An Outcast of the Islands

An Outcast of the Islands, Joseph Conrad’s second novel, is a tale of intrigue, isolation, and morality.

The story follows the undoing of Peter Willems, a dishonorable man on the run from a scandal of his own making. After leaving Macassar, he takes refuge in a remote village and river post. The native people of the village take him in and serve as benefactors to Peter, but he seems doomed to fail each test of his character.

This novel remains an important piece of Conrad’s canon. He was greatly inspired by his time as a mate onboard a steamer, the Vidar, as readers and listeners will find in his other works as well. Outcast also features his recurring character Tom Lingard (who also appears in Almayer’s Folly and The Rescue), among others, and it also prefaces his romanticizing of jungle environments as in his Heart of Darkness.

Though this is one of his lesser-known and underrated works, An Outcast of the Islands is timeless parable of a man unable to truly connect with and understand his fellow humans, a man unable to access or follow his better nature.