Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Penguin Classics (1995), Paperback, 384 pages
Description
Heart of Darkness, his exploration of European colonialism in Africa and of elusive human values, embodies more profoundly than almost any other modern fiction the difficulty of 'seeing', its relativity and shifting compromise. Portraying a young man's first sea-voyage to the East in Youth, an unenlightened maturity in Heart of Darkness, and the blind old age of Captain Whalley in The End of the Tether, the stories in this volume are united in their theme - the 'Ages of Man' - and in their scepticism. Conrad's vision has influenced twentieth-century writers and artists from T. S. Eliot to Borges and Werner Herzog, and continues to draw critical fire. In his stimulating introduction John Lyon discusses the links between these three stories, the critiques of Chinua Achebe and Edward Said, and the ebb and flow of Conrad's magnificent narrative art.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member mbmackay
I bought this book for Heart of Darkness, and as this famous piece is so short (less than 70 pages), the publishers pads it with two other short stories - Youth, and The End of the Tether. Heart of Darkness is a compelling piece of writing. It is famous for portraying the atrocities of the colonial
The story is told aloud by a story-teller, as in Lord Jim, which is a clunky way of structuring the writing, but Conrad makes it work. While an expose, it is not a polemic. The awful bits are told, almost as aside. No effort is made to comment. The reader is being told a different story - the Congo seems to be the background. But of course, the Belgian regime is really the core of the book, and the apparent structure just a device. It works so well.
The other stories are good to read, but not up to the standard of Heart of Darkness. Tether is over written, too embellished - the story drowns in words in a way that is a total contrast to Heart of Darkness.
Great stuff. Read May 2014.
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regime in the Congo (the darkness refers equally to the Belgians as to the dark continent)) but the surprise for me was the quality of the writing.The story is told aloud by a story-teller, as in Lord Jim, which is a clunky way of structuring the writing, but Conrad makes it work. While an expose, it is not a polemic. The awful bits are told, almost as aside. No effort is made to comment. The reader is being told a different story - the Congo seems to be the background. But of course, the Belgian regime is really the core of the book, and the apparent structure just a device. It works so well.
The other stories are good to read, but not up to the standard of Heart of Darkness. Tether is over written, too embellished - the story drowns in words in a way that is a total contrast to Heart of Darkness.
Great stuff. Read May 2014.
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LibraryThing member cmbohn
Well, I hate to do it, but I'm taking the rating down to 4 out of 5 stars. I'm not sure why, but this time around, Joseph Conrad did not manage to induce the same level of fascination as he did the first couple of times I read this book. Maybe because the last time I read it was for a class, where
It's the story of Marlow, the classic man of the sea, and his trip down the river Congo to find Kurtz, the company man said to have native. But instead of being drawn into the story, this time I felt like Conrad was deliberately keeping the reader at arms' length. Marlow is telling the story, and an unnamed male listener is telling the reader what Marlow says. Then Marlow tells the listener who tells us what Marlow says somebody else says. Still with me?
Maybe the point of all those layers was to make the reader question the story a little more, to ask one's self how much you really know about someone else if all you know is what they say.
Anyway, it was good to read it again, but not as great as I remembered. I'm not sure why, but it must be a change inside me, because I *LOVED* this book back in college.
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we got to discuss it so much.It's the story of Marlow, the classic man of the sea, and his trip down the river Congo to find Kurtz, the company man said to have native. But instead of being drawn into the story, this time I felt like Conrad was deliberately keeping the reader at arms' length. Marlow is telling the story, and an unnamed male listener is telling the reader what Marlow says. Then Marlow tells the listener who tells us what Marlow says somebody else says. Still with me?
Maybe the point of all those layers was to make the reader question the story a little more, to ask one's self how much you really know about someone else if all you know is what they say.
Anyway, it was good to read it again, but not as great as I remembered. I'm not sure why, but it must be a change inside me, because I *LOVED* this book back in college.
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LibraryThing member emmakendon
I decided to read this as preparation (along with Cary's Mister Johnson - next) for reading 'Things Fall Apart' by Chinua Achebe. It's been on the shelf for years and I thought I had read it before, as a child on a visit to Sri Lanka, but perhaps not.
Although it's a short book, it took me an age to
Although it's a short book, it took me an age to
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read, to begin with because I was relishing the language, the descriptions and Marlow's sardonic oratory style. After a while, perhaps I am tired, my mind kept drifting away from the text, snatched up by the few moments of action. I loved Kurtz' last words 'The horror!', which Marlow was unable to tell Kurtz' Intended (and how when he lied to her the world didn't stop turning). I was chilled by the treatment of the natives in their chain-gangs, as well as by the range of mad, greedy, salivating characters scattered along the journey (particularly the Russian and the chap in charge of bricks). The hungry cannibals' restraint was one of many mysteries, and the man looking after the state of the 'road' which seemed to mean shooting negros fo rno apparent reason (pp19-20) was one of many horrors. Probably my own ignorance of the apparent aim of Marlow's appointment spoilt, for me, the contrast of what he found, so I didn't get as much out of the book as I might. Perhaps the Cary and the Achebe will help. Show Less
LibraryThing member GlennBell
This is a collection of three novels written by Joseph Conrad. I enjoyed the third story the most. The End of the Tether has an interesting twist at the end of the story. The Heart of Darkness is interesting but I found it less meaningful. Youth was rather mediocre.
LibraryThing member Zare
This is very interesting collection of three short stories all related to the certain parts of human life.
Youth
Title says it all - young Marlowe (also a lead character in Heart of Darkness) gets his first command as a result of disastrous event when coal transported by his ship catches fire and
Heart of Darkness
Marlowe, now older and wiser (middle age) decides to join the European company for tour in Africa, running a steamer carrying ivory from impenetrable jungle to the European companies collection station. This is rather wordy story and it takes a while to go through it. People Marlowe meets are all strange people who might be very proper back in civilization but in the wilderness they seem to have lost their compass. Driven by greed they tend to look at all around them (natives and other company men) as an obstacle. So when he finally meets mysterious Mr. Kurtz who placed himself as a ruler of several native tribes, great man of whom company has greatest expectations, he sees how far can man fall when not in control of his wits. Like most people at the time Kurtz came to Africa as a missionary to spread "light" among the natives. But in the process he slowly lost his way starting to treat his surroundings and natives as his own fiefdom, waging brutal wars and killing men, women and children sometimes out of whim. Soon his madness takes its toll and Kurtz slowly spirals into illness of body (mind being lost for a while now) and finally gets saved by Marlowe only to die at the very end of journey down the river.
I understand there is lots of controversy around this story but as far as I can see it Conrad very successfully presented two things.
First is utter horror and acts of colonial companies extracting natural wealth using natives as a workforce and treating them in horrible ways. The way greed controls the people in power (when is it ever enough?) eats through the core of very people working for the company. Even if they are not inherently bad under the influence and temptations of wealth (so much ivory) they become brutes and very much total opposite of what they think of themselves (remember this is period where developed world (Europe and Americas) treated all the exotic locals of Africa and Asia as dark places to which they need to bring the light).
Second is the very fact that in each of us we have a savage sitting. By savage I mean part of us that is ready to do heinous things, kill , maim, destroy. Civilization is maybe there to help us keep it under control but when in wild it is very clear how weak man is. When confronted with might and beauty of nature unprepared souls get overwhelmed and start their slow spiral into madness. For Kurtz, very capable orator, man capable of rallying other men for his cause, contact with natives, their very nature and fear he can exploit for his means, places him in the place of absolute power. More than enough to consume anyone. It is very short step from genius to madman but also from civilized to utmost barbaric.
The End of the Tether
Third story is very sad story of an ultimate sacrifice. What is devoted father (old age) ready to do for his child, his daughter. After losing his wife and losing his savings old captain decides to spend rest of his days making money to help his daughter that is in very bad financial state. Father will forgo his pride and opinions [especially about his son in law] because he knows hard times strike a man down from time to time and nobody can be blamed for it. He gathers strength to do his best to help his daughter. Even if it means working for a complete maniac of ship-owner and having a back-stabbing first officer.
Very touchy and ultimately very sad story with a happy ending.
All three stories impressed me much. They might be too wordy for modern times and pages might seem just so full of words that you have a feeling you will drown in them. But as a stories they are very humane and very down to earth and this is great part of their charm.
Recommended to all who like a good story.
Youth
Title says it all - young Marlowe (also a lead character in Heart of Darkness) gets his first command as a result of disastrous event when coal transported by his ship catches fire and
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explodes. Whole story though just emanates the energy of the youth that sees nothing as an obstacle and is eager to prove itself. Conrad manages to capture the way of life on high seas, relations among the crew and everyday life of the seaman to the smallest detail.Heart of Darkness
Marlowe, now older and wiser (middle age) decides to join the European company for tour in Africa, running a steamer carrying ivory from impenetrable jungle to the European companies collection station. This is rather wordy story and it takes a while to go through it. People Marlowe meets are all strange people who might be very proper back in civilization but in the wilderness they seem to have lost their compass. Driven by greed they tend to look at all around them (natives and other company men) as an obstacle. So when he finally meets mysterious Mr. Kurtz who placed himself as a ruler of several native tribes, great man of whom company has greatest expectations, he sees how far can man fall when not in control of his wits. Like most people at the time Kurtz came to Africa as a missionary to spread "light" among the natives. But in the process he slowly lost his way starting to treat his surroundings and natives as his own fiefdom, waging brutal wars and killing men, women and children sometimes out of whim. Soon his madness takes its toll and Kurtz slowly spirals into illness of body (mind being lost for a while now) and finally gets saved by Marlowe only to die at the very end of journey down the river.
I understand there is lots of controversy around this story but as far as I can see it Conrad very successfully presented two things.
First is utter horror and acts of colonial companies extracting natural wealth using natives as a workforce and treating them in horrible ways. The way greed controls the people in power (when is it ever enough?) eats through the core of very people working for the company. Even if they are not inherently bad under the influence and temptations of wealth (so much ivory) they become brutes and very much total opposite of what they think of themselves (remember this is period where developed world (Europe and Americas) treated all the exotic locals of Africa and Asia as dark places to which they need to bring the light).
Second is the very fact that in each of us we have a savage sitting. By savage I mean part of us that is ready to do heinous things, kill , maim, destroy. Civilization is maybe there to help us keep it under control but when in wild it is very clear how weak man is. When confronted with might and beauty of nature unprepared souls get overwhelmed and start their slow spiral into madness. For Kurtz, very capable orator, man capable of rallying other men for his cause, contact with natives, their very nature and fear he can exploit for his means, places him in the place of absolute power. More than enough to consume anyone. It is very short step from genius to madman but also from civilized to utmost barbaric.
The End of the Tether
Third story is very sad story of an ultimate sacrifice. What is devoted father (old age) ready to do for his child, his daughter. After losing his wife and losing his savings old captain decides to spend rest of his days making money to help his daughter that is in very bad financial state. Father will forgo his pride and opinions [especially about his son in law] because he knows hard times strike a man down from time to time and nobody can be blamed for it. He gathers strength to do his best to help his daughter. Even if it means working for a complete maniac of ship-owner and having a back-stabbing first officer.
Very touchy and ultimately very sad story with a happy ending.
All three stories impressed me much. They might be too wordy for modern times and pages might seem just so full of words that you have a feeling you will drown in them. But as a stories they are very humane and very down to earth and this is great part of their charm.
Recommended to all who like a good story.
Show Less
Language
Original publication date
1898: Youth
1899: Heart of Darkness
1902: The End of the Tether
1902: This collection
Physical description
384 p.; 7.74 inches
ISBN
0140185135 / 9780140185133