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Heart Of Darkness & The Secret Sharer by…
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Heart Of Darkness & The Secret Sharer (original 1899; edition 1994)

by Joseph Conrad (Author)

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4,619412,435 (3.72)45
Been 15-20 years since I read this. Starts out slow IMO, and I was wondering if it wasn't going to be another horrible slog like Lord Jim was for me. Like the steamer returning to civilization, it picks up speed pretty quickly.

Despite constant mental flashbacks to the movie Apocalypse Now, I really like the story. Man goes native in the bush, and sets up his own empire. Quite a lot going on in the 3d chapter, and I would love to sit down and go through it slowly line by line and get the full gist of the story. I love the fact that he has banded together his own army and it battling over the fossil ivory of central Africa. Unfortunately,back to the shelf for HOD until next time. ( )
1 vote delta351 | Mar 9, 2017 |
Showing 1-25 of 41 (next | show all)
Good sea and adventure stories. ( )
  kslade | Dec 8, 2022 |
It's been quite a while since I've read this book. Upon reading it again, I realize my memories of its events were somewhat inaccurate so it was nice to approach it with older eyes. What strikes me most this time around, moreso than when I read it the first time (which was more about contemplating Kurtz's evil) is the stark racism, which isn't necessarily surprising given the time and culture in which it was written, but unnerving all the same. The book went faster this time around, and the evil didn't seem quite so breath-taking as it once did. While I used to find Marlow's long-awaited encounter with Kurtz the best part of the story
(and it still is pretty tense), I now find Marlow's final encounter with the "Intended" the most fascinating--that roiling anger of humoring someone when you consider to be sole the possessor of "true" knowledge. Good stuff. (PS--I acutally haven't read The Secret Sharer yet...bad English major!!) ( )
  LibroLindsay | Jun 18, 2021 |
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. ( )
  Giganticon | Dec 12, 2020 |
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. ( )
  ckadams5 | Jun 19, 2019 |
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. ( )
  ckadams5 | Jun 19, 2019 |
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. ( )
  Floyd3345 | Jun 15, 2019 |
'Heart of Darkness' is a story about how thin the veneer of civilization is and shows how few Europeans believed in that bright polish at all. All higher causes and feelings are derided or shown up in here. The finest praise is given to a man who, for form's sake, keeps his clothes pressed and his collars stiff in the middle of the wilderness. There are no Africans in 'Heart of Darkness' either, despite what you've heard, only dehumanized representations of the fears and hostilities of those grasping many who squeezed ivory and blood out of the continent. In Conrad's effort to denounce the hypocrisy and greed of imperialism that he witnessed at first hand, he reduces an entire race, an entire continent, to a metaphor, and revealing prejudices of his own along the way that are uncomfortable to say the least.

But Conrad has crafted a riveting allegorical story and his ill-founded metaphor works and that, bottom line, is what matters. At times I was hypnotized by the dense language that brought reading to a crawl; struck and stuck, I was just like Marlowe's companions and could do nothing but listen; night comes and still we listen to his voice coming out of the darkness with familiar surroundings transformed into something strange and new. This is one of the books that you butt your head against again and again and still cannot find adequate words. I can understand how this story can be disliked, even despised, but whatever your final opinion, 'Heart of Darkness' is unforgettable.

"The Secret Sharer" is an odd story, a fitting companion to 'Heart of Darkness' because of its shared themes of identity and uncertain authority. ( )
  ManWithAnAgenda | Feb 18, 2019 |
Been 15-20 years since I read this. Starts out slow IMO, and I was wondering if it wasn't going to be another horrible slog like Lord Jim was for me. Like the steamer returning to civilization, it picks up speed pretty quickly.

Despite constant mental flashbacks to the movie Apocalypse Now, I really like the story. Man goes native in the bush, and sets up his own empire. Quite a lot going on in the 3d chapter, and I would love to sit down and go through it slowly line by line and get the full gist of the story. I love the fact that he has banded together his own army and it battling over the fossil ivory of central Africa. Unfortunately,back to the shelf for HOD until next time. ( )
1 vote delta351 | Mar 9, 2017 |
These two novellas of Joseph Conrad demonstrate his vivid writing style, rich use of symbolism, and commanding prose which, despite the dark themes, often borders on poetry. “The Secret Sharer,” concerning a conflicted young sea captain torn between the duty to his ship and loyalty to a rescued officer who has murdered a mutinous shipmate, is the easier read of the two. The narrator captain sees the fugitive as his double, another side of himself, and identifies with him from the outset, though the associative elements beyond the physical similarities are difficult to discern. “Heart of Darkness,” based on a frightening episode in Conrad’s life, explores the dark recesses of the human heart and soul, and the depravity which results from endless greed. Conrad alludes to this being the universal timelessness of such savagery, stretching from primitive times to today and beyond: “The mind of a man is capable of everything because everything is in it, all the past as well as all the future.” There is a hypnotic quality to Conrad’s writing, which operates on several levels. These stories demand a second reading, and perhaps even a third to fully appreciate. They seem to linger in the mind. ( )
1 vote ghr4 | Aug 29, 2016 |
An exploration of darkness, but in truly gorgeous prose. And there are a couple silly bits (I particularly enjoyed Marlow's comments about how his vanity caused him to hope that his cannibal employees found him more appetizing looking than his obese, sticky steamboat passengers.) which, given the general grimness of the story, are particularly welcome.
*I am commenting only on Heart of Darkness, not The Secret Sharer, which I did not read. ( )
1 vote meandmybooks | Jun 4, 2016 |
Review: Heart of Darkness/The Secret Sharer by Joseph Conrad.

The Heart of darkness takes place around the time of the 19th century. The story is narrated by a justly ambiguous seaman named Marlow. He tells the reader in descriptive detail about a voyage he took up the Congo River and what he observed and how he survived suffering tribulations along the way. What I believe in the story Conrad was relating to an outer journey which reflects an inner search of our own hero.

Kurtz was a great man who was some how corrupted by the power he gained during his trip into the Condo environment. When Marlow follows the same path through the Condo as Kurtz he was able to trace the same dangerous route and experience a different result. Marlow does not fall prey to the same temptations and does not become a savage person.

Conrad wanted to bring out a moral ambiguity, with civilized and primitive discoveries by applying the idea of symbolically to an individual’s struggle with a person own individuality and proper orientation to make a reference to what the inner heart of darkness really portrays.

The second story was shorter but also interesting. In “The Secret Sharer”, a young captain of a vast vessel quickly finds himself in a tight situation. A mysterious stranger finds his way aboard the captain’s ship during the dark hours of the night. The captain is sparked but fair and listens to the stranger’s story about how he murdered someone in self-defense on another boat. The fact that the captain and the newcomer were both strangers brought them closer together. The captain ended up hiding the stranger on his ship in his own living quarters. He had to determine whether to turn the stranger in or persuade himself that it’s morally correct to keep the secret hidden….

Conrad brings us once again to what is morally correct or morally wrong. Conrad’s message was that every day people struggle with issues of this nature. However, when the issue is murder the offense can not be taken lightly….We all find our own answers either right or wrong and it’s really with what our inner self can live with….Both stories were enjoyable to read.
( )
1 vote Juan-banjo | May 31, 2016 |
Never really as good as you think it is going to be. ( )
  ndpmcIntosh | Mar 21, 2016 |
I like symbols and metaphors which is probably what I find so intriguing about Heart of Darkness. Every character (even the women who have minor parts but I would argue are major influences and drivers of the plot) as well as the setting can be read as symbolic for the social issues Conrad is trying to address. I agree that it is not easy to read because it is so rich with imagery and internal musings, and yet I would read it again and suspect I would find something new to like about it or that I missed before. The novella has a lot of layers and is an important example of social criticism that is still relevant today. ( )
  JeaniaK | Dec 13, 2014 |
I'm a little torn on this one. Clearly,Conrad is a capable writer. Not entirely compelling, but skilled in the art of penned language.

The book was a lot of waiting for something to happen. (I know most see it as a social commentary, which it is not, so please do not think I missed the point of any authorial intention.) The only person I wanted to know about was Kurtz and damn it if I got nothing but a maniac on his death bed.

Conrad's language is beautiful and thankfully lacks the tactless erudition of his peers, but I wanted to know more about Kurtz; see things from his point of view. He was both the hero and the villain, but I never got to enjoy the whole point of the thing. In the end it was unbelievable that Marlow could admire Kurtz to the extent that he did, because he didn't even know the guy, his knowledge of him was entirely second hand. Who admires a guy whom they nothing about and who is a tyrannical monster no less? Boo.

One last thing. All writers, esteemed or not, should use the standard dialogue format. Yeah, yeah I get it-the flow of consciousness and unbroken thought and action-but it's lame. No one is distracted by each quote having its own line. Conrad does himself a disservice by placing his quotes in the body of the thinker's narrative. Please don't tell me there's any real need for it.

Anywho, there it is.

( )
1 vote DanielAlgara | Sep 26, 2014 |
Hypocrisy of imperialism. ( )
1 vote Kristelh | Nov 16, 2013 |
It'd say almost a 4 star for Heart of Darkness. And around a 3 star for The Secret Sharer, but on the low side of 3. There were both interesting reads but not the greatest that I've read from the "classics." ( )
  Robert.Zimmermann | Oct 7, 2013 |
I haven't read the Secret Sharer portion yet but for the Heart of Darkness part...plodding. Very profound, very deep, but maybe I watched too much tv while still in my malleable childhood and have too short of an attention span; man, this was hard to finish. I was more moved by the impression that J. Conrad was trying so hard to describe an indescribable sense of something, than the actual something he was describing. I think many other books present the same subject while also being entertaining - does that make me uncivilized? So many people loved this book. Why don't I? ( )
  EhEh | Apr 3, 2013 |
When I picked it up in January, I got about half-way through Heart of Darkness and got nothing out of it. As I read, I could hardly tell what was going on.

This may have been because I wasn't paying attention.

Actually, that is exactly the reason. I was treating it like an assignment. When I picked up the book again, the second half of Heart of Darkness was far more interesting, and then The Secret Sharer was pretty cool too. I mean, the stories are a little odd, about somewhat odd characters. But once I finished The Secret Sharer, I went back and reread Heart of Darkness from the beginning and all in one go. That helped a lot.

Interesting, mysterious, nice description. Worth reading, and at least I don't have to stare at it unread on my shelf, or regret owning it in the first place.

However, what is with the sky and sea welded together "without a joint"(paraphrased)? I liked it well enough in Heart of Darkness, but then it showed up again in The Secret Sharer and really stood out, for that reason alone. ( )
  MarieAlt | Mar 31, 2013 |
The madness of Mr. Kurtz in his isolated camp deep in the dark, ominous jungle of the Congo stood as a stark warning against European colonial aspirations at the time the book was written, and the superb writing helps it to remain relevant today. ( )
  bookwoman247 | Jan 15, 2013 |
This is a great standard for classical English literature collections. Dark, descriptive, and lathed with the racial prejudices of the period of European colonial expansion, this tale provides a vivid narrative of the Belgian occupation of the heart of Africa. ( )
  kvparker | Sep 4, 2012 |
These stories are two of those classics that I've heard about for years but never gotten around to reading. Now I finally have, and I can't say I've been missing too much. I began with Heart of Darkness, which is actually the second story in the volume, and it might have been better if I had started with The Secret Sharer, which is a bit more accessible if a little bland.

I had anticipated that Heart of Darkness would be more action-packed, but as the writer of the introduction points out, this tale is a look into psychological issues, not driven so much by history or plot. To be honest, I found it boring. I imagine it was groundbreaking when it was released, but there have certainly been other (and probably better - The Poisonwood Bible comes to mind) novels that looked at similar issues since then. I read that the story was somewhat autobiographical, and I understand that Conrad actually made that trek up the Congo, but there were certain aspects that didn't ring true to me. They are small details compared to the themes in the story but the distracted me. For example, the narrator keeps talking about the silence surrounding the humans in Africa, but I cannot imagine jungle and river and tropics without imagining lots of NOISE - birds, insects, and larger animals. Could it really have been silent? In addition, I found myself questioning the narrator's assumption that the Africans on the trek with him were cannibals. Perhaps those locals were, but I fear this was a stereotype designed to make them more alien. Small things, as I said, but somehow important to me as a reader.

There was much left unsaid in Heart of Darkness. The reader has to make assumptions about Kurtz and his actions, and I'm afraid I was in a bit of a muddle. Did he love the Africans and come to identify with them? Did he simply enjoy being idolized by them? Did he see them as human or less than human? What really was "the horror" he cried about at the end of his life? What were the events that led to the state in which Marlow found him? Difficult for me to say - and maybe that was the author's intention, or maybe I'm too far removed from that time and mindset to figure it out.

The Secret Sharer was an easier read but less interesting. The narrator makes much of his feeling that Leggatt is his twin self, and I suppose that is because he identified with the stowaway, but I didn't really see the big deal. If he believed the man and felt it best to help him, then that's great. If he agonized over the propriety of his decision, there is little to indicate it in the text. Again, perhaps there is too much time and distance from the life he describes for me to be able to identify.

I'm of course glad I have finally read these tales that have persisted for so long, and perhaps once I have spent more time mulling them over I will appreciate them more. ( )
  glade1 | Mar 15, 2012 |
437. Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer, by Joseph Conrad (read 22 June 1952) I read The Secret Sharer on June 21, 1952 and said of it: "A very well told thing about a guy charged with murder who comes to a ship and is befriended and concealed by the captain. The tremendous bond made by the captain with the escaper gives the story an undertone of evil."
I also read "Heart of Darkness" but made no comment on it in my diary. ( )
  Schmerguls | Dec 29, 2011 |
This is the first piece of Literature I have ever read by Joseph Conrad, an author I've been meaning to pick up since, oh, probably sixth or seventh grade when he was mentioned in another book I was reading (don't remember what now).

The Secret Sharer is the first-person narrative of a new Captain as he comes across a man floating in the water next to his ship. He brings the man on board, clothes him and hides him, until the man (the captain's 'double') drives the Captain to distraction. This would be longer, but I would probably end up giving away plot which would be unfortunate...and the story was only about sixty pages long.

Normally I am not a fan of first-person narratives, the excessive and exclusive use of the pronoun 'I' tends to bother me deeply. This short story (novella?), however, manages to not be grating as such. First of all, the focus is largely on the Captain's 'double' as he told his story and they decided what was to be done with him. Somehow, though not necessarily an easy read, I was perpetually engaged by the story. Much of it was back story and interpersonal; nothing was outstandingly witty or terrifying. It was entirely straightforward and simple. Perhaps I am a reader that puts myself into the text, absorbing it as part of my own consciousness. Or perhaps it is Conrad's style that I find to be absorbing. Who knows? I plan to read Heart of Darkness in the very near future, so maybe I can decide then. For now, I will end with a heart-felt recomendation. The Secret Sharer is good stuff.
  LeslitGS | Apr 24, 2010 |
Conrad's Heart Of Darkness, while a very short novel, (it barely breaks the hundred-page mark) is so concentrated as to tax the reader from tearing through it. Less of a travelogue of one man's journey into the jungle to retrieve another, and more of an analysis of the title's black center that exists in all of us. Not exactly a beach book. ( )
  conformer | Feb 9, 2010 |
3/20
Quite enjoyed this one - thought it would be much tougher than it was. The introduction was lovely (although I have a MUCH older version, so I didn't read Oates) - it got me in the right mindset.Starting with "The Secret Sharer" was also good, as it got me accustomed to Conrad's style and psychology - not that you can ever fully understand it! But in any case "Heart of Darkness" would have been a hit. It's...absolutely haunting. Conrad is brilliant in how much he lets us know about Kurtz - or how little - because it allows us to put our own interpretations on him. He's a fascinating character. The theme of nightmares is also quite prevelant - the idea that neither of the two sides of imperialism we see - Kurtz and the company - are good, but only two versions of nightmares, of which Marlowe must choose one. It's powerful precisely because there is no redemption to be found. The concept of the alien - of the alien continent, as it were - pervades the novel. It's hard to tell if colonialism and imperialism are dealt with fully - we only get one side of the coin (meaning that the criticism comes only from the white europeans, and africans are denied a voice and identity in the novel). However, that may be by design, through Conrad's dealing with alienation.
As usual, very disjointed review. ( )
  Stormrose | Jan 14, 2010 |
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