Under Western Eyes by Joseph Conrad

Meeting at the usual place, The Shakespeare Hotel, 200 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills, at 7.00pm on Thursday November 6, we will be discussing Joseph Conrad’s Under Western Eyes (1911).

Under Western Eyes is a gripping psychological and political novel set in tsarist Russia. It explores the life of Razumov, a young university student whose world is turned upside down after he becomes inadvertently involved with a revolutionary named Kirillov. Through Razumov’s internal struggles and external dangers, Conrad delves into themes of loyalty, betrayal, idealism, and the oppressive atmosphere of political revolution.

The novel paints a complex picture of moral ambiguity and the clash between personal conscience and political necessity.

Conrad was significantly influenced by depictions of Russian society by the writing of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky.

As a classic, Under Western Eyes is available in various formats at https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2480. And local council libraries. And paperback from Amazon.

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