I listened to an audiobook of this. I was rather disappointed with it by the end, although I'm not entirely sure why. I'm sympathetic to the themes Conrad was exploring but for me it lacked the elegance and impact of Heart of Darkness.

While I'm partial to Conrad anyway, this was an excellent novel, not quite Dumas' Count of Monte Christo, but similarly complex and multi-voiced. Beautiful descriptive language, an intriguing story, set in South America (I love Conrad's use of his knowledge of the sea and the world - as in Victory, Lord Jim, Heart of Darkness). Well worth reading.

Nostromo is considered a classic (and Conrad's best book) for a reason: it's a great book. But that doesn't mean it's an easy read. It is - unlike so many modern literary books - a book that requires you to actively engage.
As Jean Luc Godard said Every movie has a beginning, a middle, and an end - but not necessarily in that order. Conrad does something similar on the page. Chapters will begin in one year, then shift POV to another character and skip ahead (or back) years. And then dhift again. Characters will be referred to by two or three different names. The first half of the book is a slow set up for the action, which doesn't really kick in until the second half. It's not without flaws. The book (written in 1903-04 during the foundation of the nation of Panama and the US building of the Canal) is as casually racist and xenophobic as was that era. Arguably anti-Semitic. However, it features more female characters than any of Conrad's other books, and the only really honorable ethical person in the book is the woman in the closing scene. It's overly melodramatic at times, though Conrad's complex ever shifting storytelling style mostly disguises this.
But as an exploration of exploitation of "less advanced" lands by the West, as contrasting idealism and cynicism, as exploring how greed and heroism can coexist in the same person, its power is undeniable.
But it's not for everyone. It requires work and attention from the reader. It challenges one. If you are up to the challenge, it's a powerful book.

Whew, this one was a slog. This was due in part to my schedule at the time that I was reading it, but even so, I don't think this warrants Fitzgerald's comment, "I'd rather have written Nostromo than any other novel." The character of Nostromo is fascinating--but we get so, so little of him in the book. While I could recognize Conrad's talent in this work, I could not bring myself to rate it higher than three stars due to the laborious, dead-horse-beating nature of the book. I strongly preferred Lord Jim (or even Heart of Darkness).

Fantastic. A few of the chapters among the best things I've ever read. Conrads plays around with the chronology especially in the first half, but it feels justified (I'm looking at some later Iain Banks books...) as it enables our understanding of the characters and story to develop in ways that are ultimately more rewarding and thought-provoking.

Basically, Conrad embeds a very personal story about the character of one man into a broader setting of intrigue in the development of a Latin American region, all informed by the wider politics of the day, not just the liberal versus conservative contest that plagued the development of Latin America but also wider issues about independence movements and the role of old world and, increasingly, American capital as colonialism moves into a new phase. If anything it was the personal story that resonated less than the wider events, it's slightly too 'inevitable' or didatic in comparison with the other events, but it's a very minor criticism.

This is a very pessimistic book that damns the rich and poor, materal wealth and nonmateral ideals, religious and non-relgious alike. There is a strange idea out there that it is a proto-objectiavist novel, yes Contad doesn't like the poor but the people who run things get off no better.

The flowery, exacting, purple prose is a bit of a thick swamp that you have to wade through to find the occasional flower. And there is Conrad's usual White Man's Burden bs in there as well but there are worse books.

Still didn't see any xenotropes though... Oh! Maybe the silver was the queen and the daughters of the light house keeper were the aliens which would make the lighter the Nostromo... Was the doctor the Android? Why not.

I did not like this book. It's not bad; Conrad is obviously a skilled writer, however I found Nostromo incredibly tedious. This book is about revolution, but it never felt like it. I think this is in large part because the book is ≈ 2/3 exposition. Very, very little action, especially considering the plot and conflict. Not for me.

I was assigned Heart of Darkness in freshman English in college, and never actually finished it because it was so tedious and boring. I later chalked it up to being more concerned with drinking and parties than finishing great books of the western world. I read once that if you don't like a book, try again in 5 years. S0, I decided to try Conrad again to see if my earlier dislike was just youthful indiscretion. Nope, not really. I still didn't connect to this book.

I mistakenly grabbed this off the library shelf when I meant to grab Lord Jim. At first, I wasn't too bothered by the mix-up. It was only much, much later I came to learn what a huge disappointment this was. Perhaps this is better understood and appreciated in the original text and translation. This wasn't my cup of tea. Don't get me wrong, I loved Heart of Darkness, but this was not worth my time. Last half of the book I completely skimmed. Can I tell you what this book is about? Not really. My impressions are that a lot of mining happened, problems with politics/mining/war were present, there was licentious behavior by Nostromo with every female, and finally there was no redeeming value for me. The end.