I can't believe people are claiming the style is dry!, 09 Nov 2008
I first read this a couple of years ago as part of an English Lit course, in which we studied in depth the language used.

The first thing to bear in mind is that this book is a product of its time. Of course there's inherent racism (Conrad's dehumanising presentation of the Africans as 'black shadows') but despite this, Heart of Darkness was an absolutely groundbreaking piece of colonial literature.

As to the style, which people have claimed is dry and unreadable (sorry that Conrad didn't have the courtesy to divide the novella into easy bitesize chapters!) it IS dense. But the language is so rich - pick out any one paragraph and you could talk about the literary techniques and the beautiful language used for hours!

The novella focuses on Marlow's journey as he approaches the 'heart of darkness' and eventually encounters the famous Kurtz. It makes social comments that would have been almost inconceivable to the readers of the colonial magazine in which it was first published, before making you, the reader, examine your own morals as it draws to its chilling conclusion.

Don't pick this up expecting a 100-page quick and easy read. But if you take the time to read this and appreciate Conrad's incredible use of the English language (not his own mother tongue!) I guarantee that you will find it worthwhile.

Intriguing but lacks in style , 18 Oct 2008
The concept for "Heart of Darkness" was very interesting. One man goes into the heart of the post-colonial congo to bring back a man who has lost his sanity, and critiques how these colonists treat the native Africans along the way.

But that is where it ends unfortunately, the writing style I felt was very poor, it seemed to be an ordeal more than a book and I felt my mind wondering at certain points. There were quite a few characters, but due to the size of the book (around 110 pages) Conrad seems to have decided to leave out any kind of description throughout the entire story. The overall image I got in my mind was a boat floating in darkness with a few bodiless voices on board and a load of African tribesmen dancing around in the distance.

The build-up to Kurtz was done well however, but when Marlow finally reaches him, the tension suddenly stops and thats it. We aren't revealed the apparently "unspeakable atrocities" that Kurtz has committed, and therefore I can neither relate to him or feel any kind of sympathy for him. The blurb says something along the lines that the story is a fascinating look into the darkness of human hearts when it comes to Kurtz. I did not feel this at all. All I saw was a man rolling around on a bed screaming "The horror! The horror!".

Throwing this aside, the reason I gave the story 3 out of 5 is because of the actual journey of Marlow. I felt that Conrad's take on colonialism, the look into the way that the British ran their companies, and the way that they treated the Africans (although some really horrible and moving imagery here) were very well done. So I'm being a bit lenient.

Other than that, the only thing I can say is that you should try it yourself, and see what you make of it.

No better after 20 years, 20 Aug 2008
I originally read this novel as a first year undergraduate in 1988. I found it dull and very hard work. I still remember having to force myself to read a page or two each night just to get through it. The horror indeed. I recently thought I would try reading it again as, after so long and with more mature tastes I might enjoy it. But no. I gave it my best shot - and then gave up. Maybe I'll have another go in 2028...

Brilliant fable of empire, 26 Mar 2008
An extraordinary book, which was so far ahead of its time that some contemporary reviewers (see above!) haven't caught up with it yet! It exposes the whole vile fallacy of empire - that arrogant pretension to rule over other peoples, all, of course, in the name of humanity and democracy! One of the truly great novels of our time.

Waste of time, 10 Mar 2008
We had to read this book in English and my god it is horrible. I have rarely read a more boing book and honestly I did not manage to read through it. I'm usually crazy about reading and I have read a lot of books, but this one was simply horrible. Both the way he writes and his sometimes hidden criticism of Africa. I think it is waste of time to read this book.

I can't believe people are claiming the style is dry!, 09 Nov 2008
I first read this a couple of years ago as part of an English Lit course, in which we studied in depth the language used.

The first thing to bear in mind is that this book is a product of its time. Of course there's inherent racism (Conrad's dehumanising presentation of the Africans as 'black shadows') but despite this, Heart of Darkness was an absolutely groundbreaking piece of colonial literature.

As to the style, which people have claimed is dry and unreadable (sorry that Conrad didn't have the courtesy to divide the novella into easy bitesize chapters!) it IS dense. But the language is so rich - pick out any one paragraph and you could talk about the literary techniques and the beautiful language used for hours!

The novella focuses on Marlow's journey as he approaches the 'heart of darkness' and eventually encounters the famous Kurtz. It makes social comments that would have been almost inconceivable to the readers of the colonial magazine in which it was first published, before making you, the reader, examine your own morals as it draws to its chilling conclusion.

Don't pick this up expecting a 100-page quick and easy read. But if you take the time to read this and appreciate Conrad's incredible use of the English language (not his own mother tongue!) I guarantee that you will find it worthwhile.

Intriguing but lacks in style , 18 Oct 2008
The concept for "Heart of Darkness" was very interesting. One man goes into the heart of the post-colonial congo to bring back a man who has lost his sanity, and critiques how these colonists treat the native Africans along the way.

But that is where it ends unfortunately, the writing style I felt was very poor, it seemed to be an ordeal more than a book and I felt my mind wondering at certain points. There were quite a few characters, but due to the size of the book (around 110 pages) Conrad seems to have decided to leave out any kind of description throughout the entire story. The overall image I got in my mind was a boat floating in darkness with a few bodiless voices on board and a load of African tribesmen dancing around in the distance.

The build-up to Kurtz was done well however, but when Marlow finally reaches him, the tension suddenly stops and thats it. We aren't revealed the apparently "unspeakable atrocities" that Kurtz has committed, and therefore I can neither relate to him or feel any kind of sympathy for him. The blurb says something along the lines that the story is a fascinating look into the darkness of human hearts when it comes to Kurtz. I did not feel this at all. All I saw was a man rolling around on a bed screaming "The horror! The horror!".

Throwing this aside, the reason I gave the story 3 out of 5 is because of the actual journey of Marlow. I felt that Conrad's take on colonialism, the look into the way that the British ran their companies, and the way that they treated the Africans (although some really horrible and moving imagery here) were very well done. So I'm being a bit lenient.

Other than that, the only thing I can say is that you should try it yourself, and see what you make of it.

No better after 20 years, 20 Aug 2008
I originally read this novel as a first year undergraduate in 1988. I found it dull and very hard work. I still remember having to force myself to read a page or two each night just to get through it. The horror indeed. I recently thought I would try reading it again as, after so long and with more mature tastes I might enjoy it. But no. I gave it my best shot - and then gave up. Maybe I'll have another go in 2028...

Brilliant fable of empire, 26 Mar 2008
An extraordinary book, which was so far ahead of its time that some contemporary reviewers (see above!) haven't caught up with it yet! It exposes the whole vile fallacy of empire - that arrogant pretension to rule over other peoples, all, of course, in the name of humanity and democracy! One of the truly great novels of our time.

Waste of time, 10 Mar 2008
We had to read this book in English and my god it is horrible. I have rarely read a more boing book and honestly I did not manage to read through it. I'm usually crazy about reading and I have read a lot of books, but this one was simply horrible. Both the way he writes and his sometimes hidden criticism of Africa. I think it is waste of time to read this book.

Unbelievable!, 08 Sep 2008
I find it absolutely unbelievable that anyone could regard this novel as "dull"! And if novels shouldn't be depressing... well, don't bother with the rest of the Western canon. Maybe you need to try a little harder with the source novel than you do with the Hollywood film. (Consider this: if it's such an average read, why was Francic C. so inspired by it in the first place?)

An unpleasant read, 19 May 2008
I found this a rather disappointing read, especially after all the favourable reviews and publicity surrounding the book. I found it wanting for a plot, and the writing style rather off-putting. I gained absolutely no pleasure from reading this book, and I certainly won't recommend it to anyone.

one of the greatest masterpieces of literature, 06 Apr 2008
an illuminating, profound, tragic trip at the heart of human nature. it is a book to be read and pondered. it is not easy reading (though it can grip your attention from beginning to end and you can read it a single afternoon) but it is highly rewarding reading.

Dull and undeserving of its high reputation, 19 Mar 2008
I found this very dull all through and, despite its high literary reputation, it did not evoke any chords in me. Of course, by modern standards, some of the language is racist, but I am used to this from writers like Haggard and am well able to see this in its historical context.



'The Emperor's New Clothes', no less..., 05 Feb 2008
Arriving at this page, inspired, enthused by Coppola's cinematic masterpiece 'Apocalypse Now'? Or maybe from the documentary 'Hearts of Darkness - A Filmmaker's Apocalypse'? Eager to learn more? maybe drink at the fountain from which perhaps the greatest piece of cinema, was born? Think again. What we have here is purely and simply a VERY mediocre novella, a work that was written not by a writer, but by a Mariner with a typewriter - a hobbyist. On no account could or should this be taken as a seminal work of either fact or fiction, and I wish those who are forever trying to have this work classified as such a literary milestone would find a real cause to champion. I mean why is this one of the supposed greats? Is it original? No! Well written? No! Does it have well-drawn characters? No! an intriguing plot, perhaps? No. Does it use language in a new or creative way? No. Does it re-define the novella? No! Does it have potential to influence, either in style or content, the works of other writers? No! - then what? What is it that reverberates so loudly? If not the work then the noise of the crowd surrounding the pedestal - eager for a glimpse of the masterpiece that (they have been told) is so revered, so special.
Between the pseudo-intellectual and the literary professor's attempts to 'interpret' this work (for interpret read: paint it their colour) there is nothing hidden, nor magical here, no genius lies between the poor structure and the even worse punctuation. A simple tale, nothing more. Had one not know Conrad actually ventured to the African Continent, one could have easily mistaken his poorly drawn figures, his stereotypical characters as being the stuff of a boyhood imagination - too many comics and children's novels read under the blanket with a torch...
The only extra-ordinary factor here is the fact that Coppola, in his undisputed genius, took this simple, fragmented tale of no real literary worth and from its inspiration produced a moment in cinematic history which will never again be glimpsed, a peak never again scaled. That is the only thing one need be in awe of here.

Addendum
Anyone who adds more weight or reads into this flimsy story more than is either present or visible needs to ask themselves the following question "Have I seen Copolla's film 'Apocalypse Now'" - if your answer is 'yes' then quite clearly you are transferring the depth and clarity of that masterpiece and overlaying it on this very unsubstantive text. What you have done is to confuse an essentially non-eventful, poorly penned novella with perhaps the best piece of cinema ever recorded. You are deluded. I wish 'intellectuals' would stop their pointless musings over such poor works as this and let it drift into the past where it belongs. Why some works get unfairly labelled as 'keep, don't throw away' whilst other perfectly fine texts get 'consign to history' stamped on them is quite beyond me. In elevating such a non-starter to such heights totally distorts the surroundings and makes it doubly difficult for better written, more original works to get the audience they rightly deserve.

I can't believe people are claiming the style is dry!, 09 Nov 2008
I first read this a couple of years ago as part of an English Lit course, in which we studied in depth the language used.

The first thing to bear in mind is that this book is a product of its time. Of course there's inherent racism (Conrad's dehumanising presentation of the Africans as 'black shadows') but despite this, Heart of Darkness was an absolutely groundbreaking piece of colonial literature.

As to the style, which people have claimed is dry and unreadable (sorry that Conrad didn't have the courtesy to divide the novella into easy bitesize chapters!) it IS dense. But the language is so rich - pick out any one paragraph and you could talk about the literary techniques and the beautiful language used for hours!

The novella focuses on Marlow's journey as he approaches the 'heart of darkness' and eventually encounters the famous Kurtz. It makes social comments that would have been almost inconceivable to the readers of the colonial magazine in which it was first published, before making you, the reader, examine your own morals as it draws to its chilling conclusion.

Don't pick this up expecting a 100-page quick and easy read. But if you take the time to read this and appreciate Conrad's incredible use of the English language (not his own mother tongue!) I guarantee that you will find it worthwhile.

Intriguing but lacks in style , 18 Oct 2008
The concept for "Heart of Darkness" was very interesting. One man goes into the heart of the post-colonial congo to bring back a man who has lost his sanity, and critiques how these colonists treat the native Africans along the way.

But that is where it ends unfortunately, the writing style I felt was very poor, it seemed to be an ordeal more than a book and I felt my mind wondering at certain points. There were quite a few characters, but due to the size of the book (around 110 pages) Conrad seems to have decided to leave out any kind of description throughout the entire story. The overall image I got in my mind was a boat floating in darkness with a few bodiless voices on board and a load of African tribesmen dancing around in the distance.

The build-up to Kurtz was done well however, but when Marlow finally reaches him, the tension suddenly stops and thats it. We aren't revealed the apparently "unspeakable atrocities" that Kurtz has committed, and therefore I can neither relate to him or feel any kind of sympathy for him. The blurb says something along the lines that the story is a fascinating look into the darkness of human hearts when it comes to Kurtz. I did not feel this at all. All I saw was a man rolling around on a bed screaming "The horror! The horror!".

Throwing this aside, the reason I gave the story 3 out of 5 is because of the actual journey of Marlow. I felt that Conrad's take on colonialism, the look into the way that the British ran their companies, and the way that they treated the Africans (although some really horrible and moving imagery here) were very well done. So I'm being a bit lenient.

Other than that, the only thing I can say is that you should try it yourself, and see what you make of it.

No better after 20 years, 20 Aug 2008
I originally read this novel as a first year undergraduate in 1988. I found it dull and very hard work. I still remember having to force myself to read a page or two each night just to get through it. The horror indeed. I recently thought I would try reading it again as, after so long and with more mature tastes I might enjoy it. But no. I gave it my best shot - and then gave up. Maybe I'll have another go in 2028...

Brilliant fable of empire, 26 Mar 2008
An extraordinary book, which was so far ahead of its time that some contemporary reviewers (see above!) haven't caught up with it yet! It exposes the whole vile fallacy of empire - that arrogant pretension to rule over other peoples, all, of course, in the name of humanity and democracy! One of the truly great novels of our time.

Waste of time, 10 Mar 2008
We had to read this book in English and my god it is horrible. I have rarely read a more boing book and honestly I did not manage to read through it. I'm usually crazy about reading and I have read a lot of books, but this one was simply horrible. Both the way he writes and his sometimes hidden criticism of Africa. I think it is waste of time to read this book.

Unbelievable!, 08 Sep 2008
I find it absolutely unbelievable that anyone could regard this novel as "dull"! And if novels shouldn't be depressing... well, don't bother with the rest of the Western canon. Maybe you need to try a little harder with the source novel than you do with the Hollywood film. (Consider this: if it's such an average read, why was Francic C. so inspired by it in the first place?)

An unpleasant read, 19 May 2008
I found this a rather disappointing read, especially after all the favourable reviews and publicity surrounding the book. I found it wanting for a plot, and the writing style rather off-putting. I gained absolutely no pleasure from reading this book, and I certainly won't recommend it to anyone.

one of the greatest masterpieces of literature, 06 Apr 2008
an illuminating, profound, tragic trip at the heart of human nature. it is a book to be read and pondered. it is not easy reading (though it can grip your attention from beginning to end and you can read it a single afternoon) but it is highly rewarding reading.

Dull and undeserving of its high reputation, 19 Mar 2008
I found this very dull all through and, despite its high literary reputation, it did not evoke any chords in me. Of course, by modern standards, some of the language is racist, but I am used to this from writers like Haggard and am well able to see this in its historical context.



'The Emperor's New Clothes', no less..., 05 Feb 2008
Arriving at this page, inspired, enthused by Coppola's cinematic masterpiece 'Apocalypse Now'? Or maybe from the documentary 'Hearts of Darkness - A Filmmaker's Apocalypse'? Eager to learn more? maybe drink at the fountain from which perhaps the greatest piece of cinema, was born? Think again. What we have here is purely and simply a VERY mediocre novella, a work that was written not by a writer, but by a Mariner with a typewriter - a hobbyist. On no account could or should this be taken as a seminal work of either fact or fiction, and I wish those who are forever trying to have this work classified as such a literary milestone would find a real cause to champion. I mean why is this one of the supposed greats? Is it original? No! Well written? No! Does it have well-drawn characters? No! an intriguing plot, perhaps? No. Does it use language in a new or creative way? No. Does it re-define the novella? No! Does it have potential to influence, either in style or content, the works of other writers? No! - then what? What is it that reverberates so loudly? If not the work then the noise of the crowd surrounding the pedestal - eager for a glimpse of the masterpiece that (they have been told) is so revered, so special.
Between the pseudo-intellectual and the literary professor's attempts to 'interpret' this work (for interpret read: paint it their colour) there is nothing hidden, nor magical here, no genius lies between the poor structure and the even worse punctuation. A simple tale, nothing more. Had one not know Conrad actually ventured to the African Continent, one could have easily mistaken his poorly drawn figures, his stereotypical characters as being the stuff of a boyhood imagination - too many comics and children's novels read under the blanket with a torch...
The only extra-ordinary factor here is the fact that Coppola, in his undisputed genius, took this simple, fragmented tale of no real literary worth and from its inspiration produced a moment in cinematic history which will never again be glimpsed, a peak never again scaled. That is the only thing one need be in awe of here.

Addendum
Anyone who adds more weight or reads into this flimsy story more than is either present or visible needs to ask themselves the following question "Have I seen Copolla's film 'Apocalypse Now'" - if your answer is 'yes' then quite clearly you are transferring the depth and clarity of that masterpiece and overlaying it on this very unsubstantive text. What you have done is to confuse an essentially non-eventful, poorly penned novella with perhaps the best piece of cinema ever recorded. You are deluded. I wish 'intellectuals' would stop their pointless musings over such poor works as this and let it drift into the past where it belongs. Why some works get unfairly labelled as 'keep, don't throw away' whilst other perfectly fine texts get 'consign to history' stamped on them is quite beyond me. In elevating such a non-starter to such heights totally distorts the surroundings and makes it doubly difficult for better written, more original works to get the audience they rightly deserve.

A favourite classic, 23 Jun 2008
For some years, this intriguing novel has been a favourite of mine. Conrad leads the reader through a cunning series of plots and subplots, all the while creating an atmosphere of discontent and darkness. The distinct characteristics of Mr Verloc will interest and bemuse the reader for many hours along the main plot of this novel. Anarchy has never been so readily depicted in classic literature.

Precisely too many words, 07 May 2008
I read another review that describes Conrad's prose as dense, difficult and gorgeous. I'm not sure about the last adjective. This is Conrad at his most dense and difficult. Almost impenetrable, one might say. For the opposite end of his scale see the earlier Lord Jim or the later Shadow Line. They are light and breezy by comparison.

I read this book about two years ago and can hardly remember a thing about it. It has a memorable bomb scene in Greenwich Park. I can't even remember where the rest of it is set. Somewhere in the West End, maybe?

Conrad is an author I often hate to love, but find myself loving nonetheless. One thing I do like about him is that the sunny, tropical locations lighten the density and difficulty of the surface prose. It's like a dirty window looking onto a sunny day. But that's not right. There is somehting precise, almost surgical, about Conrad's prose that is far from 'dirty'. The Secret Agent, set in an almost Dickensian, misty, murky C19 London, doesn't have the appeal of these tropically-set works, anyway.

I'll probably come back to The Secret Agent one day, as I probably will Nostomo, his other supremely dense, difficult book.

Not all that simple, 10 Jan 2007
Conrad's prose is dense, difficult and gorgeous. Before you pick up a book like this, you need to prepare yourself for an author who will happily write eight pages or so of prose between two lines in a conversation and not apologise (in fact there is, as is customary for Conrad, a self-justifying foreword). Patience will reward you with a surprising and darkly humorous tale of anarchists learning that real sources of chaos, anarchy and violence have little to do with abstract ideas.

It's not much like Heart of Darkness. Heart of Darkness is perhaps more important in the history of literature, but this is bigger, richer and more enjoyable. Read both.

The human side of the underworld, 30 Oct 2005
Conrad leads us into 19th Century London, allowing us an immersion into an underground world of anarchists and the strings pulling on them. The group of anarchists, though bound by a certain political directionality, is presented to us as unstructured, a loose association of very idiosyncratic individuals who on the whole seem more like the comical caricature of dejected rebels. And so, setting aside great political insights, Conrad zooms into the peculiar lives of these individuals that form the underworld. In particular, we witness the failed efforts of Mr. Verloc, the secret agent, to prokove the masses by planting a bomb. The emotional distance and strained relationship with other individuals including his wife is to have devastating consequences for him. The author has a fantastic ability to depict his characters, to describe in detail the exteriorisation of their intense psychological states, and thus to invoke powerful images of the scenes. One is a true witness to the events unfolding.

A Passage to Blighty, 16 May 2001
E.M. Forster apparently said something to the effect that Conrad's London in 'The Secret Agent' was too dark a place: a foreigners projection of European anxieties onto, in reality, a far more benevolent scene. It's true, Conrad's vision of England's capital is dark, but you'd have to say that it is no darker than, say, moments in Dickens', or even T.S. Eliot's 'Wasteland'. Developments in both the world of Crime Thrillers, and in the reality of terrorism and espionage suggest that Conrad was certainly onto something. Indeed, many now current clichés of the genre can be seen to originate from Conrad's book: mainly that the criminal and the policeman; the terrorist and the 'keeper of the peace' are not worlds apart. Few contemporary writers, however, are quite as keen and scrupulous as Conrad, who is never shy of taking us into the deepest and darkest places in the modern political psyche. Conrad's prose is as intensely atmospheric, as psychologically penetrating, and as layered with ironies as anything you will read in English. Sometimes it takes an 'outsider view' to tell you hard things about your beloved little Island. You won't get Merchant Ivory touching Conrad.

I can't believe people are claiming the style is dry!, 09 Nov 2008
I first read this a couple of years ago as part of an English Lit course, in which we studied in depth the language used.

The first thing to bear in mind is that this book is a product of its time. Of course there's inherent racism (Conrad's dehumanising presentation of the Africans as 'black shadows') but despite this, Heart of Darkness was an absolutely groundbreaking piece of colonial literature.

As to the style, which people have claimed is dry and unreadable (sorry that Conrad didn't have the courtesy to divide the novella into easy bitesize chapters!) it IS dense. But the language is so rich - pick out any one paragraph and you could talk about the literary techniques and the beautiful language used for hours!

The novella focuses on Marlow's journey as he approaches the 'heart of darkness' and eventually encounters the famous Kurtz. It makes social comments that would have been almost inconceivable to the readers of the colonial magazine in which it was first published, before making you, the reader, examine your own morals as it draws to its chilling conclusion.

Don't pick this up expecting a 100-page quick and easy read. But if you take the time to read this and appreciate Conrad's incredible use of the English language (not his own mother tongue!) I guarantee that you will find it worthwhile.

Intriguing but lacks in style , 18 Oct 2008
The concept for "Heart of Darkness" was very interesting. One man goes into the heart of the post-colonial congo to bring back a man who has lost his sanity, and critiques how these colonists treat the native Africans along the way.

But that is where it ends unfortunately, the writing style I felt was very poor, it seemed to be an ordeal more than a book and I felt my mind wondering at certain points. There were quite a few characters, but due to the size of the book (around 110 pages) Conrad seems to have decided to leave out any kind of description throughout the entire story. The overall image I got in my mind was a boat floating in darkness with a few bodiless voices on board and a load of African tribesmen dancing around in the distance.

The build-up to Kurtz was done well however, but when Marlow finally reaches him, the tension suddenly stops and thats it. We aren't revealed the apparently "unspeakable atrocities" that Kurtz has committed, and therefore I can neither relate to him or feel any kind of sympathy for him. The blurb says something along the lines that the story is a fascinating look into the darkness of human hearts when it comes to Kurtz. I did not feel this at all. All I saw was a man rolling around on a bed screaming "The horror! The horror!".

Throwing this aside, the reason I gave the story 3 out of 5 is because of the actual journey of Marlow. I felt that Conrad's take on colonialism, the look into the way that the British ran their companies, and the way that they treated the Africans (although some really horrible and moving imagery here) were very well done. So I'm being a bit lenient.

Other than that, the only thing I can say is that you should try it yourself, and see what you make of it.

No better after 20 years, 20 Aug 2008
I originally read this novel as a first year undergraduate in 1988. I found it dull and very hard work. I still remember having to force myself to read a page or two each night just to get through it. The horror indeed. I recently thought I would try reading it again as, after so long and with more mature tastes I might enjoy it. But no. I gave it my best shot - and then gave up. Maybe I'll have another go in 2028...

Brilliant fable of empire, 26 Mar 2008
An extraordinary book, which was so far ahead of its time that some contemporary reviewers (see above!) haven't caught up with it yet! It exposes the whole vile fallacy of empire - that arrogant pretension to rule over other peoples, all, of course, in the name of humanity and democracy! One of the truly great novels of our time.

Waste of time, 10 Mar 2008
We had to read this book in English and my god it is horrible. I have rarely read a more boing book and honestly I did not manage to read through it. I'm usually crazy about reading and I have read a lot of books, but this one was simply horrible. Both the way he writes and his sometimes hidden criticism of Africa. I think it is waste of time to read this book.

Unbelievable!, 08 Sep 2008
I find it absolutely unbelievable that anyone could regard this novel as "dull"! And if novels shouldn't be depressing... well, don't bother with the rest of the Western canon. Maybe you need to try a little harder with the source novel than you do with the Hollywood film. (Consider this: if it's such an average read, why was Francic C. so inspired by it in the first place?)

An unpleasant read, 19 May 2008
I found this a rather disappointing read, especially after all the favourable reviews and publicity surrounding the book. I found it wanting for a plot, and the writing style rather off-putting. I gained absolutely no pleasure from reading this book, and I certainly won't recommend it to anyone.

one of the greatest masterpieces of literature, 06 Apr 2008
an illuminating, profound, tragic trip at the heart of human nature. it is a book to be read and pondered. it is not easy reading (though it can grip your attention from beginning to end and you can read it a single afternoon) but it is highly rewarding reading.

Dull and undeserving of its high reputation, 19 Mar 2008
I found this very dull all through and, despite its high literary reputation, it did not evoke any chords in me. Of course, by modern standards, some of the language is racist, but I am used to this from writers like Haggard and am well able to see this in its historical context.



'The Emperor's New Clothes', no less..., 05 Feb 2008
Arriving at this page, inspired, enthused by Coppola's cinematic masterpiece 'Apocalypse Now'? Or maybe from the documentary 'Hearts of Darkness - A Filmmaker's Apocalypse'? Eager to learn more? maybe drink at the fountain from which perhaps the greatest piece of cinema, was born? Think again. What we have here is purely and simply a VERY mediocre novella, a work that was written not by a writer, but by a Mariner with a typewriter - a hobbyist. On no account could or should this be taken as a seminal work of either fact or fiction, and I wish those who are forever trying to have this work classified as such a literary milestone would find a real cause to champion. I mean why is this one of the supposed greats? Is it original? No! Well written? No! Does it have well-drawn characters? No! an intriguing plot, perhaps? No. Does it use language in a new or creative way? No. Does it re-define the novella? No! Does it have potential to influence, either in style or content, the works of other writers? No! - then what? What is it that reverberates so loudly? If not the work then the noise of the crowd surrounding the pedestal - eager for a glimpse of the masterpiece that (they have been told) is so revered, so special.
Between the pseudo-intellectual and the literary professor's attempts to 'interpret' this work (for interpret read: paint it their colour) there is nothing hidden, nor magical here, no genius lies between the poor structure and the even worse punctuation. A simple tale, nothing more. Had one not know Conrad actually ventured to the African Continent, one could have easily mistaken his poorly drawn figures, his stereotypical characters as being the stuff of a boyhood imagination - too many comics and children's novels read under the blanket with a torch...
The only extra-ordinary factor here is the fact that Coppola, in his undisputed genius, took this simple, fragmented tale of no real literary worth and from its inspiration produced a moment in cinematic history which will never again be glimpsed, a peak never again scaled. That is the only thing one need be in awe of here.

Addendum
Anyone who adds more weight or reads into this flimsy story more than is either present or visible needs to ask themselves the following question "Have I seen Copolla's film 'Apocalypse Now'" - if your answer is 'yes' then quite clearly you are transferring the depth and clarity of that masterpiece and overlaying it on this very unsubstantive text. What you have done is to confuse an essentially non-eventful, poorly penned novella with perhaps the best piece of cinema ever recorded. You are deluded. I wish 'intellectuals' would stop their pointless musings over such poor works as this and let it drift into the past where it belongs. Why some works get unfairly labelled as 'keep, don't throw away' whilst other perfectly fine texts get 'consign to history' stamped on them is quite beyond me. In elevating such a non-starter to such heights totally distorts the surroundings and makes it doubly difficult for better written, more original works to get the audience they rightly deserve.

A favourite classic, 23 Jun 2008
For some years, this intriguing novel has been a favourite of mine. Conrad leads the reader through a cunning series of plots and subplots, all the while creating an atmosphere of discontent and darkness. The distinct characteristics of Mr Verloc will interest and bemuse the reader for many hours along the main plot of this novel. Anarchy has never been so readily depicted in classic literature.

Precisely too many words, 07 May 2008
I read another review that describes Conrad's prose as dense, difficult and gorgeous. I'm not sure about the last adjective. This is Conrad at his most dense and difficult. Almost impenetrable, one might say. For the opposite end of his scale see the earlier Lord Jim or the later Shadow Line. They are light and breezy by comparison.

I read this book about two years ago and can hardly remember a thing about it. It has a memorable bomb scene in Greenwich Park. I can't even remember where the rest of it is set. Somewhere in the West End, maybe?

Conrad is an author I often hate to love, but find myself loving nonetheless. One thing I do like about him is that the sunny, tropical locations lighten the density and difficulty of the surface prose. It's like a dirty window looking onto a sunny day. But that's not right. There is somehting precise, almost surgical, about Conrad's prose that is far from 'dirty'. The Secret Agent, set in an almost Dickensian, misty, murky C19 London, doesn't have the appeal of these tropically-set works, anyway.

I'll probably come back to The Secret Agent one day, as I probably will Nostomo, his other supremely dense, difficult book.

Not all that simple, 10 Jan 2007
Conrad's prose is dense, difficult and gorgeous. Before you pick up a book like this, you need to prepare yourself for an author who will happily write eight pages or so of prose between two lines in a conversation and not apologise (in fact there is, as is customary for Conrad, a self-justifying foreword). Patience will reward you with a surprising and darkly humorous tale of anarchists learning that real sources of chaos, anarchy and violence have little to do with abstract ideas.

It's not much like Heart of Darkness. Heart of Darkness is perhaps more important in the history of literature, but this is bigger, richer and more enjoyable. Read both.

The human side of the underworld, 30 Oct 2005
Conrad leads us into 19th Century London, allowing us an immersion into an underground world of anarchists and the strings pulling on them. The group of anarchists, though bound by a certain political directionality, is presented to us as unstructured, a loose association of very idiosyncratic individuals who on the whole seem more like the comical caricature of dejected rebels. And so, setting aside great political insights, Conrad zooms into the peculiar lives of these individuals that form the underworld. In particular, we witness the failed efforts of Mr. Verloc, the secret agent, to prokove the masses by planting a bomb. The emotional distance and strained relationship with other individuals including his wife is to have devastating consequences for him. The author has a fantastic ability to depict his characters, to describe in detail the exteriorisation of their intense psychological states, and thus to invoke powerful images of the scenes. One is a true witness to the events unfolding.

A Passage to Blighty, 16 May 2001
E.M. Forster apparently said something to the effect that Conrad's London in 'The Secret Agent' was too dark a place: a foreigners projection of European anxieties onto, in reality, a far more benevolent scene. It's true, Conrad's vision of England's capital is dark, but you'd have to say that it is no darker than, say, moments in Dickens', or even T.S. Eliot's 'Wasteland'. Developments in both the world of Crime Thrillers, and in the reality of terrorism and espionage suggest that Conrad was certainly onto something. Indeed, many now current clichés of the genre can be seen to originate from Conrad's book: mainly that the criminal and the policeman; the terrorist and the 'keeper of the peace' are not worlds apart. Few contemporary writers, however, are quite as keen and scrupulous as Conrad, who is never shy of taking us into the deepest and darkest places in the modern political psyche. Conrad's prose is as intensely atmospheric, as psychologically penetrating, and as layered with ironies as anything you will read in English. Sometimes it takes an 'outsider view' to tell you hard things about your beloved little Island. You won't get Merchant Ivory touching Conrad.

Heart of Darkness and the Collective Unconscious, 24 Sep 2008
The Heart of Darkness is about a man, a very accomplished man, erudite, educated, aspirational, filled with ideals, hope and ambition for himself and humanity. Yet, upon encountering the ordinariness in others, an ordinariness that is prejudiced, violent, vile, base and degenerate, he respondes with a violence and degeneracy that exceeds anything he had encountered from those ordinary others.

This is a story about ignorance, contempt and arrogance and its consequences. It is about the impotence of Kurtz to affect change upon this collective unconsciouness and his consequent omnipotent reaction. It is a narrative descriptive of the manner in which, without consciousness and insight, even the most accomplished may be corrupted and decend into the Heart of Darkness. The alternative would be, arguably, transcendance of the ordinary human ego to a state of divine grace. Driven, perhpas by high ideals, Kurtz could not do this and thus the narrative suggests that the most accomplished are perhaps the most vulnerable. Kurtz may thus be seen as a contemporary Lucifer. The brigthest that became the darkest.

The book describes the destruction of high human philosophy to a nihilistic Law of the Jungle taken to its obvious and horrifying ("The horror. The Horror") conclusion in the mind of a man of genius. Kurtz witnesses ignorance, contempt and vile arrogance, the antithesis of his ideals, as we do when, for example, Conrad describes the Europeans and their attitude to the horror of the dying African enslaved miners.

The impotence of his idealism is absolute and he respondes with a contempt that is transcendent of anything the ordinary man is capable of, becoming omnipotent and terrible.

In this regard it is a most insightful narrative into the human condition, reflective of the affect of the collective unconscious upon an individual psyche. Puzzling to many commentators who perhaps interpret Kurtz's behaviour as innate within us all, there is a more profound interpretation descriptive of a deeper understanding.

The book is, ultimately, about the struggle not to degenerate. Kurtz knows he is wrong and he welcomes death as an end of this struggle. Perhaps we must consider an hypotheseis that this evil is not innate but rather an infection from the collective unconscious to which our personality responds. In recognition of Kurtz's insight into this struggle, a struggle that is both his and, if we observe our own lives, relationships and behaviours, our own. It is, arguably, the greatest of all human confrontations. It is through this insight that, although he lost, he remains, to the narrator, someone unique, to be greatly admired.

The shallow and facile nature of our society, it's collective ignorance and banal innocence is encapsulted when the narrator declines from telling Kurtz's berieved fiance the truth, for it would be beyond her understanding. As is perhaps this book to many.

Yet, the Heart of Darkness is an extraordinary psychological work. Maybe one of the greatest. Engrossing, beautifully written and read, there is nothing else quite like it.









Mixed Bag, 07 May 2008
First thing to say is that Heart of Darkness itself is definitely a 5 star story. However here it is published with 2 more of Conrad's seafaring stories - "Youth" and "The End of the Tether", presumably to give the reader more examples of his writing style.

Heart of Darkness is brilliant in its theme and in the way it is written. I had read a number of years ago and found it tough going but this time enjoyed it much more.
It's almost what is not included (ie the details of Kurtz's actions in the jungle) that add so much to the tension and "horror" of the story.

Marlowe is also the narrator in "Youth", possibly an autobiographical account of a young seaman's first trip. Not particularly noteworthy really.

I found "The End of the Tether" much too long although the story itself was interesting.

A good idea to put these lesser known stories with the "main course" but you know which story you'll read again and again.

Mediocre, 06 Jul 2007
Let's get a few things straight. Heart of Darkness, though classed as horror, os not overtly frightening. It is one of those stories which relies on reader participation, inteprpretation and a claustrophobic atmosphere in order to induce unease. The story works, in an outdated sort of way, in criticising the morality of slavery and the ruthless exploitation of small colonies. But it certainly will not top my list of story which truly terrify. Conrad is no E.F Benson or M.R James.
His writing style is convoluted, and this is shown to the extremes in the openings of the final story 'The End Of The Tether'. The writer seems to have an affinity with sailing, and this is shown in the aforementioned story as well as 'Youth'. Even in Heart Of Darkness, in the scene sailing down the river to meet Kurtz, we are 'treated' to in depth and painfully detailed descriptions of sailing.
In short, I did not find Conrad deserving of the devotion of some of his continuing readership, nor was his reputation deserved. It also seemed to me that the Heart of Darkness, was not in the failing chest of Mr Kurtz, but in the corrupting and malign depths of the jungle, through which the rivers were the arteries. But then, the story is written in such a may as to imply multiple meanings.

Great collection of stories, 16 Apr 2007
Don't just pay out for Heart Of Darkness alone, when you can get some other great stories with it for free.
A great writer, and some great stories that are so well written you picture the scene and characters with clarity.
Get it!

Brilliant, 27 Nov 2006
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.

I can't believe people are claiming the style is dry!, 09 Nov 2008
I first read this a couple of years ago as part of an English Lit course, in which we studied in depth the language used.

The first thing to bear in mind is that this book is a product of its time. Of course there's inherent racism (Conrad's dehumanising presentation of the Africans as 'black shadows') but despite this, Heart of Darkness was an absolutely groundbreaking piece of colonial literature.

As to the style, which people have claimed is dry and unreadable (sorry that Conrad didn't have the courtesy to divide the novella into easy bitesize chapters!) it IS dense. But the language is so rich - pick out any one paragraph and you could talk about the literary techniques and the beautiful language used for hours!

The novella focuses on Marlow's journey as he approaches the 'heart of darkness' and eventually encounters the famous Kurtz. It makes social comments that would have been almost inconceivable to the readers of the colonial magazine in which it was first published, before making you, the reader, examine your own morals as it draws to its chilling conclusion.

Don't pick this up expecting a 100-page quick and easy read. But if you take the time to read this and appreciate Conrad's incredible use of the English language (not his own mother tongue!) I guarantee that you will find it worthwhile.

Intriguing but lacks in style , 18 Oct 2008
The concept for "Heart of Darkness" was very interesting. One man goes into the heart of the post-colonial congo to bring back a man who has lost his sanity, and critiques how these colonists treat the native Africans along the way.

But that is where it ends unfortunately, the writing style I felt was very poor, it seemed to be an ordeal more than a book and I felt my mind wondering at certain points. There were quite a few characters, but due to the size of the book (around 110 pages) Conrad seems to have decided to leave out any kind of description throughout the entire story. The overall image I got in my mind was a boat floating in darkness with a few bodiless voices on board and a load of African tribesmen dancing around in the distance.

The build-up to Kurtz was done well however, but when Marlow finally reaches him, the tension suddenly stops and thats it. We aren't revealed the apparently "unspeakable atrocities" that Kurtz has committed, and therefore I can neither relate to him or feel any kind of sympathy for him. The blurb says something along the lines that the story is a fascinating look into the darkness of human hearts when it comes to Kurtz. I did not feel this at all. All I saw was a man rolling around on a bed screaming "The horror! The horror!".

Throwing this aside, the reason I gave the story 3 out of 5 is because of the actual journey of Marlow. I felt that Conrad's take on colonialism, the look into the way that the British ran their companies, and the way that they treated the Africans (although some really horrible and moving imagery here) were very well done. So I'm being a bit lenient.

Other than that, the only thing I can say is that you should try it yourself, and see what you make of it.

No better after 20 years, 20 Aug 2008
I originally read this novel as a first year undergraduate in 1988. I found it dull and very hard work. I still remember having to force myself to read a page or two each night just to get through it. The horror indeed. I recently thought I would try reading it again as, after so long and with more mature tastes I might enjoy it. But no. I gave it my best shot - and then gave up. Maybe I'll have another go in 2028...

Brilliant fable of empire, 26 Mar 2008
An extraordinary book, which was so far ahead of its time that some contemporary reviewers (see above!) haven't caught up with it yet! It exposes the whole vile fallacy of empire - that arrogant pretension to rule over other peoples, all, of course, in the name of humanity and democracy! One of the truly great novels of our time.

Waste of time, 10 Mar 2008
We had to read this book in English and my god it is horrible. I have rarely read a more boing book and honestly I did not manage to read through it. I'm usually crazy about reading and I have read a lot of books, but this one was simply horrible. Both the way he writes and his sometimes hidden criticism of Africa. I think it is waste of time to read this book.

Unbelievable!, 08 Sep 2008
I find it absolutely unbelievable that anyone could regard this novel as "dull"! And if novels shouldn't be depressing... well, don't bother with the rest of the Western canon. Maybe you need to try a little harder with the source novel than you do with the Hollywood film. (Consider this: if it's such an average read, why was Francic C. so inspired by it in the first place?)

An unpleasant read, 19 May 2008
I found this a rather disappointing read, especially after all the favourable reviews and publicity surrounding the book. I found it wanting for a plot, and the writing style rather off-putting. I gained absolutely no pleasure from reading this book, and I certainly won't recommend it to anyone.

one of the greatest masterpieces of literature, 06 Apr 2008
an illuminating, profound, tragic trip at the heart of human nature. it is a book to be read and pondered. it is not easy reading (though it can grip your attention from beginning to end and you can read it a single afternoon) but it is highly rewarding reading.

Dull and undeserving of its high reputation, 19 Mar 2008
I found this very dull all through and, despite its high literary reputation, it did not evoke any chords in me. Of course, by modern standards, some of the language is racist, but I am used to this from writers like Haggard and am well able to see this in its historical context.



'The Emperor's New Clothes', no less..., 05 Feb 2008
Arriving at this page, inspired, enthused by Coppola's cinematic masterpiece 'Apocalypse Now'? Or maybe from the documentary 'Hearts of Darkness - A Filmmaker's Apocalypse'? Eager to learn more? maybe drink at the fountain from which perhaps the greatest piece of cinema, was born? Think again. What we have here is purely and simply a VERY mediocre novella, a work that was written not by a writer, but by a Mariner with a typewriter - a hobbyist. On no account could or should this be taken as a seminal work of either fact or fiction, and I wish those who are forever trying to have this work classified as such a literary milestone would find a real cause to champion. I mean why is this one of the supposed greats? Is it original? No! Well written? No! Does it have well-drawn characters? No! an intriguing plot, perhaps? No. Does it use language in a new or creative way? No. Does it re-define the novella? No! Does it have potential to influence, either in style or content, the works of other writers? No! - then what? What is it that reverberates so loudly? If not the work then the noise of the crowd surrounding the pedestal - eager for a glimpse of the masterpiece that (they have been told) is so revered, so special.
Between the pseudo-intellectual and the literary professor's attempts to 'interpret' this work (for interpret read: paint it their colour) there is nothing hidden, nor magical here, no genius lies between the poor structure and the even worse punctuation. A simple tale, nothing more. Had one not know Conrad actually ventured to the African Continent, one could have easily mistaken his poorly drawn figures, his stereotypical characters as being the stuff of a boyhood imagination - too many comics and children's novels read under the blanket with a torch...
The only extra-ordinary factor here is the fact that Coppola, in his undisputed genius, took this simple, fragmented tale of no real literary worth and from its inspiration produced a moment in cinematic history which will never again be glimpsed, a peak never again scaled. That is the only thing one need be in awe of here.

Addendum
Anyone who adds more weight or reads into this flimsy story more than is either present or visible needs to ask themselves the following question "Have I seen Copolla's film 'Apocalypse Now'" - if your answer is 'yes' then quite clearly you are transferring the depth and clarity of that masterpiece and overlaying it on this very unsubstantive text. What you have done is to confuse an essentially non-eventful, poorly penned novella with perhaps the best piece of cinema ever recorded. You are deluded. I wish 'intellectuals' would stop their pointless musings over such poor works as this and let it drift into the past where it belongs. Why some works get unfairly labelled as 'keep, don't throw away' whilst other perfectly fine texts get 'consign to history' stamped on them is quite beyond me. In elevating such a non-starter to such heights totally distorts the surroundings and makes it doubly difficult for better written, more original works to get the audience they rightly deserve.

A favourite classic, 23 Jun 2008
For some years, this intriguing novel has been a favourite of mine. Conrad leads the reader through a cunning series of plots and subplots, all the while creating an atmosphere of discontent and darkness. The distinct characteristics of Mr Verloc will interest and bemuse the reader for many hours along the main plot of this novel. Anarchy has never been so readily depicted in classic literature.

Precisely too many words, 07 May 2008
I read another review that describes Conrad's prose as dense, difficult and gorgeous. I'm not sure about the last adjective. This is Conrad at his most dense and difficult. Almost impenetrable, one might say. For the opposite end of his scale see the earlier Lord Jim or the later Shadow Line. They are light and breezy by comparison.

I read this book about two years ago and can hardly remember a thing about it. It has a memorable bomb scene in Greenwich Park. I can't even remember where the rest of it is set. Somewhere in the West End, maybe?

Conrad is an author I often hate to love, but find myself loving nonetheless. One thing I do like about him is that the sunny, tropical locations lighten the density and difficulty of the surface prose. It's like a dirty window looking onto a sunny day. But that's not right. There is somehting precise, almost surgical, about Conrad's prose that is far from 'dirty'. The Secret Agent, set in an almost Dickensian, misty, murky C19 London, doesn't have the appeal of these tropically-set works, anyway.

I'll probably come back to The Secret Agent one day, as I probably will Nostomo, his other supremely dense, difficult book.

Not all that simple, 10 Jan 2007
Conrad's prose is dense, difficult and gorgeous. Before you pick up a book like this, you need to prepare yourself for an author who will happily write eight pages or so of prose between two lines in a conversation and not apologise (in fact there is, as is customary for Conrad, a self-justifying foreword). Patience will reward you with a surprising and darkly humorous tale of anarchists learning that real sources of chaos, anarchy and violence have little to do with abstract ideas.

It's not much like Heart of Darkness. Heart of Darkness is perhaps more important in the history of literature, but this is bigger, richer and more enjoyable. Read both.

The human side of the underworld, 30 Oct 2005
Conrad leads us into 19th Century London, allowing us an immersion into an underground world of anarchists and the strings pulling on them. The group of anarchists, though bound by a certain political directionality, is presented to us as unstructured, a loose association of very idiosyncratic individuals who on the whole seem more like the comical caricature of dejected rebels. And so, setting aside great political insights, Conrad zooms into the peculiar lives of these individuals that form the underworld. In particular, we witness the failed efforts of Mr. Verloc, the secret agent, to prokove the masses by planting a bomb. The emotional distance and strained relationship with other individuals including his wife is to have devastating consequences for him. The author has a fantastic ability to depict his characters, to describe in detail the exteriorisation of their intense psychological states, and thus to invoke powerful images of the scenes. One is a true witness to the events unfolding.

A Passage to Blighty, 16 May 2001
E.M. Forster apparently said something to the effect that Conrad's London in 'The Secret Agent' was too dark a place: a foreigners projection of European anxieties onto, in reality, a far more benevolent scene. It's true, Conrad's vision of England's capital is dark, but you'd have to say that it is no darker than, say, moments in Dickens', or even T.S. Eliot's 'Wasteland'. Developments in both the world of Crime Thrillers, and in the reality of terrorism and espionage suggest that Conrad was certainly onto something. Indeed, many now current clichés of the genre can be seen to originate from Conrad's book: mainly that the criminal and the policeman; the terrorist and the 'keeper of the peace' are not worlds apart. Few contemporary writers, however, are quite as keen and scrupulous as Conrad, who is never shy of taking us into the deepest and darkest places in the modern political psyche. Conrad's prose is as intensely atmospheric, as psychologically penetrating, and as layered with ironies as anything you will read in English. Sometimes it takes an 'outsider view' to tell you hard things about your beloved little Island. You won't get Merchant Ivory touching Conrad.

Heart of Darkness and the Collective Unconscious, 24 Sep 2008
The Heart of Darkness is about a man, a very accomplished man, erudite, educated, aspirational, filled with ideals, hope and ambition for himself and humanity. Yet, upon encountering the ordinariness in others, an ordinariness that is prejudiced, violent, vile, base and degenerate, he respondes with a violence and degeneracy that exceeds anything he had encountered from those ordinary others.

This is a story about ignorance, contempt and arrogance and its consequences. It is about the impotence of Kurtz to affect change upon this collective unconsciouness and his consequent omnipotent reaction. It is a narrative descriptive of the manner in which, without consciousness and insight, even the most accomplished may be corrupted and decend into the Heart of Darkness. The alternative would be, arguably, transcendance of the ordinary human ego to a state of divine grace. Driven, perhpas by high ideals, Kurtz could not do this and thus the narrative suggests that the most accomplished are perhaps the most vulnerable. Kurtz may thus be seen as a contemporary Lucifer. The brigthest that became the darkest.

The book describes the destruction of high human philosophy to a nihilistic Law of the Jungle taken to its obvious and horrifying ("The horror. The Horror") conclusion in the mind of a man of genius. Kurtz witnesses ignorance, contempt and vile arrogance, the antithesis of his ideals, as we do when, for example, Conrad describes the Europeans and their attitude to the horror of the dying African enslaved miners.

The impotence of his idealism is absolute and he respondes with a contempt that is transcendent of anything the ordinary man is capable of, becoming omnipotent and terrible.

In this regard it is a most insightful narrative into the human condition, reflective of the affect of the collective unconscious upon an individual psyche. Puzzling to many commentators who perhaps interpret Kurtz's behaviour as innate within us all, there is a more profound interpretation descriptive of a deeper understanding.

The book is, ultimately, about the struggle not to degenerate. Kurtz knows he is wrong and he welcomes death as an end of this struggle. Perhaps we must consider an hypotheseis that this evil is not innate but rather an infection from the collective unconscious to which our personality responds. In recognition of Kurtz's insight into this struggle, a struggle that is both his and, if we observe our own lives, relationships and behaviours, our own. It is, arguably, the greatest of all human confrontations. It is through this insight that, although he lost, he remains, to the narrator, someone unique, to be greatly admired.

The shallow and facile nature of our society, it's collective ignorance and banal innocence is encapsulted when the narrator declines from telling Kurtz's berieved fiance the truth, for it would be beyond her understanding. As is perhaps this book to many.

Yet, the Heart of Darkness is an extraordinary psychological work. Maybe one of the greatest. Engrossing, beautifully written and read, there is nothing else quite like it.









Mixed Bag, 07 May 2008
First thing to say is that Heart of Darkness itself is definitely a 5 star story. However here it is published with 2 more of Conrad's seafaring stories - "Youth" and "The End of the Tether", presumably to give the reader more examples of his writing style.

Heart of Darkness is brilliant in its theme and in the way it is written. I had read a number of years ago and found it tough going but this time enjoyed it much more.
It's almost what is not included (ie the details of Kurtz's actions in the jungle) that add so much to the tension and "horror" of the story.

Marlowe is also the narrator in "Youth", possibly an autobiographical account of a young seaman's first trip. Not particularly noteworthy really.

I found "The End of the Tether" much too long although the story itself was interesting.

A good idea to put these lesser known stories with the "main course" but you know which story you'll read again and again.

Mediocre, 06 Jul 2007
Let's get a few things straight. Heart of Darkness, though classed as horror, os not overtly frightening. It is one of those stories which relies on reader participation, inteprpretation and a claustrophobic atmosphere in order to induce unease. The story works, in an outdated sort of way, in criticising the morality of slavery and the ruthless exploitation of small colonies. But it certainly will not top my list of story which truly terrify. Conrad is no E.F Benson or M.R James.
His writing style is convoluted, and this is shown to the extremes in the openings of the final story 'The End Of The Tether'. The writer seems to have an affinity with sailing, and this is shown in the aforementioned story as well as 'Youth'. Even in Heart Of Darkness, in the scene sailing down the river to meet Kurtz, we are 'treated' to in depth and painfully detailed descriptions of sailing.
In short, I did not find Conrad deserving of the devotion of some of his continuing readership, nor was his reputation deserved. It also seemed to me that the Heart of Darkness, was not in the failing chest of Mr Kurtz, but in the corrupting and malign depths of the jungle, through which the rivers were the arteries. But then, the story is written in such a may as to imply multiple meanings.

Great collection of stories, 16 Apr 2007
Don't just pay out for Heart Of Darkness alone, when you can get some other great stories with it for free.
A great writer, and some great stories that are so well written you picture the scene and characters with clarity.
Get it!

Brilliant, 27 Nov 2006
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.

A funny fictional biography, 23 Jun 2008
I had to study this book in the first year of my degree. I am very glad of this, as I might not have encountered this amusing and original work of Woolf's otherwise. The tone of 'Orlando' is quite different to that of her other well-known novels such as 'To The Lighthouse' and 'Mrs Dalloway' - I would say that it is more 'accessible'. Despite its somewhat surreal plot (a sixteenth-century nobleman ends up as a twentieth-century female writer), the historical periods are described with realistic detail, and the reader's perceptions are challenged throughout. The themes of gender, race, truth, art and freedom, which are prevalent in the book, are still as relevant today as they were in 1928.

The Oxford World's Classics edition is well worth buying over cheaper ones; not only is the cover pleasant to look at, but there is a wealth of extra material in the form of notes, a pictorial insert, a lengthy bibliography, and an interesting and useful introduction. Highly recommended!

Milord! Milady!, 02 Jan 2008
This `roman à clés' is very original. The hero continues to live in different historical periods and undergoes a sex change.
However, it is written in an emotional, sentimental, superlative style: `society in the reign of Queen Anne was of unparalleled brilliance. The graces were supreme.'
Except for the first period, there are no conflicts, only rather superficial descriptions of the mood and spirits of the times. For V. Woolf, `to give a truthful account of society ... only those who have little need of the truth, and no respect for it - the poets and novelists - can be trusted to do it, for this is one of the causes where the truth does not exist.'
`Orlando' is a perfect flight from reality: `But let other pens treat of sex and sexuality; we quit such odious subjects as soon as we can.' `Whigs and Tories, Liberal party and Labour party ... should be left to the historian.'

This book is a clean, introvert, aristocratic, long ode to pure Beauty.
Only for Virginia Woolf fans.


Without doubt the very worst book I have ever had the displeasure of reading., 05 Sep 2007
I MUST be missing something. I am widely read, am in the middle of a degree in literature, and all of a sudden as part of my studies I have to read this mindless drivel. I can only guess that it is a kind of Emperors New Clothes test, where they see if you just blindly agree that because a famous author(es) wrote it, it must be good.

The plot, if you call it such, is of a man who lives the first half of his life courting women and having numerous affairs, with very little else happening, aside from a continuing struggle to write a poem. Suddenly he wakes up one morning with the body and mind of a woman. She then survives for many hundreds of years, yet is only around 35 years old herself. She marries, the husband instantly leaving to sail to the Horn, and well over a year later she suddenly gives birth to a child whilst looking out of the window. Bored yet? You will be.

Had it not been a requirement of my next course to study this utter rubbish, I would have put it down unfinished a long time ago. All I am left with now is the feeling of having been cheated out of several hours of my life, and the hope that I will be able to avoid having to study it in any greater detail when that part of the course comes round.

Without doubt the very worst book I have ever had the displeasure of reading.


Messy and sprawling, 14 Oct 2005
'Orlando' is a sprawling fantasy, in which the title character survives for 400 years, during which time he is transformed from a man to a woman. The book examines the changing roles of women over the historical eras it spans, notably Elizabethan, Stuart and Victorian England, and also examines the role of gender in relationships, as both Orlando and his/her lovers are frequently portrayed as being of ambiguous sex. The book was apparently written to commemorate Woolf's own desire for her close friend Vita Sackville-West, and the themes of love and gender crop up repeatedly.
Unfortunately, I just didn't enjoy reading 'Orlando' at all. The story sprawls and meanders, whimsically changing scene and settings throughout, without any real structure emerging. This (for me) obscured any points that she was trying to make and, although I think that I understood the themes she was writing about, I still wasn't clear how she felt about them. The story was horribly put together and this made reading a bit of a chore. In addition, the writing was very simplistic, resulting in incredibly boring prose and a story that was far too fast paced to get my teeth into. I found this hard work for a short book. On top of all that, Woolf's style has some of the things that irritate me most about some writers, not least the constant asides to the reader or referrals to herself as the author, informing us about what we should all be thinking about the events in the book at a particular point. All this made 'Orlando' a book that I won't be picking up again in a hurry.

A writer's holiday, 07 Dec 2002
A writer's holiday is what Virginia Woolf called this novel. It was more fun and less compulsive writing for her than her previous and later novels. Orlando is a fantastical novel which begins somewhere in 1500 and ends in 1928. The main character is Orlando who lives for this long period of time and also morphs from man into women. Woolf wrote this novel for her friend (lover) Vita Sackville-West and is one of the best love letters ever. it's written as a biography and the author often directs herself at the readers. There are also a lot of gender issues which are touched upon in the book and it's great to read the subtility with which she handels these things.
Although Orlando is one big fantasy I think it's the most accesible novel Woolf has written. It still has her distinct style. But the changes of scenery and times are very entertaining. It's such a nice idea to have a couple of centuries encapsulated in one book.

A must read (even if you think Woolf is to difficult.or boring!..she isn't!!)

I can't believe people are claiming the style is dry!, 09 Nov 2008
I first read this a couple of years ago as part of an English Lit course, in which we studied in depth the language used.

The first thing to bear in mind is that this book is a product of its time. Of course there's inherent racism (Conrad's dehumanising presentation of the Africans as 'black shadows') but despite this, Heart of Darkness was an absolutely groundbreaking piece of colonial literature.

As to the style, which people have claimed is dry and unreadable (sorry that Conrad didn't have the courtesy to divide the novella into easy bitesize chapters!) it IS dense. But the language is so rich - pick out any one paragraph and you could talk about the literary techniques and the beautiful language used for hours!

The novella focuses on Marlow's journey as he approaches the 'heart of darkness' and eventually encounters the famous Kurtz. It makes social comments that would have been almost inconceivable to the readers of the colonial magazine in which it was first published, before making you, the reader, examine your own morals as it draws to its chilling conclusion.

Don't pick this up expecting a 100-page quick and easy read. But if you take the time to read this and appreciate Conrad's incredible use of the English language (not his own mother tongue!) I guarantee that you will find it worthwhile.

Intriguing but lacks in style , 18 Oct 2008
The concept for "Heart of Darkness" was very interesting. One man goes into the heart of the post-colonial congo to bring back a man who has lost his sanity, and critiques how these colonists treat the native Africans along the way.

But that is where it ends unfortunately, the writing style I felt was very poor, it seemed to be an ordeal more than a book and I felt my mind wondering at certain points. There were quite a few characters, but due to the size of the book (around 110 pages) Conrad seems to have decided to leave out any kind of description throughout the entire story. The overall image I got in my mind was a boat floating in darkness with a few bodiless voices on board and a load of African tribesmen dancing around in the distance.

The build-up to Kurtz was done well however, but when Marlow finally reaches him, the tension suddenly stops and thats it. We aren't revealed the apparently "unspeakable atrocities" that Kurtz has committed, and therefore I can neither relate to him or feel any kind of sympathy for him. The blurb says something along the lines that the story is a fascinating look into the darkness of human hearts when it comes to Kurtz. I did not feel this at all. All I saw was a man rolling around on a bed screaming "The horror! The horror!".

Throwing this aside, the reason I gave the story 3 out of 5 is because of the actual journey of Marlow. I felt that Conrad's take on colonialism, the look into the way that the British ran their companies, and the way that they treated the Africans (although some really horrible and moving imagery here) were very well done. So I'm being a bit lenient.

Other than that, the only thing I can say is that you should try it yourself, and see what you make of it.

No better after 20 years, 20 Aug 2008
I originally read this novel as a first year undergraduate in 1988. I found it dull and very hard work. I still remember having to force myself to read a page or two each night just to get through it. The horror indeed. I recently thought I would try reading it again as, after so long and with more mature tastes I might enjoy it. But no. I gave it my best shot - and then gave up. Maybe I'll have another go in 2028...

Brilliant fable of empire, 26 Mar 2008
An extraordinary book, which was so far ahead of its time that some contemporary reviewers (see above!) haven't caught up with it yet! It exposes the whole vile fallacy of empire - that arrogant pretension to rule over other peoples, all, of course, in the name of humanity and democracy! One of the truly great novels of our time.

Waste of time, 10 Mar 2008
We had to read this book in English and my god it is horrible. I have rarely read a more boing book and honestly I did not manage to read through it. I'm usually crazy about reading and I have read a lot of books, but this one was simply horrible. Both the way he writes and his sometimes hidden criticism of Africa. I think it is waste of time to read this book.

Unbelievable!, 08 Sep 2008
I find it absolutely unbelievable that anyone could regard this novel as "dull"! And if novels shouldn't be depressing... well, don't bother with the rest of the Western canon. Maybe you need to try a little harder with the source novel than you do with the Hollywood film. (Consider this: if it's such an average read, why was Francic C. so inspired by it in the first place?)

An unpleasant read, 19 May 2008
I found this a rather disappointing read, especially after all the favourable reviews and publicity surrounding the book. I found it wanting for a plot, and the writing style rather off-putting. I gained absolutely no pleasure from reading this book, and I certainly won't recommend it to anyone.

one of the greatest masterpieces of literature, 06 Apr 2008
an illuminating, profound, tragic trip at the heart of human nature. it is a book to be read and pondered. it is not easy reading (though it can grip your attention from beginning to end and you can read it a single afternoon) but it is highly rewarding reading.

Dull and undeserving of its high reputation, 19 Mar 2008
I found this very dull all through and, despite its high literary reputation, it did not evoke any chords in me. Of course, by modern standards, some of the language is racist, but I am used to this from writers like Haggard and am well able to see this in its historical context.



'The Emperor's New Clothes', no less..., 05 Feb 2008
Arriving at this page, inspired, enthused by Coppola's cinematic masterpiece 'Apocalypse Now'? Or maybe from the documentary 'Hearts of Darkness - A Filmmaker's Apocalypse'? Eager to learn more? maybe drink at the fountain from which perhaps the greatest piece of cinema, was born? Think again. What we have here is purely and simply a VERY mediocre novella, a work that was written not by a writer, but by a Mariner with a typewriter - a hobbyist. On no account could or should this be taken as a seminal work of either fact or fiction, and I wish those who are forever trying to have this work classified as such a literary milestone would find a real cause to champion. I mean why is this one of the supposed greats? Is it original? No! Well written? No! Does it have well-drawn characters? No! an intriguing plot, perhaps? No. Does it use language in a new or creative way? No. Does it re-define the novella? No! Does it have potential to influence, either in style or content, the works of other writers? No! - then what? What is it that reverberates so loudly? If not the work then the noise of the crowd surrounding the pedestal - eager for a glimpse of the masterpiece that (they have been told) is so revered, so special.
Between the pseudo-intellectual and the literary professor's attempts to 'interpret' this work (for interpret read: paint it their colour) there is nothing hidden, nor magical here, no genius lies between the poor structure and the even worse punctuation. A simple tale, nothing more. Had one not know Conrad actually ventured to the African Continent, one could have easily mistaken his poorly drawn figures, his stereotypical characters as being the stuff of a boyhood imagination - too many comics and children's novels read under the blanket with a torch...
The only extra-ordinary factor here is the fact that Coppola, in his undisputed genius, took this simple, fragmented tale of no real literary worth and from its inspiration produced a moment in cinematic history which will never again be glimpsed, a peak never again scaled. That is the only thing one need be in awe of here.

Addendum
Anyone who adds more weight or reads into this flimsy story more than is either present or visible needs to ask themselves the following question "Have I seen Copolla's film 'Apocalypse Now'" - if your answer is 'yes' then quite clearly you are transferring the depth and clarity of that masterpiece and overlaying it on this very unsubstantive text. What you have done is to confuse an essentially non-eventful, poorly penned novella with perhaps the best piece of cinema ever recorded. You are deluded. I wish 'intellectuals' would stop their pointless musings over such poor works as this and let it drift into the past where it belongs. Why some works get unfairly labelled as 'keep, don't throw away' whilst other perfectly fine texts get 'consign to history' stamped on them is quite beyond me. In elevating such a non-starter to such heights totally distorts the surroundings and makes it doubly difficult for better written, more original works to get the audience they rightly deserve.

A favourite classic, 23 Jun 2008
For some years, this intriguing novel has been a favourite of mine. Conrad leads the reader through a cunning series of plots and subplots, all the while creating an atmosphere of discontent and darkness. The distinct characteristics of Mr Verloc will interest and bemuse the reader for many hours along the main plot of this novel. Anarchy has never been so readily depicted in classic literature.

Precisely too many words, 07 May 2008
I read another review that describes Conrad's prose as dense, difficult and gorgeous. I'm not sure about the last adjective. This is Conrad at his most dense and difficult. Almost impenetrable, one might say. For the opposite end of his scale see the earlier Lord Jim or the later Shadow Line. They are light and breezy by comparison.

I read this book about two years ago and can hardly remember a thing about it. It has a memorable bomb scene in Greenwich Park. I can't even remember where the rest of it is set. Somewhere in the West End, maybe?

Conrad is an author I often hate to love, but find myself loving nonetheless. One thing I do like about him is that the sunny, tropical locations lighten the density and difficulty of the surface prose. It's like a dirty window looking onto a sunny day. But that's not right. There is somehting precise, almost surgical, about Conrad's prose that is far from 'dirty'. The Secret Agent, set in an almost Dickensian, misty, murky C19 London, doesn't have the appeal of these tropically-set works, anyway.

I'll probably come back to The Secret Agent one day, as I probably will Nostomo, his other supremely dense, difficult book.

Not all that simple, 10 Jan 2007
Conrad's prose is dense, difficult and gorgeous. Before you pick up a book like this, you need to prepare yourself for an author who will happily write eight pages or so of prose between two lines in a conversation and not apologise (in fact there is, as is customary for Conrad, a self-justifying foreword). Patience will reward you with a surprising and darkly humorous tale of anarchists learning that real sources of chaos, anarchy and violence have little to do with abstract ideas.

It's not much like Heart of Darkness. Heart of Darkness is perhaps more important in the history of literature, but this is bigger, richer and more enjoyable. Read both.

The human side of the underworld, 30 Oct 2005
Conrad leads us into 19th Century London, allowing us an immersion into an underground world of anarchists and the strings pulling on them. The group of anarchists, though bound by a certain political directionality, is presented to us as unstructured, a loose association of very idiosyncratic individuals who on the whole seem more like the comical caricature of dejected rebels. And so, setting aside great political insights, Conrad zooms into the peculiar lives of these individuals that form the underworld. In particular, we witness the failed efforts of Mr. Verloc, the secret agent, to prokove the masses by planting a bomb. The emotional distance and strained relationship with other individuals including his wife is to have devastating consequences for him. The author has a fantastic ability to depict his characters, to describe in detail the exteriorisation of their intense psychological states, and thus to invoke powerful images of the scenes. One is a true witness to the events unfolding.

A Passage to Blighty, 16 May 2001
E.M. Forster apparently said something to the effect that Conrad's London in 'The Secret Agent' was too dark a place: a foreigners projection of European anxieties onto, in reality, a far more benevolent scene. It's true, Conrad's vision of England's capital is dark, but you'd have to say that it is no darker than, say, moments in Dickens', or even T.S. Eliot's 'Wasteland'. Developments in both the world of Crime Thrillers, and in the reality of terrorism and espionage suggest that Conrad was certainly onto something. Indeed, many now current clichés of the genre can be seen to originate from Conrad's book: mainly that the criminal and the policeman; the terrorist and the 'keeper of the peace' are not worlds apart. Few contemporary writers, however, are quite as keen and scrupulous as Conrad, who is never shy of taking us into the deepest and darkest places in the modern political psyche. Conrad's prose is as intensely atmospheric, as psychologically penetrating, and as layered with ironies as anything you will read in English. Sometimes it takes an 'outsider view' to tell you hard things about your beloved little Island. You won't get Merchant Ivory touching Conrad.

Heart of Darkness and the Collective Unconscious, 24 Sep 2008
The Heart of Darkness is about a man, a very accomplished man, erudite, educated, aspirational, filled with ideals, hope and ambition for himself and humanity. Yet, upon encountering the ordinariness in others, an ordinariness that is prejudiced, violent, vile, base and degenerate, he respondes with a violence and degeneracy that exceeds anything he had encountered from those ordinary others.

This is a story about ignorance, contempt and arrogance and its consequences. It is about the impotence of Kurtz to affect change upon this collective unconsciouness and his consequent omnipotent reaction. It is a narrative descriptive of the manner in which, without consciousness and insight, even the most accomplished may be corrupted and decend into the Heart of Darkness. The alternative would be, arguably, transcendance of the ordinary human ego to a state of divine grace. Driven, perhpas by high ideals, Kurtz could not do this and thus the narrative suggests that the most accomplished are perhaps the most vulnerable. Kurtz may thus be seen as a contemporary Lucifer. The brigthest that became the darkest.

The book describes the destruction of high human philosophy to a nihilistic Law of the Jungle taken to its obvious and horrifying ("The horror. The Horror") conclusion in the mind of a man of genius. Kurtz witnesses ignorance, contempt and vile arrogance, the antithesis of his ideals, as we do when, for example, Conrad describes the Europeans and their attitude to the horror of the dying African enslaved miners.

The impotence of his idealism is absolute and he respondes with a contempt that is transcendent of anything the ordinary man is capable of, becoming omnipotent and terrible.

In this regard it is a most insightful narrative into the human condition, reflective of the affect of the collective unconscious upon an individual psyche. Puzzling to many commentators who perhaps interpret Kurtz's behaviour as innate within us all, there is a more profound interpretation descriptive of a deeper understanding.

The book is, ultimately, about the struggle not to degenerate. Kurtz knows he is wrong and he welcomes death as an end of this struggle. Perhaps we must consider an hypotheseis that this evil is not innate but rather an infection from the collective unconscious to which our personality responds. In recognition of Kurtz's insight into this struggle, a struggle that is both his and, if we observe our own lives, relationships and behaviours, our own. It is, arguably, the greatest of all human confrontations. It is through this insight that, although he lost, he remains, to the narrator, someone unique, to be greatly admired.

The shallow and facile nature of our society, it's collective ignorance and banal innocence is encapsulted when the narrator declines from telling Kurtz's berieved fiance the truth, for it would be beyond her understanding. As is perhaps this book to many.

Yet, the Heart of Darkness is an extraordinary psychological work. Maybe one of the greatest. Engrossing, beautifully written and read, there is nothing else quite like it.









Mixed Bag, 07 May 2008
First thing to say is that Heart of Darkness itself is definitely a 5 star story. However here it is published with 2 more of Conrad's seafaring stories - "Youth" and "The End of the Tether", presumably to give the reader more examples of his writing style.

Heart of Darkness is brilliant in its theme and in the way it is written. I had read a number of years ago and found it tough going but this time enjoyed it much more.
It's almost what is not included (ie the details of Kurtz's actions in the jungle) that add so much to the tension and "horror" of the story.

Marlowe is also the narrator in "Youth", possibly an autobiographical account of a young seaman's first trip. Not particularly noteworthy really.

I found "The End of the Tether" much too long although the story itself was interesting.

A good idea to put these lesser known stories with the "main course" but you know which story you'll read again and again.

Mediocre, 06 Jul 2007
Let's get a few things straight. Heart of Darkness, though classed as horror, os not overtly frightening. It is one of those stories which relies on reader participation, inteprpretation and a claustrophobic atmosphere in order to induce unease. The story works, in an outdated sort of way, in criticising the morality of slavery and the ruthless exploitation of small colonies. But it certainly will not top my list of story which truly terrify. Conrad is no E.F Benson or M.R James.
His writing style is convoluted, and this is shown to the extremes in the openings of the final story 'The End Of The Tether'. The writer seems to have an affinity with sailing, and this is shown in the aforementioned story as well as 'Youth'. Even in Heart Of Darkness, in the scene sailing down the river to meet Kurtz, we are 'treated' to in depth and painfully detailed descriptions of sailing.
In short, I did not find Conrad deserving of the devotion of some of his continuing readership, nor was his reputation deserved. It also seemed to me that the Heart of Darkness, was not in the failing chest of Mr Kurtz, but in the corrupting and malign depths of the jungle, through which the rivers were the arteries. But then, the story is written in such a may as to imply multiple meanings.

Great collection of stories, 16 Apr 2007
Don't just pay out for Heart Of Darkness alone, when you can get some other great stories with it for free.
A great writer, and some great stories that are so well written you picture the scene and characters with clarity.
Get it!

Brilliant, 27 Nov 2006
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.

A funny fictional biography, 23 Jun 2008
I had to study this book in the first year of my degree. I am very glad of this, as I might not have encountered this amusing and original work of Woolf's otherwise. The tone of 'Orlando' is quite different to that of her other well-known novels such as 'To The Lighthouse' and 'Mrs Dalloway' - I would say that it is more 'accessible'. Despite its somewhat surreal plot (a sixteenth-century nobleman ends up as a twentieth-century female writer), the historical periods are described with realistic detail, and the reader's perceptions are challenged throughout. The themes of gender, race, truth, art and freedom, which are prevalent in the book, are still as relevant today as they were in 1928.

The Oxford World's Classics edition is well worth buying over cheaper ones; not only is the cover pleasant to look at, but there is a wealth of extra material in the form of notes, a pictorial insert, a lengthy bibliography, and an interesting and useful introduction. Highly recommended!

Milord! Milady!, 02 Jan 2008
This `roman à clés' is very original. The hero continues to live in different historical periods and undergoes a sex change.
However, it is wr