VictoryAxel Heyst, a dreamer and a restless drifter, believes he can avoid suffering by cutting himself off from others. Then he becomes involved in the operation of a coal company on a remote island in the Malay Archipelago, and when it fails he turns his back on humanity once more. But his life alters when he rescues a young English girl, Lena, from Zangiacomo's Ladies' Orchestra and the evil innkeeper Schomberg, taking her to his island retreat. The affair between Heyst and Lena begins with her release, but the relationship shifts as Lena struggles to save Heyst from the detachment and isolation that have inhibited and influenced his life. Marked by a violent and tragic conclusion, Victory is both a tale of rescue and adventure and a perceptive study of a complex relationship and of the power of love. |
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Page 178
... Wang was not a common coolie . He had been a ser- vant to white men before . The agreement between him and Heyst consisted in the exchange of a few words on the day when the last batch of the mine coolies was leaving Samburan . Heyst ...
... Wang was not a common coolie . He had been a ser- vant to white men before . The agreement between him and Heyst consisted in the exchange of a few words on the day when the last batch of the mine coolies was leaving Samburan . Heyst ...
Page 179
... Wang unemo . tionally , and marched off , turning his back on the wharf and the great world beyond , represented by the steamer waiting for her boats . Heyst learned presently that Wang had persuaded one of the women of the Alfuro ...
... Wang unemo . tionally , and marched off , turning his back on the wharf and the great world beyond , represented by the steamer waiting for her boats . Heyst learned presently that Wang had persuaded one of the women of the Alfuro ...
Page 180
... Wang had invited them . But this was the only occasion when any sound louder than the buzzing of insects had troubled the profound silence of the clearing . The natives were never invited again . Wang not only knew how to live according ...
... Wang had invited them . But this was the only occasion when any sound louder than the buzzing of insects had troubled the profound silence of the clearing . The natives were never invited again . Wang not only knew how to live according ...
Page 181
... Wang's gardening and of these precautions - there was nothing else to look at - was amused at the thought that he , in his own person , represented the market for its produce . The Chinaman had found several packets of seeds in the ...
... Wang's gardening and of these precautions - there was nothing else to look at - was amused at the thought that he , in his own person , represented the market for its produce . The Chinaman had found several packets of seeds in the ...
Page 182
... Wang nodded . Hanging on the arm of the white man before whom he stood was the girl called Alma ; but neither from the Chinaman's eyes nor from his ex- pression could any one have guessed that he was in the slightest degree aware of the ...
... Wang nodded . Hanging on the arm of the white man before whom he stood was the girl called Alma ; but neither from the Chinaman's eyes nor from his ex- pression could any one have guessed that he was in the slightest degree aware of the ...
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Common terms and phrases
ain't Alfuro arms asked believe boat breath brig bungalow chair cheroot chimæras Chinaman clairvoyance course dark Davidson door doorway eyes face faint feeling fellow felt frightened gaze gentleman gharry girl glance gleam gone governor gunwale hand hanging head heard Heyst hotel-keeper island Java Sea jetty Jones knew Lena light lips looked Malay Martin matter mean mind Morrison moustaches moved movement murmured mysterious never night Number once paused Pedro perhaps physiognomy quiet Ricardo round Samburan sarong sauceboat Schom Schomberg schooner seemed shadow shoulders side sight silence smile sort sound Sourabaya speak staring stood strange suddenly surprised Swede table d'hôte talk tell Tesmans There's thing thought tion told tone Tropical Belt Coal trouble turned understand verandah voice walked Wang watched wharf What's whispered woman wonder words Zangiacomo