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Title: Obviously, A First Novel
Review: Joseph Conrad strikes me as a writer who takes himself way too seriously. His novel reads more like the journal of a young writer who is discovering his sexuality and trying to emulate other, successful writers. I found the references to the city and "writing culture" incredibly cliche. It seems to me that Conrad is trying to tell his own life story through his characters, and the result is flaky, one-dimensional personalities that remain distant from the audience. The entire nuclear issue seems to be thrown into the narrative almost as an afterthought--something to make the entire story "important," and is wholly unrealistic and forced. I had to force myself to continue reading this book and couldn't even finish the last few pages. It was painfully obvious that this is Conrad's first novel.
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