Heart of Darkness/The Congo Diary

By Joseph Conrad and Conrad

Book Overview

Joseph Conrad's enduring portrait of the ugliness of colonialism. Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read

Heart of Darkness is the thrilling tale of Marlow, a seaman and wanderer recounting his physical and psychological journey in search of the infamous ivory trader Kurtz. Traveling upriver into the heart of the African continent, he gradually becomes obsessed by this enigmatic, wraith-like figure. Marlow's discovery of how Kurtz has gained his position of power over the local people involves him in a radical questioning, not only of his own nature and values, but of those that underpin Western civilization itself. This edition also includes Conrad's Congo Diary, a glossary, and an introduction discussing the author's experiences of Africa, critical responses, and the novel's symbolic complexities.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B002XHNO0G
• ISBN13: 9780141441672
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.61 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.0" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Your Next Favorite Book for the Year!!

One thing that I truly admire about this novel, something that grasped me from the very beginning, was the tonality in how the story was expressed as it unfolded. When Marlow, (one of the main characters) spoke, and recited his experience to his crew, I felt the grit of his history. The wisdom and the expression of his life felt like a story told over a bonfire— through his articulation I heard the crackling of the forest wood expanding; like the warmth of the flames I felt the voyage over the sea; from the surrounding darkness the only thing in picture were the following words that flowed from his mouth. Outside of poetry, I have never felt words connect and evoke emotion and sentiment as did Marlow through his reciting.