Heart of Darkness
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- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Joseph Conrad
- ISBN：0141441674
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Summary
With an Introduction by Caryl Phillips
Commentary by H。L。 Mencken， E。M。 Forster， Virginia Woolf， Ernest Hemingway， Bertrand Russell， Lionel Trilling， Chiua Achebe， and Philip Gourevitch
"Heart of Darkness，" which appeared at the very beginning of our century， was a Cassandra cry announcing the end of Victorian Europe， on the verge of transforming itself into the Europe of violence，" wrote the critic Czeslaw Milosz。
Originally published in 1902， Heart of Darkness remains one of this century's most enduring--and harrowing--works of fiction。 Written several years after Conrad's grueling sojourn in the Belgian Congo， the novel tells the story of Marlow， a seaman who undertakes his own journey into the African jungle to find the tormented white trader Kurtz。 Rich in irony and spellbinding prose， Heart of Darkness is a complex meditation on colonialism， evil， and the thin line between civilization and barbarity。 This edition contains selections from Conrad's Congo Diary of 1890--the first notes， in effect， for the novel which was composed at the end of that decade。
Virginia Woolf wrote of Conrad， "His books are full of moments of vision。 They light up a whole character in a flash。 。 。 。 He could not write badly， one feels， to save his life。"
Commentary by H。L。 Mencken， E。M。 Forster， Virginia Woolf， Ernest Hemingway， Bertrand Russell， Lionel Trilling， Chiua Achebe， and Philip Gourevitch
"Heart of Darkness，" which appeared at the very beginning of our century， was a Cassandra cry announcing the end of Victorian Europe， on the verge of transforming itself into the Europe of violence，" wrote the critic Czeslaw Milosz。
Originally published in 1902， Heart of Darkness remains one of this century's most enduring--and harrowing--works of fiction。 Written several years after Conrad's grueling sojourn in the Belgian Congo， the novel tells the story of Marlow， a seaman who undertakes his own journey into the African jungle to find the tormented white trader Kurtz。 Rich in irony and spellbinding prose， Heart of Darkness is a complex meditation on colonialism， evil， and the thin line between civilization and barbarity。 This edition contains selections from Conrad's Congo Diary of 1890--the first notes， in effect， for the novel which was composed at the end of that decade。
Virginia Woolf wrote of Conrad， "His books are full of moments of vision。 They light up a whole character in a flash。 。 。 。 He could not write badly， one feels， to save his life。"
Reviews
Daniel Orsi
，
Due stelle stando generosi， date solo perché si legge comunque “meglio” di A passage to IndiaLibro razzista di merda
Cemal Can
，
What an eloquence。 I reread it after three years or so， and it still has the same effect。 It is a delight to read the elaborate sentences of Conrad， and the enthralling story in a single sitting。 The downside is the highly racist language that sometimes completely leaves me speechless。 But as I grope through postcolonialism and transcultural studies， I try to find my way and deem him as an ambivalent and in-between writer that accomplished a story that is tour de force in itself and yields multi What an eloquence。 I reread it after three years or so， and it still has the same effect。 It is a delight to read the elaborate sentences of Conrad， and the enthralling story in a single sitting。 The downside is the highly racist language that sometimes completely leaves me speechless。 But as I grope through postcolonialism and transcultural studies， I try to find my way and deem him as an ambivalent and in-between writer that accomplished a story that is tour de force in itself and yields multiplicity of interpretations depending on the approach。 。。。more
Ian Minielly
，
I liked the Penguin Classic version I read because it had background and history of Conrad and what got him into this frame of thinking and publishing。 I liked learning about his background and history before diving into Heart of Darkness。One of the things about the book that stayed in the back of my mind though the reading was the movie， Apocalypse Now。 It was not until the ship arrived at Kurtz station that it really came into focus。 Now I did enjoy the story of the riverman/boiler operator's I liked the Penguin Classic version I read because it had background and history of Conrad and what got him into this frame of thinking and publishing。 I liked learning about his background and history before diving into Heart of Darkness。One of the things about the book that stayed in the back of my mind though the reading was the movie， Apocalypse Now。 It was not until the ship arrived at Kurtz station that it really came into focus。 Now I did enjoy the story of the riverman/boiler operator's travels down the coast and to the trading outpost， before heading up river， but once arriving at Kurtz location Conrad sucked me in。I wanted more！ Then in the final encounter with Kurtz fiance'， which I am not going to give away， I was nearly holding my breath to see what he would say， and I was so disappointed in him and I think Kurtz would have been as well。 What if he had been given the wrong papers？ After reading this I have decided I need to read more Conrad because he certainly can get you into the story。It is a quick read and enjoyable and should be read by all interested in literature， human interaction， travel， and history。 。。。more
Tabby
，
read it for uni
Ophelia Alderton
，
I have long held a belief that I would love this book。 I was introduced to Conrad’s work by my English Literature teacher。 Clearly， I still need my teacher to guide me through this and draw out the refinement because I found it dull， harsh and vulgar。 Sorry Mr Severs。
Jed Mayer
，
This is a very useful edition of a troubling， challenging novel。 The notes are extremely helpful， yet concise， and the inclusion of the Congo Diary makes this a great teaching text。
Ariane
，
Definitely not what I expected。 Quite disappointing。。。
Fernanda Méndez
，
3。5
Zac Fitzgibbon
，
Interesting Novel- Very Difficult to read but well worth it in the end。 It is extremely thought provoking， however， Conrad can come through as Racist depending on how you view it。 It literally is like hacking through the jungles of the Congo。
thatangelcried
，
I am giving it a neutral 3 Stars。The book or more specifically the way it was written did not do anything for me。I can see why people like this book though。It has a rather interesting Story and develops nicely。I just think if there was more of Kurtz's perspective I would have enjoyed it more as it basically was more or less about him。。。 I am giving it a neutral 3 Stars。The book or more specifically the way it was written did not do anything for me。I can see why people like this book though。It has a rather interesting Story and develops nicely。I just think if there was more of Kurtz's perspective I would have enjoyed it more as it basically was more or less about him。。。 。。。more
Alexandra Lucia Brînaru
，
（（more like a 3。5/5））I'm not one to usually enjoy travel， adventure stories。 That part is entirely on me， having had the same experience with other books of this kind， such as Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe"。 I also didn't really match with the technical descriptions and terms relating to navigation and I found these types of descriptions quite tedious to go through， despite the book being a novella and， thus， raising the expectation of having a quicker pace。 On the plus side， I really enjoyed the dyn （（more like a 3。5/5））I'm not one to usually enjoy travel， adventure stories。 That part is entirely on me， having had the same experience with other books of this kind， such as Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe"。 I also didn't really match with the technical descriptions and terms relating to navigation and I found these types of descriptions quite tedious to go through， despite the book being a novella and， thus， raising the expectation of having a quicker pace。 On the plus side， I really enjoyed the dynamic way in which the author always described the setting， as well as all the psychological implications that came about， especially at the end。 Nonetheless， I couldn't give it more than 3。5 stars， given that I enjoyed about 1/3 of it。 。。。more
Michael Goldsmith
，
Conrad's modernist masterpiece uses a journey up the Congo to explore the ironies， hypocrisy and failing of the European pysche and so called 'civilising mission' during the pillaging of Africa in the late 19th and early 20th century。 It's clearly a problematic work for Africans as it uses stereotypes about the 'dark continent' and it's peoples to hold up a cracked mirror to Europe， but nevertheless it is a masterpiece which is brilliantly written and contains a fascinating， horrific central pre Conrad's modernist masterpiece uses a journey up the Congo to explore the ironies， hypocrisy and failing of the European pysche and so called 'civilising mission' during the pillaging of Africa in the late 19th and early 20th century。 It's clearly a problematic work for Africans as it uses stereotypes about the 'dark continent' and it's peoples to hold up a cracked mirror to Europe， but nevertheless it is a masterpiece which is brilliantly written and contains a fascinating， horrific central presence in Kurtz。 。。。more
Lachay
，
to be subdued at the cost of profound anguish and of excessive toil
Jesse
，
Conrad's prose lands in a odd place between the affecting florid prose of earlier writers while simultaneously not grasping the wit， cleverness， and inventiveness that later modernism would come to represent。 Which thus results in writing that I found to be sluggish and suffocating （which one could argue is the point， however， even then I would argue that it then does not go far enough to be truly successful）。 The historical distance between Conrad's writing and my reading of the novel has also Conrad's prose lands in a odd place between the affecting florid prose of earlier writers while simultaneously not grasping the wit， cleverness， and inventiveness that later modernism would come to represent。 Which thus results in writing that I found to be sluggish and suffocating （which one could argue is the point， however， even then I would argue that it then does not go far enough to be truly successful）。 The historical distance between Conrad's writing and my reading of the novel has also likely severely diminished the shock of the work， as well as the supposedly once prescient insights and critiques that the novel makes。 And while the novel is billed as critique or even condemnation of imperialism it is at best limited; we get the absurdity of the phrenologist doctor asking to take measurements of Marlow's skull suggesting that it would be changed by the Congo， yet any strong criticisms are absent。 I also find myself struck by Chinua Achebe's astute assessment of the novel， which analyses the strong under and overtones of racism throughout。 All in all， in opposition to those who feel the novella is timeless， I'd surmise that it instead falls the category of "historically and literarily important works" that seem to age poorly and/or fall apart under serious critical inquiry。 。。。more
Zb1113
，
4/5Really strong/interesting writing。 Deep and introspective， but also political and environmental。 Colonialism （benefit to colonists vs colonized）， Racism， Classism （different levels on the ladder of colonialism， national identity （discussion of London）， exploitative practices in capitalism， search for meaning （meaninglessness， and vacuous nature of Kurtz）， Hero fallacy， Kurtz as allegory for British colonialism （for inability to find meaning， or for 'going native'？）， natural world （impact of c 4/5Really strong/interesting writing。 Deep and introspective， but also political and environmental。 Colonialism （benefit to colonists vs colonized）， Racism， Classism （different levels on the ladder of colonialism， national identity （discussion of London）， exploitative practices in capitalism， search for meaning （meaninglessness， and vacuous nature of Kurtz）， Hero fallacy， Kurtz as allegory for British colonialism （for inability to find meaning， or for 'going native'？）， natural world （impact of civilization， good and bad？）。 。。。more
Pascal Bateman
，
In 1847， after several years of ruthless fighting， De Tocqueville wrote， “Experience has not only shown us where the natural theatre of war is located。 It has also taught us to make war。 It has revealed the strengths and weaknesses of our adversaries。 It has made us understand how to beat them and， once beaten， how we should keep the upper hand。 It can now be said that war in Africa is a science。 Everyone is familiar with its rules and everyone can apply those rules with almost complete certaint In 1847， after several years of ruthless fighting， De Tocqueville wrote， “Experience has not only shown us where the natural theatre of war is located。 It has also taught us to make war。 It has revealed the strengths and weaknesses of our adversaries。 It has made us understand how to beat them and， once beaten， how we should keep the upper hand。 It can now be said that war in Africa is a science。 Everyone is familiar with its rules and everyone can apply those rules with almost complete certainty of success。 One of the greatest services that Field Marshal Bugeaud has rendered his country is to have spread， perfected and made everyone aware of this new science”。 True 。。。more
Rita
，
I suppose I was reminded with this one why classics are not for me。 The writing often seemed as impenetrable as the dark jungle that Marlow would not shut up about。 If there was a great story here， for me， it was buried under some seriously meandering points and whatever style of writing you'd call 'three pages without a paragraph break or dialogue'。 2。5 stars I suppose I was reminded with this one why classics are not for me。 The writing often seemed as impenetrable as the dark jungle that Marlow would not shut up about。 If there was a great story here， for me， it was buried under some seriously meandering points and whatever style of writing you'd call 'three pages without a paragraph break or dialogue'。 2。5 stars 。。。more
Andy Todd
，
Superbly written short novel by a master of the English language， although it is not "typical Conrad" so I would not recommend coming to it first in a reading of his works。 But if you are just looking for a stimulating set of ideas， go for it。 Superbly written short novel by a master of the English language， although it is not "typical Conrad" so I would not recommend coming to it first in a reading of his works。 But if you are just looking for a stimulating set of ideas， go for it。 。。。more
Maeve Winters
，
Pretty challenging and not a little racist。 I liked the setting， the themes （other than the racism） and the writing style， but the storyline just wasn’t for me。 I understand that it’s not so much a story as a chain of metaphors， but between the weak and colourless pilgrims and the Africans who were unjustly painted with harsh and universal strokes， it wasn’t overly inviting。 I did question Conrad’s outlook a couple of times throughout - sometimes it seemed that he admired the rich spirit and fre Pretty challenging and not a little racist。 I liked the setting， the themes （other than the racism） and the writing style， but the storyline just wasn’t for me。 I understand that it’s not so much a story as a chain of metaphors， but between the weak and colourless pilgrims and the Africans who were unjustly painted with harsh and universal strokes， it wasn’t overly inviting。 I did question Conrad’s outlook a couple of times throughout - sometimes it seemed that he admired the rich spirit and freedom of the Africans， but there were far too many instances of him referring to black people as ‘insolent’ or ‘ignorant’ that it’s difficult to take the stance of him being a critique of racism rather than， as Chinua Achebe said， ‘a bloody racist’ himself。 Yes， yes， he wrote over a hundred years ago and all that - but still。 There wasn’t a law saying one HAD to be an arsehole （as far as I know， anyways）。Leaving those issues aside， the imagery did make me feel as though I was right there watching the action à la Hemingway， but I didn’t like how we don’t meet Kurtz until over three quarters of the way through this very short novel， who in many ways is the focal point of the text。 I was also quite disappointed when we did FINALLY meet him - the narrator barely spends any time with him at all before he goes and selfishly dies。The trope of mentioning the title OVER AND OVER is one I have only seen to this extent in ‘Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe’ - a YA book which， indeed， recommended this one to me。 Makes perfect sense。 Conrad’s clarity is refreshing but there is a niggling degree of patronisation。 Also， the tone is quite amusing in places - the narrator’s stripping down of the morally weak pilgrims in no more than a few words at regular intervals is actually pretty funny， but that might just be me （the girl who finds Morrissey endlessly entertaining）。 The forwards and introduction to this are informative but a tiny bit repetitive - for example， Conrad’s background is summarised several times。 As for the selections from Conrad’s Belgian Congo Diary: firstly， I am VERY pleased to hear that Conrad made the acquaintance of， and admired， Irish nationalist Roger Casement。 A quick glance through it showed that Conrad knows his stuff and has the travelling experience to prove it， but is most DEFINITELY a racist， and quite a mean one at that。Recognisably good literature but outdated and as difficult to get through in parts as the African jungle。 。。。more
Alberto Fernández
，
This novella is amazing and if you don't like it because it's supposedly racist you're an intellectual insect incapable of discerning fiction from reality。 You're the reason every single cultural production of the last decade is ugly and soulless。 This novella is amazing and if you don't like it because it's supposedly racist you're an intellectual insect incapable of discerning fiction from reality。 You're the reason every single cultural production of the last decade is ugly and soulless。 。。。more
Hannah
，
I really don’t know how this is classed as one of the best pieces of literature， IT’S SO RACIST！ So， before I go off on a bit of a rant， PLEASE SUPPORT THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT！---Right from the beginning， Conrad establishes a dire juxtaposition between the River Thames and the River Congo， between Britain and Africa。 This binary oppositions between the Europeans and the native Africans is consistent throughout--Conrad even goes as far as naming skin colour before saying anything of impor I really don’t know how this is classed as one of the best pieces of literature， IT’S SO RACIST！ So， before I go off on a bit of a rant， PLEASE SUPPORT THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT！---Right from the beginning， Conrad establishes a dire juxtaposition between the River Thames and the River Congo， between Britain and Africa。 This binary oppositions between the Europeans and the native Africans is consistent throughout--Conrad even goes as far as naming skin colour before saying anything of importance。 This just isn't relevant， or necessary for that matter。In addition to all of the blatant racism， I found the writing rather stale。 I found it difficult to get into it， which continued throughout the novel。 Though I will say that it becomes slightly more bearable when the 'action' started。 Please note: "action" is in quotation marks because the action isn't that excitable。Despite saying all of this， I do think that Heart of Darkness is a product of its time。 But I disagree that Heart of Darkness is one of the greatest pieces of literature of all time。 If you want a better insight， go read Chinua Achebe's essay An Image of Africa。read for a university year 1， semester 1 modern literature class。 。。。more
Stephi
，
One of those books that are more fun to analyze than to read。
Ananya
，
The only book I was assigned to read in school that I could not finish。
KS
，
Easily one of the most tedious books I have ever read。 Unnecessarily abstract sentences and long details that do not add much to the story line。 To be honest， perhaps I am simply not up-to-standard enough to appreciate his writings。Glad I have this completed， however。
Niels
，
3。5 stars
Gerard Woodward
，
have read this countless times， never fails to amaze
Ryan
，
Bruhhhhhh。
Vytautas
，
The sea shaped Conrad’s writing， and it is impressive， so impressive that I fail to see any pretentiousness。 Maybe because I love the idea of what the classics were striving for， and this language， which borders on poetry in paragraphs， is music to my ears。 Never do Conrad’s allegories get to the point of pretentiousness， because you can feel the substance behind it - personal experience thoroughly sifted， like little pieces of gold from a creek。 And it can get deep into unlit places of the hear The sea shaped Conrad’s writing， and it is impressive， so impressive that I fail to see any pretentiousness。 Maybe because I love the idea of what the classics were striving for， and this language， which borders on poetry in paragraphs， is music to my ears。 Never do Conrad’s allegories get to the point of pretentiousness， because you can feel the substance behind it - personal experience thoroughly sifted， like little pieces of gold from a creek。 And it can get deep into unlit places of the heart by the means of understatements and flashes of brilliance seldom to be found。 Not surprising that it took a Pole to expand the horizons of the human condition。 Maybe because we do not elevate life to a level it deserves to nowadays， and with “nothing new under the sun” the ambitions as well as results end up being really modest， but this feels from a different time and place in a good way。 And， like all great works， “Heart of Darkness” ends as a mystery that refuses to die。 。。。more
Elyse Walters
，
It was dark。 Sleeping hours。 Under the covers， I was wrapped in warmth， comfort， and love。 Paul was asleep。 I was awake。 While in the spooning position， I was reading this Conrad novella。。。。aware of how beautiful our snuggling stillness was。 I’m not sure if “Heart of Darkness”， is considered a masterpiece or not， but it’s definitely a classic。 76 pages。 It’s too dry for my taste in totality。。。But。。。。many of the sentences were sooo gorgeous-that even the ones I didn’t fully comprehend。。。 I was in It was dark。 Sleeping hours。 Under the covers， I was wrapped in warmth， comfort， and love。 Paul was asleep。 I was awake。 While in the spooning position， I was reading this Conrad novella。。。。aware of how beautiful our snuggling stillness was。 I’m not sure if “Heart of Darkness”， is considered a masterpiece or not， but it’s definitely a classic。 76 pages。 It’s too dry for my taste in totality。。。But。。。。many of the sentences were sooo gorgeous-that even the ones I didn’t fully comprehend。。。 I was in ‘aw’。。and ‘wow’。。。。 。。。thinking how in the world did Conrad know to put these words together — so magnificently？ Such beauty from simply uniting words with words。。。。while addressing somber themes。 To understand this book in deeper depth 。。。 reviews on Amazon helped。 Thank you to the many who read this before me。 A personal share: Two days ago I was harshly accused- slammed publicly for being a front line anti- semantic。 It was one of those WHAT？？？？- moments？ Was Jerry nuts？ I’m Jewish。 He’s Jewish。 We went to High School together。 He crushed on my cousin for years。 We are friends。 I’m a Democratic。 He’s a Republican。 I was a decent student。 He was a National Merritt Scholar。 I’m aware that in our election year of 2020， it can be harder than ever to keep friendships with extreme opposing views about politics。 So — I was slammed！ Other friends and my daughter slammed Jerry right back。 “Walk away troll” my daughter wrote。 “Block him others said”etc etc。Me: after the initial shock。。。I just really wanted to understand why I was the target of Jerry’s anger。 I’m not the enemy。 I also said。。。 “Do not speak to me like that again”。 He listened。 I noticed。 He ‘didn’t’ attack me again。 Jerry replied with an excerpt he found on the internet to support him backing his views （ fine with me）。 I asked for an apology。 So far -nothing - all is quiet on the Facebook thread where I posted a photo of Melania’s military outfit from the Republican Conversation。。。。 next to Hitler’s military uniform。 （ an article from the news） Back to this novella:In part it deals with good and evil。 So。。。。。 it gave me a chance to examine and re-examine my recent ‘Jerry-slam’ experience。 Where is the evil？ Where was the good？ Can evil and good unify？ I’d like to think so。 I keep noticing a common theme。。。。 [“The Legacy” by Kirsten Tranter]， in my reading recently: Hurting others Being hurt。 Aren’t they both just two sides of the same coin？ And if yes。。。who is the fight really with？ “No joy in the brilliance of sunshine。 Nightmarish scenes are omnipresent， every sound signifies an alarm of danger，and every sight evokes feelings of disgust and fear”。 Conrad’s talent from the English language — are extraordinary。。。。Creating mood， atmosphere，repercussions from the tropical environment， and the darkness of the human soul。 。。。more
Blake
，
Often described as nightmarish， and with good reason。 There is an unreal dream-like quality to the writing that is both vivid and horrifying。 It’s impressive judged on the writing alone， and more so considering that English was Conrad’s 3rd language。I interpreted the story as a sickening parable of greed and power for its own sake - their pursuit without purpose and the devastating consequences for both victims and perpetrators。 A reminder of the savage reality of Western Imperialism。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Heart of Darkness
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Heart of Darkness&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Heart of Darkness&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0