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Heart of Darkness has been considered for most of this century as a literary classic, and also as a powerful indictment of the evils of imperialism. It reflects the savage repressions carried out in the Congo by the Belgians in one of the largest acts of genocide committed up to that time. Conrad's narrator encounters at the end of the story a man named Kurtz, dying, insane, and guilty of unspeakable atrocities. First appearing as a three-part series in Blackwood's Magazine in 1899, it was soon after published as a novella, in 1902 in the volume Youth: A Narrative; and Two Other Stories.
About the Author
Joseph Conrad was born in the Ukraine in 1857 and grew up under Tsarist autocracy. In 1874 Conrad travelled to Marseilles, where he served in French merchant vessels before joining a British ship in 1878 as an apprentice. In 1886 he obtained British nationality. Eight years later he left the sea to devote himself to writing, publishing his first novel, Almayer's Folly, in 1895. The following year he settled in Kent, where he produced within fifteen years such modern classics as Youth, Heart of Darkness, Lord Jim, Typhoon, Nostromo, The Secret Agent and Under Western Eyes. He continued to write until his death in 1924.
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The Nellie,1 a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails, and was at rest. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
The Nellie,1 a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails, and was at rest. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
What struck me about Conrad's tale was the richness of his descriptions. The way he combines words in a highly unorthodox way succeeds in giving sections of the work a very disturbing feel to them. I suspect this stems from English being Conrad's third language. In any case, it gives the text an unpredictable tenor that keeps the reader in a state of unease, just as the author intended.
The themes are no less profound. I particularly enjoyed Conrad's critique of Western civilization - comparing the tribesmen with the supposedly superior whites and comparing the Congo with the Thames of 1000 years ago.
For all its virtues, this book is quite disorientating and requires careful reading. At several points I had to reread pages to determine who was talking to whom. In particular, the point at which Kurtz finally makes his appearance is (perhaps intentionally) skimmed over without fanfare. I feel that another read or two is in order.
This Penguin Classics edition comes with some extras. Some, like the analysis of changes made between the typescript and the book, are for enthusiasts only. Others, such as the timeline and explanatory notes are essential to any reader. It's a slim volume that is appropriately sombre-looking.
A genuine classic.
The themes are no less profound. I particularly enjoyed Conrad's critique of Western civilization - comparing the tribesmen with the supposedly superior whites and comparing the Congo with the Thames of 1000 years ago.
For all its virtues, this book is quite disorientating and requires careful reading. At several points I had to reread pages to determine who was talking to whom. In particular, the point at which Kurtz finally makes his appearance is (perhaps intentionally) skimmed over without fanfare. I feel that another read or two is in order.
This Penguin Classics edition comes with some extras. Some, like the analysis of changes made between the typescript and the book, are for enthusiasts only. Others, such as the timeline and explanatory notes are essential to any reader. It's a slim volume that is appropriately sombre-looking.
A genuine classic.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I found it hard to enjoy this book, as it is deeply ignorant and racist. However, you need to appreciate the time it was written, then you can see this as a really good book. I prefer Chinua Achebe's retaliatory book 'Things Fall Apart' which for me, paints a far more accurate picture of Africa. Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' tells of a wild Africa, a savage place in need of rescuing and educating. In 'Heart of Darkness' we have the white man's portrayal of Africa. I suggest reading this along with Chinua Achebe's 'Things Fall Apart'.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A timeless reminder of the evils of big organisations and the gullibility of human beings.
The inspiration for Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 Vietnam war film, Apocalypse Now, this was originally written in 1899 as a commentary on European colonialism and is based on Conrad's own experiences as a steamboat captain on the Congo.
The book's message is the inhumanity of colonialism and how apparently benign structures, in this case a European trading company, can support and tolerate disgusting and ugly practices.
The plot has Marlow, a steamboat captain, take a job on the Congo with a Belgian trading company. He travels up river to supply Kurtz, who is said to be a remarkable man and controls the upper part of the river for the company. His methods of control turn out to be extreme violence, but Marlow is more impressed with Kurtz's intellectual honesty about the situation than the company's pretended good governance (for example the ship's native crew are paid in copper wire with which they are supposed to buy their own food but which in practice is untradeable and so they starve to death). Marlow falls in love with Kurtz in the way that supporters fell for (say) Hitler.
It's pretty strong stuff and one assumes it is meant ironically to point out the ultimate logic of the colonial position.
It's not an easy read, partly because it's not always very well written (unlike, say, Conrad's The Secret Agent) but mainly because the themes and events set out are approached obliquely. Quite what is going on between Kurtz and the Company and between Kurtz and the natives is never spelled out. Nor is it clear why Kutz is widely regarded as a great man, who has attracted a band of devoted followers. This doesn't matter to Conrad's themes, but it's never obvious where the book is going and some of the scenes and interactions are open to any number of interpretations. This is probably the book's attraction and fans of ambiguity will enjoy mulling over the possible meanings. Others will find it frustrating.
The inspiration for Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 Vietnam war film, Apocalypse Now, this was originally written in 1899 as a commentary on European colonialism and is based on Conrad's own experiences as a steamboat captain on the Congo.
The book's message is the inhumanity of colonialism and how apparently benign structures, in this case a European trading company, can support and tolerate disgusting and ugly practices.
The plot has Marlow, a steamboat captain, take a job on the Congo with a Belgian trading company. He travels up river to supply Kurtz, who is said to be a remarkable man and controls the upper part of the river for the company. His methods of control turn out to be extreme violence, but Marlow is more impressed with Kurtz's intellectual honesty about the situation than the company's pretended good governance (for example the ship's native crew are paid in copper wire with which they are supposed to buy their own food but which in practice is untradeable and so they starve to death). Marlow falls in love with Kurtz in the way that supporters fell for (say) Hitler.
It's pretty strong stuff and one assumes it is meant ironically to point out the ultimate logic of the colonial position.
It's not an easy read, partly because it's not always very well written (unlike, say, Conrad's The Secret Agent) but mainly because the themes and events set out are approached obliquely. Quite what is going on between Kurtz and the Company and between Kurtz and the natives is never spelled out. Nor is it clear why Kutz is widely regarded as a great man, who has attracted a band of devoted followers. This doesn't matter to Conrad's themes, but it's never obvious where the book is going and some of the scenes and interactions are open to any number of interpretations. This is probably the book's attraction and fans of ambiguity will enjoy mulling over the possible meanings. Others will find it frustrating.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A masterpiece on human greed and folly
A masterpiece about the greed of human nature and folly of men pursuing wealth and power at the cost of their sanity, and of their lives. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Carno Polo
It's all in the detail !!
I was so lost on Heart of Darkness after the first reading (and I don't tend to get lost on books) that I immediately went back to the beginning and started again, this time... Read more
Published 6 months ago by eztigrrrr
this is an over-hyped "classic": to be studied, but hardly enjoyed
Wow was I surprized at the flimsiness of this book. Not only is it touted as the inspiration for the Coppela film, Apocalypse Now, but it is viewed as the precursor to the truly... Read more
Published 9 months ago by rob crawford
Eliminating the African as a human factor
As the introduction tells us, in 1975 the writer and critic, Chunua Achebe, accused Conrad of betraying his subject by: "eliminating the African as a human factor. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Eileen Shaw
Going Native ...
Joseph Conrad wrote this classic novella on the "clash of civilizations"; or, much more appropriately, a clash of non-civilizations more than 110 years ago. Read more
Published 14 months ago by John P. Jones III
The horrors, the horrors - I actually liked it!
Having loathed (and not finished) "The Nigger of the Narcissus" at school, and given up on "Nostromo" after a hundred pages or so, this was for me something of a last chance for... Read more
Published 14 months ago by DB
Complex tale of dehumanisation
This is a tale of the loss of innocence, perhaps the dehumanisation that is the inevitable result of colonialisation. Read more
Published 21 months ago by John Keats
A novel of its time
Conrad's classic novel follows Marlow, an ambitious man who decides to join the Colonial scramble for Africa and seek his fortune by working as a river boat captain in the Belgian... Read more
Published on 20 Mar 2010 by quippe
Heart of Darkness
`Heart of darkness' is probably Joseph Conrad's most well know novel and it makes for short but powerful reading. Read more
Published on 11 Jun 2009 by Spider Monkey
The Heart of Confusion
What is it with me and classics? I am beginning to get a little bit distressed by this now. Apart from Brideshead Revisited none of the ones I have tried this year have set my... Read more
Published on 30 Jan 2009 by Simon Savidge Reads
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