Book, Restless Narratives: Six Short Stories and Two plays[LS]

Language: Brazilian Portuguese. Conrad is also an exceptional author in short stories.. In addition to the detailed construction of the scenes and landscape where he sets his stories, he also creates characters constructed with depth in contexts marked by keen critical observation.. In his pen, atmosphere, settings and characters are confused and fused into a dramatically constituted whole in which adventure, criticism and complexity make his work always intensely current and captivating.. BACK COVER Narrativas Inquietas presents six short stories and two plays, previously unpublished in Portuguese, by Joseph Conrad. Conrad is best known for his novels. In the Heart of Darkness, Lord Jim, Nostromo, Before the Eyes of the West, The Secret Agent are among the most popular works of world literature.. However, he has always dedicated himself to short stories, which form an extraordinary set in his production.. “Os Idiotas”, which opens the collection, was the first complete work he wrote and published.. In these texts, we find concentrated everything that would delight 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 should not be fooled by either 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 and short stories of evident 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 the British William Turner give the atmosphere of adventure and psychological depth that we find in Conrad. EXCERPTS FROM THE PRESENTATION Alcebiades Diniz Miguel In fact, the study of characters occupies a considerable space in Conrad's short narratives. Some of his stories, in fact, are titled after their central characters – “Karain”, “An Anarchist”, “Il Conde” –, making it even more clear how the entire narrative is structured around this central character.. The amplitude also allows for a constructive aspect that was greatly appreciated by Conrad in his longer narratives and which, again, contradicts the “philosophy of composition” applied to short stories.: the descriptive emphasis on places. Conrad's narratives, in this collection, take place in the most diverse locations: in the South Sea Islands; on the French coast; in Naples; in Spain at the end of the 18th century; in South America; in suburban neighborhoods of London. This variety and descriptive tendency 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 artificiality of a certain type of contemporary bestseller, 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 was a man of his time, with the prejudices of the period, Conrad goes beyond racist discourse on several points, by constructing non-European protagonists. (and not whites) strong and torn. FROM THE BOOK “THE IDIOTS” The house was isolated among the rocks. A path 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 at the immobile piles of black boulders, which seemed to firmly support tall crosses with short arms in the face of the tremendous onslaught of the invisible. Amidst the fierce wind, the house remained in its protected serenity, resonant and restless, similar to the calm in the center of a hurricane.. On stormy nights, when the tide was low, Fougère Bay, situated fifty feet below the house, resembled an immense black well, from which murmurs and sighs ascended, as if the sands were alive and their complaints could be heard.. At high tide, the returning waters assaulted the rocky ledges in brief bursts, culminating in bursts of livid light and columns of foam that advanced inland, stinging until they killed the grass of the pastures.. [...] The atmosphere was so thick that you could cut it with a knife.. The long, narrow hall was lit by three candles that gave off a dim, red light, like sparks dissolving into ashes.. The slight click of the iron latch, at that late hour, sounded sudden and frightening, like a clap of thunder.. Madame Levaille placed on the table the bottle with which she was going to fill the glass she was holding with liqueur.; the players turned their heads; the whispered discussion is over; only the singer, after casting a glance at the door, continued whistling his song, impassive. Susan appeared on the threshold, entered, and, closing the door, exclaimed, almost aloud,: "Mother!” FROM “THE RETURN” He, of course, saw nothing; 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, while holding, with the conventional fury of its jaws, a butterfly-like gas flame. The room was empty, of course.; However, as soon as he entered, he was suddenly filled with the hustle and bustle of countless people.; because the sheets of glass that covered the closet doors and the 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, displaying in full appearances of life and feelings identical with what he thought worthy and safe for any man to manifest.. And, like real people, who are slaves to banal thoughts that are not even theirs, 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.; appeared, disappeared; apparently they slipped 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, they could be trusted to never do anything personal, original, or surprising—nothing unexpected, and nothing inappropriate.. SUMMARY Presentation: From Peripetia to Impact [Alcebiades Diniz Miguel] STORIES The Karain Idiots: Reminiscences The Return Tomorrow An Anarchist (A Tale of Despair) The Count (A Pathetic Narrative) The Inn of the Two Witches – A Find TWO PLAYS About Conrad's Theatre [Alcebiades Diniz Miguel] Introduction [1924] [John Galsworthy] Anne Laughs Another Day Chronology