward and blunt depiction of revolution and of the ugliness that follows along with it; yet Conrad describes the revolution indirectly, almost as an off stage action in a play, and looks back on the time abstractly, and with not some little sympathy. Finally, Nostromo is also representative of Conrad’s brilliant use of time and transition, piecing the tale together almost surreptitiously, eluding the reader with casual dismissals of a chronological timeline and varying scope and perspective.One of his best.