Heart Of Darkness By Joseph Conrad (Paperback, 2007)

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A haunting & hugely influential Modernist masterpiece the Penguin Classics edition of Joseph Conrad&s Heart of Darkness is edited with an introduction by Owen Knowles Conrad&s narrator Marlow a seaman & wanderer recounts his physical & psychological journey in search of the infamous ivory trader Kurtz dying insane & guilty of unspeakable atrocities Travelling upriver to 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 & values but also those of western civilisation The inspiration for Francis Ford Coppola&s Oscar-winning film Apocalypse Now Heart of Darkness is a quintessentially modernist work exploring the limits of human experience & the nightmarish realities of imperialism Part of a major series of new editions of Conrad&s most famous works in Penguin Classics this volume contains Conrad&s Congo Diary a chronology further reading notes a map of the Congo a glossary & an introduction discussing the author&s experiences in Africa the narrative & symbolic complexities of Heart of Darkness & critical responses to the novel Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) was born in the Ukraine & grew up under Tsarist autocracy After spending years in the French & later the British Merchant Navy Conrad left the sea to devote himself to writing In 1896 he settled in Kent where he produced within fifteen years such modern classics as Youth Heart of Darkness Lord Jim Typhoon Nostromo The Secret Agent & Under Western Eyes If you enjoyed Heart of Darkness you might like EM Forster&s A Passage to India also available in Penguin Classics & Seems to reach into the heart of Conrad himself& Peter Ackroyd