Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer (1899)

I found a copy of this book in a bathroom on the Josh C Stennis while deployed on a westpac in 2004 and I can say that it is a higher grade of reading material then you typically find in places like that - this book absolutely stunned me because of the language. There is no a single word that isn't perfectly placed. In 12 words Conrad says as much as i could in a page. And as I understand it the dude only learned English late in life and produced this masterpiece? I had never read writing like this before - somehow perfect technical efficiency and also an evocative poem simultaneously. The themes of this book are my absolute favorites - madness, desperation, and faith. For a long time I called this my favorite book. ( )

This book is on so many "must-read" lists that I thought perhaps there was something wrong when I really didn't like the book. Then, I learned that my book club unanimously hated it. Yes, there is some value to reading the book, but don't start unless you are ready for a slog. ( )

This book is on so many "must-read" lists that I thought perhaps there was something wrong when I really didn't like the book. Then, I learned that my book club unanimously hated it. Yes, there is some value to reading the book, but don't start unless you are ready for a slog. ( )

Joseph Conrad is an author that I had never read before, but I have watched Apocalypse Now. In that sense, I am familiar with the basic story of Heart of Darkness. I mean, you just explore the inner darkness present in all human beings. In that sense, this book is made up of two stories that do just that. The book is shorter than I thought it would be, I did not realize that it was a novella. Since the book is two stories in one and includes an introduction and an afterword, it is a bit misleading in the length of the stories.

The introduction is by Joyce Carol Oates, an author that I have heard of but never really got into. In college, I had to read one of her short stories, but I just remember the gist of the story. Some guy who turns out to be the Devil preys on this girl who wants to be seen as attractive or something. She wears ballet slippers and giggles a lot. Other than that, I can’t recall that much.

Anyway, both of the stories are enthralling explorations into the darkness of the human psyche, but there isn’t really a lot more I can say about this one. I never had to read this one in school but I probably would have liked it back then. The Euro-centrism is strong in this book, where the native people are called savages and other things. It was a different time, so it is fine. I hate when people censor or bowdlerize stories for their own Politically Correct interests.

The first story in the book is The Secret Sharer. I haven’t heard anything about this one at all. I am not really a Conrad completionist or a Scholar to any stretch of the imagination. Some guy is the Captain of a Ship that goes around the Gulf of Siam, with Siam being the old name for Thailand I think. He finds some guy that serves as his darker self. The story is only about fifty pages in length. I think it was included due to the fact that it also investigates the darkness in the human soul.

Heart of Darkness discusses the tale of a man named Marlow who journeys into the heart of the jungle by way of the Congo River. He is looking for a man named Kurtz because the company he works for wants him. It is very atmospheric and well-done throughout the book. It is quite dense and impressive considering English was not Conrad’s first or even second language.

In any case, the book was really good. It didn’t drag on for too long, but it wasn’t too short either. ( )

Since I had recently read "Heart of Darkness" I only read "The Secret Sharer" ( )