Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard is a 1904 novel by Joseph Conrad, set in the fictitious South American republic of "Costaguana." It was originally published serially in two volumes of T.P.'s Weekly.
In 1998 the Modern Library ranked Nostromo 47th on its list of The 100 Best English-Language Novels of The 20th Century. It is frequently regarded as amongst the best of Conrad's long fiction; F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, "I'd rather have written Nostromo than any other novel."
This novel is not for a flyby, fair-weathered reader. Layers upon layers, Conrad forces the reader to maintain plot details, characters, and most of all ever-changing government regimes. If you value stories delving deep, really deep, into its themes, than this novel is for you. With its most common theme revolving around moral idealism versus material interests, the reader will not be shorted on Conrad's views.
If you do so choose to read this novel, finding a good synopsis and reading it first will provide you a good base to tackle the actual novel. I actually suggest to read numerous synopses because some writers tend to deal with more of the political details at times, where other writers tend to concentrate on the characters and their relationships. Despite this novel's difficulties, it's a fairly straightforward story with understandable detours. If you're not a reader who desires a challenge, it's still well worth a read, even if you do just so you can boast you actually read it cover to cover.
