136 pages
Literature/Classics
(I read the Penguin Classics version, which includes a chronology, introductions, notes, a map of the region, the author’s Congo Diary, an author’s note and a glossary of nautical terms.)
Written in 1899, some nine years after the author’s visit to the Congo, this novel is clearly inspired by and based on his experiences in Africa.
Presented as a tale told to a partially reluctant audience trapped on a ship at anchor in the Thames Estuary, the story employs the many qualities of the unreliable narrator. Odd shifts in the timeline, occasional jumps without explanation, reports of garbled overheard conversations lacking context all add to the experience of the reader in joining that small audience.
But the book deals with many themes. Brutality caused by prejudice, the infant of ignorance, is perhaps the most telling here. The initial horror slowly dissolving into indifference as the narrator’s experiences and exposure to cruelty anaesthetise him in self-defence against the realities. There’s also the greed encouraged by rapacious western corporations allowed free reign in a land with few authorities and little structure to deal with either criminals or cheats. And, underlying the story, is a thread about ivory that lacks the modern concern for conservation but highlights man’s obsession with the acquisition of wealth.
Marlow, the seafarer who tells the tale, is a man of his time in so many ways that he must be difficult for the young generation to understand. Colonialism, with all its good intentions and foul outcomes, guides much of his thought. Initially appalled at the treatment of the native people, he becomes obsessive about a figure of mystery, a man who appears to have promise of progression in the company for which both men work. This figure, an enigma in many ways, seems to represent the conflicts in humankind whilst moving through the stages of moral decline that are presented as inevitable in the colonial situation.
Although it’s an engaging book, full of depth and marvellous language, it is also a hard read both intellectually and emotionally.
A book of its time, it nevertheless carries many messages still only too relevant today.
#
[Any review is a personal opinion. No reviewer can represent the view of anyone else. The best we can manage is an honest reaction to any given book.]
a (great) classic 🙂 PedroL
LikeLike
Thank you. I loved this book so much, as I love every book by Conrad
LikeLiked by 2 people
A remarkable writer. Especially writing so competently in his 3rd language!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yes! The greatest English writer in those years, but he was from Poland
LikeLiked by 2 people
I understand he was born in the Ukraine of Polish parents (his father was a poet), who were later exiled from Warsaw to Northern Russia and then moved to the Ukraine again and on to Cracow. Joseph later moved to Marseilles and then to England. His life is chronicled in the edition of Heart of Darkness I read and reviewed. That’s the Penguin Classics edition, if you want to know more about him.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Stuart and Paola,
We had to read Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad when we were in the final year of high school.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yes, Heart of Dakness is a recognised text for English Literature, which often means a book becomes a pariah amongst that generation, unfortunately!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think everybody shoul read whatever Conrad wrote
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you for your reply, Paola. 🙂 Conrad writes very well in spite of the harrowing nature of the novel.
Thank you also to Stuart for writing a jolly good review of the novel.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks, SoundEagle. Love your post on Quotations, by the way. Long read, but full of intelligent content.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Stuart and Paola,
I would like to comment further that it is indeed not an easy novel to read, not to mention that it takes certain maturity (beyond that possessed by an average or typical high school student) to appreciate most, if not all, of its (overt and subtle) messages.
Thank you, Stuart, for visiting and reading my long post, which contains multiple sections easily navigable through the main menu. Given the length and depth of the post, it is almost certain that only the most patient, curious or persistent readers have read it in its entirety and reaped all the benefits. I wonder whether you prefer certain sections over others. If you don’t mind, it would be a delight if you could kindly give me your feedback at the comment section of the said post at http://soundeagle.wordpress.com/2017/10/18/the-quotation-fallacy/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, SoundEagle.
I’m still reading the post on Quotations, as, in common with many writers, I’m usually busy with either reading or writing. But as a writer who’s been quoted, misquoted, and quoted without recognition, I’m keen to read the whole post, which is what I’m doing; in sections. I’ve left a brief comment for now, however.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is difficult to read today.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Very much a book of its time, I thought. But many themes remain pertinent.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Especially the way people get corrupted, sadly.
LikeLiked by 2 people
As long as leaders, of every type, are corrupt, those who follow are bound to be open to corruption, unfortunately.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I suspect I could find an example without trying too hard…
LikeLiked by 2 people
Love this book.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I found it difficult to ‘love’. But I certainly admire the piece. Literature is a demanding field and to write so well in your third language is quite an achievement.
LikeLiked by 2 people