Heart of Darkness (Dover Thrift Editions) by Joseph Conrad Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $0.01 You Save: $1.49 (99%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Heart of Darkness (Dover Thrift Editions)
Book Review: Powerful
Summary: 5 Stars
If you have any respect for the power of the English language this is a must read.Book Review: A good story, but poorely written
Summary: 2 Stars
It's hard to get into because of the tediousness of the language and the time spent describing the sea and the boat. Conrad foreshadows this book into the ground.Book Review: The Secret Sharer
Summary: 4 Stars
Every day people have moral issues they have to grapple with. They may have witnessed an accident, but decided to keep it to themselves because of fear of getting involved. They might have gone to the store and seen someone steal, but ignored it. When this moral issue has to do with a murder, though the offense can not be taken lightly. This is what happens in Joseph Conrad's story "The Secret Sharer".In the Secret Sharer, a young captain of a large ship quickly finds himself in a tight situation. A complete stranger finds his way upon his ship during the middle of the night. As the captain hears and listens to the stranger's story about how he killed someone in self-defense on another boat, he welcomes the stranger inside and hides him. In a way the captain often describes himself as being "a stranger on the ship," because the whole crew already knew each other and spent a lot of time together. The fact that the captain and the newcomer were both strangers brought them closer together. This new stranger was soon accepted into the captain's life as being a friend. The captain even hid him in his own personal living quarters. The fact that the captain was housing a known murderer caused a conflict in his life. He had to decide whether to turn the stranger in or persuade himself that it's morally correct to keep the secret hidden.
The "Secret Sharer" compares a lot with "Huckleberry Finn". In Huckleberry Fin and Secret Sharer at least one main character was hiding and not liked by "civilized society". Jim and Huck soon became friends just like the Captain and the Stranger. Throughout the Secret Sharer the young Captain was torn between duty to the ship and loyalty to his new friends. In Huckleberry Finn, Huck was torn between duty to society (harboring a slave was wrong) and his friendship with Jim. The Secret Sharer is a story which I think is definitely worth reading. I specifically like Joseph Conrad's style of writing, his attention to detail and strong story line. Everyone who reads this book can identify with the difficulty of making good decisions.
Book Review: The darkness in men's hearts
Summary: 5 Stars
With this novella Joseph Conrad brutally rips away the barriers that men build to hide themselves and exposes the evil that lurks in all men's hearts, waiting for an opportunity to get out.kurtz sails away into the dark continent full of ambition to build a bright shining society where men will be Gods. The result is unspeakable evil. What actually happens the reader never knows. They are just invited to look at the battered result of Kurtz's ambition. Marlowe returns and visits the now dead Kurt's fiancee, but is unable to tell her the truth about her beloved and makes up some romantic tale to spare her feelings. Nowadays Conrad is vulnerable to accusations of racism as he uses Africa to represent the dark continent. As always the politically correct have completely missed the pooint. The evil was in Kurtz, as it is in all men, not in Africa. And Conrad was exposing the wickednesss of colonolism which he was vehemently against, which anyone could find out if they read his works closely. In fact he was not a racist but years ahead of his time.Book Review: Brilliant
Summary: 4 Stars
Heart of Darkness is Conrad's study of the potential for evil that we all possess; in some it bubbles closer to the surface than others and the removal of societal constraints can give it free reign; Kurtz is representative of such a person while Marlow acts as a counter-weight to him. The boat voyage along the river is a metaphor for this journey from the light of civilisation into darkness, and is superbly narrated by the main protagonist Marlow.
Heart of Darkness is a very short book (72 pages in this edition) but the breadth of its content is equivalent to some books ten times its length; this conciseness, and the particular narrative style are what give this book such a wonderful feel. I have to admit I struggled with the style on occasion especially were it flips from its mainly first-person narration to third-person without warning, but the whole effect is astounding.
I wish I had read this book 20+ years ago because I found that I was often relating both the style and events back to "Apocalypse Now", a wonderful film and not a great detractor, but I always find it unfortunate when the "film version" imposes itself onto the book so strongly.
Overall then an excellent book that everyone should read - it's not going to take up a large chunk of your life but will certainly add something to it.