'Heart of Darkness' is often hailed as the finest of Conrad's work. And I can certainly see why, as Conrad weaves an adventure that forces the reader think with literary grace. I particularly liked the framing of this story, being told aboard a vessel bobbing on the Thames waiting to venture into a separate, and bluer, heart of darkness. The added distance between the reader and Marlowe allows the reader the ability to reflect on the story in a way that another narrative style would disallow. With that said, this was not my favorite story from this collection. That prize goes, easily I might add, to 'An Outpost of Progress.' Perhaps it is the tongue in cheek title. Maybe it is the blatant foolishness of the supposedly civilized men. Or maybe it was just because I was not expecting it to resonate in the manner which it did.
You can see, in Conrad's writing, the forming of literature to come. He does not write like Henry James, but he is not quite so 'modern' as Virginia Woolf. And yet, there are moments where you can see elements of both styles. A punchy story with a moral, flushed out with exquisite beauty. This was my first foray into Conrad's work, but I will certainly be delving deeper into his catalogue.

Sweaty.

Required reading. Even without this book's relation to the movie Apocalypse Now, the relevance to today and race make this a must for any library. Had a battered paperback copy but ordered a fine hardcover pocket edition that includes a story not in mine--"The End of the Tether." From a craft standpoint, Conrad is just a superb writer. One of the few to rise above the stilted conventions of 19th Century Literature. Being of Polish descent explains a lot, English was his second language. He's a master in the same league as Chekhov, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Babel.

it is so bad, I wanna give you a zero…but that’s not possible, so I give you a 1

"A reflection on corruptive European colonialism and a journey into the nightmare psyche of one of the corrupted, Heart of Darkness is considered one of the most influential works ever written."
However it has dated.
It came as the last of a series of stories, all dealing with colonialism: An outpost of progress, Karain, and Youth preceding Heart of Darkness.
In An outpost of progress Makola seems to run the trading station, and the local tribe provide much for the day-to-day existence of the two white men, Kayaerts and Carlier nominally in charge of it. But when a bunch of armed men, strangers, turned up they left Makola to deal with them. They become aware that the station men have been sold into slavery in return for the ivory, and some of the local tribe were here with them, but Makola appears to feel that he has done his best for them. The end of the story is chaotic and shows how unprepared these men were to run such a trading station.
Karain is about one particular native, who appears to be the leader of his people, always accompanied by an old man. The tale is about the link between the two, which Karain reveals to the Marlow who is telling these tales of his past to friends.
In Youth he tells of his first voyage as second mate in a ship which seemed doomed from the moment it was due to set out.
For me these earlier stories were more successful than Heart of Darkness.

The heart of darkness was not as great as I thought it would be. But none the less it was a good reading material
This book consists four tales which are as follows
An outpost of progress - 3 stars
Karain a memory - 2 stars
Youth A Narrative - 5 stars
Heart of darkness - 3 stars

My overall rating for this book is 3 stars.
This Oxford edition also contains glossary , explanatory notes , introductions , bibliography etc. Some of it was utter crap. All these long introductions, notes and prefaces are not of much importance in my opinion. Many readers might not be too interested in reading all that stuff. Simply a waste of time.

Though I have to admit I really enjoyed reading the story , Youth A Narrative. It is one of the best. A true seaman would enjoy reading it. It is a story of a young sailor and his endeavours.
A good book overall.

1,5. You write very well Joseph. But that's basically all.

I came across this handsome hardcover published by the Folio Society early last month at the DASA BookCafe in Bangkok and got it to read the remaining two stories excluding ‘Heart of Darkness’; the stories being ‘Youth’ and ‘The End of the Tether’ in which the first I browsed a few pages years ago and the latter I recalled its title vaguely. Indeed, this trilogy-like book should have been entitled, ‘Youth and Two Other Stories’ but, understandably, its title has appeared as such due to the second title’s highly-controversial analyses and famously-critical debate among Conrad scholars, professors and critics etc. since its first publication in 1902 by Blackwood under the title ‘Youth: A Narrative and Two Other Stories’.

Moreover, before reading this book there is a point to keep in mind since in his Note Conrad has notified, “The three stories in this volume lay no claim to unity of artistic purpose. The only bond between them is that of the time in which they were written.” (p. 23) As his readers, we can’t help being grateful for his summaries, a letter extract in Jeremy Harding’s superb Introduction that we should primarily read as an essential overview:

One and two are told in the first person by Marlow … One, the story of a ship on fire at sea. Two happens in the Belgian Congo: a wild story of a journalist who becomes manager of a station in the interior and makes himself worshipped by a tribe of savages. Thus described, the subject seems comic, but it isn’t. Three, written in the third person, is rather sentimental. It is about an old captain. (p. 9)

Reading such a 32-page ‘Youth’ is, I think, relatively enjoyable due to his unique narration and more understanding supported by reading its synopsis at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youth_(.... I was especially touched by his mentions of ‘Bangkok’ in various paragraphs/lines, for instance:

‘We left London in ballast – sand ballast – to load a cargo of coal in a northern port for Bangkok. Bangkok! I thrilled. I had been six years at sea, but had only seen Melbourne and Sydney, very good places, charming places in their way – but Bangkok!
… (p. 31)t

‘ … This was done, the repairs finished, cargo reshipped; a new crew came on board, and we went out – for Bangkok. At the end of a week we were back again. The crew said they weren’t going to Bangkok – a hundred and fifty days’ passage – in a something hooker that wanted pumping eight hours out of the twenty-four; and the nautical papers inserted again the little paragraph: “Judea. Barque. Tyne to Bangkok; coals; put back to Falmouth leaky and with crew refusing duty.”
‘There were more delays – more tinkering. … I loved the ship more than ever, and wanted awfully to get to Bangkok. To Bangkok! Magic name, blessed name. Mesopotamia wasn’t a patch on it. Remember I was twenty, and it was my first second-mate’s billet, and the East was waiting for me.
… (p. 38)

One of the reasons is that, as far as I’ve known from reading somewhere, Conrad enjoyed visiting Bangkok (How often? I have no information) and usually stayed at the famous , one of the first founded hotels in Siam then, the Oriental Hotel, eventually, its administrative committee have named a Conrad room as a fond memorial honor to his stays there.

I’d like to say something notably interesting on his technique in his ‘Youth’ before ‘The End of the Tether’ that deals with a command mentioned five times uttered once in a while from Marlow’s relatively lengthy narratives, that is, ‘Pass the bottle.’ (pp. 34, 36, 39, 43, 45) which, presumably, suggests apt intermissions and the narrator himself needs something strong to keep him going and staying focused on the story.

As for 'The End of the Tether', it's a bit disappointed because its synopsis isn't available on the above-mentioned Wikipedia web page; indeed, it should be of great help especially to Conrad newcomers to better understand its characters, climax, setting, and so on worth reflecting and discussing for new ideas or inspiration. It's probably formidable at first sight from its length covering 14 chapters, 138+pages so it should be better if its readers are informed for well-prepared reading instead of plunging into the mystery itself and, predictably, don't enjoy reading Conrad.

In sum, reading these three stories would give more light on their purpose of writing from Conrad himself since its first three-in-one publication in 1902, more than a century ago, which is quite a long life-span. Undoubtedly, "Heart of Darkness" has since been more famous than its two counterparts and still read by Conrad admirers.

Endnote: I have just found this article by David Miller inspiringly informative: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/bo...

Reread in June 2024. I'm fairly certain I read Heart of Darkness once, maybe ten years ago. But having no memory of it, I vowed to return to it. Read in print and audio at the same time, which helped hold my attention.

I picked up a copy of these collected Conrad stories at an OUP employee book sale years back, and finally rereading HoD now, I appreciate it much more. HoD itself is only about 80 pages long, easily read in a day. Conveniently, I had just done some research on the Congo, having recently watched The Siege of Jadotville (which I would highly recommend). So I had some helpful context going in. The biggest strength is in the descriptions--read this for the ambiance, the aura, the themes. There's not much in the way of plot or character that's really going to grab you.

While I also liked "Youth," most of the other stories are forgettable (there's a reason HoD is the most well-known).

I sensed many parallels with Moby-Dick or, The Whale and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, though maybe that's only in my head.

If you want more depressing stories of African colonialism, see also Disgrace and Cry, the Beloved Country.

"Few men realise that their life, the very essence of their character, their capabilities and their audacities, are only the expression of their belief in the safety of their surroundings."

Imagine being thrown into the unknown, a place so vast and pervasive that it takes root into your very mind and soul. A place that exists beyond man's imagination, his ability to grasp meaning. A place that changes the very character and soul of man's life.

I gave this book a stingy three stars, despite the beauty of Conrad's writing. The book is comprised of four stories: three shorts, and a novella. All of the stories focus on the unknown world. What Conrad does is wonderful; he portrays the unknown to us in a way that takes the physical out of the picture. It is all about the imagination, the illusion and dangers of the place, the effect it has on their minds and characters.

I enjoyed the three short stories. All three of them deal with the unknown, though as an idea more than as a physical space. There are elements of strangeness in these three stories that are both beautiful and haunting at times. Most importantly, I felt that the pace was very well controlled, and I had no problem following and being entranced while reading the stories.

The actual novella--Heart of Darkness--was a different case. I kept finding myself falling asleep in between chapters, and forgetting what and where the story was. The true story I found near the end of the novella, with one fascinating character and the examination into this character's descent into darkness. But the beginning of the novella was still a grueling journey. And for that, I give the book a stingy three stars.

This is kind of the second "seaman" book i read and i does confirm my impression from reading Moby Dick - seafaring is kind of boring when there is no war, or fighting of some sort.

Incredibly (or not) from the three stories "Heart of Darkness" is the one i cared less about.

On the other hand i found "The end of the tether" is really moving. Maybe due to current disposition, or condition i found myself relating to the main character immensely. The story is so tragic and right until the end i thought it was going to have a happy ending... :(

For potentially readers i would say: just buy "The end of the tether" and ignore the other two stories.

some very moving bits and i could see the satirising of colonialism that ceddy talked about in the intro. but the prose was booooooriiiiiiing