About this title: Conrad's only spy novel, THE SECRET AGENT is set in the filthy and depraved city of London of the 1880s. Adolf Verloc, a bumbling police informer and the undercover agent for an unnamed European embassy, is recruited to bomb the Greenwich Observatory. Horrified and afraid, he fools his wife (who married him only so he would support her) into ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Date Published: 1976-03-25
ISBN-13:9780140035667ISBN:0140035664
Description: Very Good. Light wear. Store stamp and price inside. Pages are clean and tight with some aging discoloration. SUMMARY: First published in 1902, Conrad's story describes intensely and in stark detail how greed can so easily drive civilised and enlightened men to revert to primitive savagery. Set against the background of the European ivory trade in Africa, Heart Of Darkness is narrator Marlow's account of his journey in search of the legendary and mystical Kurtz, the most successful trader of ... read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Dover Publications
Date Published: 1990
ISBN-13:9780486264646ISBN:0486264645
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Highlighting/underlining. no rips or tears, some underlining detected, corners/edges bumped, tight binding. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 80 p. Dover Thrift Editions. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Dover Publications
Date Published: 1990
ISBN-13:9780486264646ISBN:0486264645
Description: New. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 80 p. Dover Thrift Editions. Audience: General/trade. New and Instock read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Penguin Books
Date Published: 1989
ISBN-13:9780140180909ISBN:0140180907
Description: Fair. No dust jacket as issued. Wear to edges of soft cover. Page tanning form age. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 128 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: Very Good. 0140180907 Great condition Soft Cover book, clean pages, mild creases to spine, light edge/corner rubs, this book is GREAT! Shop & Save With US. read more
Edition: No Edition Stated
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Rupa & Co., New Delhi, India
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9788171674794ISBN:8171674798
Description: Very Good. 12mo-over 6¾"-7¾" tall. Light shelf wear. Solid copy with clean pages. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: SparkNotes, New York, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9781586633677ISBN:1586633678
Description: Very Good. 1586633678 Mass market paperback, previously read used book in very good condition, may have slight worn corners and varying degre...02506985 _ read more
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Dover Publications, Inc., New York
Date Published: 1990
ISBN-13:9780486264646ISBN:0486264645
Description: Good. No Jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. Good copy with light general wear. light edge rubbing. highlighting and notations in text throughout. read more
"It was a breathtaking read. There are few books which make such a powerful impression as 'Heart of darkness' does. Written more than a century ago, the book and its undying theme hold just as much significance even today. Intense and compelling, it looks into the darkest recesses of human nature. Conrad takes the reader through a horrific tale in a very gripping voice.
I couldn't say enough about Conrad's mastery of prose. Not a single word is out of place. Among several things, I liked Marlow expressing his difficulty in sharing his experiences with his listeners and his comments on insignificance of some of the dialogue exchanged aloud between him and Kurtz. The bond between the two was much deeper. Whatever words he uses to describe them, no one can really understand in full measure what he had been through. In Marlow's words, ". . . No, it is impossible; it is impossible to convey the life-sensation of any given epoch of one's existence--that which makes its truth, its meaning--its subtle and penetrating essence. It is impossible. We live, as we dream--alone. . . ."
This was the first time I read this book which doesn't seem enough to fathom its profound meaning and all the symbolism. It deserves multiple reads."
"I think this was a little over my head, apparently Conrad spoke like a half-dozen languages so maybe I lost something in the translation because I only speak one and 1/4. I got the main themes of imperialism, racism, the thin line between civilization and barbarism, but as for any specific thing that was happening in the book while I was reading, I'm really at a loss for. I did like "Apocalypse Now" though, for what it's worth."
"I'm sure there are many redeeming qualities and philosophies to be absorbed from this book. However, it really is the absolutely most boring read I have ever attempted to undertake. I should probably give it another chance before condemning it to 2 stars...but, this book seriously made my mind drift away to unrelated places and topics more frequently than any other book I can remember. I would almost rather read Shakespeare backwards on a rollercoaster than pick this one up again."
"When I was a child, my father caught me frowning at a very small gift wrapped package I'd received. The dashed hopes for a larger package were broadcast across my face.
"Dynamite comes in small packages." My father counseled me. The literal and figurative truth of this statement has revealed itself throughout my life.
This story is specifically relevant to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. It is a small book. (Surprisingly small.) And it is pure dynamite. (Super powerful dynamite!)
Conrad later wrote he wanted to "bring home" the experience of Heart of Darkness to "the minds and bosoms of the readers." He succeeded. Big time.
Heart of Darkness is a masterpiece. Divided into three sections, it is one of the greatest creations of English literature I've had the pleasure to read.
The experience of reading Heart of Darkness is akin to listening to an emotionally moving work of music. It's somber theme has a sinister resonance. Its unique tone and continued vibration hangs in the air and dwells on the ear after the last note is struck. (Reading Heart of Darkness conjured in my mind the eight hand final piano chord of A Day In The Life: shocking, dark, contemplative and endless.)
After reading Adam Hochschild's King Leopold's Ghost I appreciated for the first time the historical context for this novel. In light of that, I felt compelled to re-read Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. And I am very glad I did. This is a genuinely great book."
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