Nostromo | Joseph Conrad

Epic in scope and detail, populated by a vivid cast of characters covering the entire social spectrum, 'Nostromo' is one of the greatest political novels ever written. It chronicles an era of political crisis in an imaginary but archetypal South American state, where the people of Sulaco are caught in a cycle of revolution and counter-revolution, while trying to decide whether its wealthy silver mine, funded by Americans but owned by a third-generation English immigrant, can be preserved from the hands of avaricious politicians. Greed and corruption are ubiquitous, and Nostromo, the principled Capataz, is tested to his limits. This richly dense picture of an insurrectionary society and the opportunities it provides for corruption is related with Conrad's dry, detached yet compassionate intelligence.