I had read these stories at least three times previously before coming to them again, today. And they were well worth rereading. These are among Conrad's earliest efforts. But all of them manage to create an atmosphere that foreshadows what will appear in later works. Only one, "The Return," falls short of expectations. Frankly, it's simply too wordy. The attempt at psychoanalyzing his two main characters doesn't quite succeed. Even so, it's an important piece within the context of Conrad's overall writing. And because I am currently reading and rereading through several Conrad stories and novels, I am able to see connection that weren't as obvious to me before.

One of these connections, coming out "The Return," will recur throughout Conrad's tales about men and women. It is the preoccupation with misdirected love. Of course, you could already see a bit of that in Almayer's Folly. And it's also, here, in the last story of this volume, "The Lagoon," which I understand from the author's note was written in the immediate aftermath of finish Almayer's Folly. Or at least hints of it are there. But the greater connection can be seen in later stories, "A Smile of Fortune," "Freya of the Seven Isles," "The Planter of Malata," and, especially, in "Because of the Dollars." In each instance, men are able to redeem themselves through walking away from a cold, loveless lair to seek further adventures or they have their lives ruined by undeserving women suspicious of all that is good and true in a person.

Another story, "The Idiots," traces the history of a mismatched marriage in the French countryside. The other two stories, "Karain: A Memory" and "An Outpost of Progress," are trader's tales. One is set in Southeast Asia and the other in Africa. Both allude to the other great "mismatch" in Conrad's work, the presence of colonial governments and their colonizer in parts of the world they fail to understand and always underestimate. ( )

This is definitely not Conrad at his best. ( )

St. Barth trip Book #3: A worthy read.....several tales of the South Seas, one of primitive Africa, and a unique victorian story of manners thrown in for good measure...all leading to the conclusion in different ways that if we devote too much of our human capital on 'thinking properly and intellectually,' we pay a dear price in our overall emotional well-being.....human-to-human genuine honest communication is a necessary part of our healthy existence.....over-thinking can be detrimental. ( )