A Signet Classic.
In this pair of literary voyages into the inner self, Joseph Conrad has written two of the most chilling, disturbing, and noteworthy pieces of fiction of this century.
'Heart Of Darkness, which first appeared in 'Blackwood's Magazine' in 1902, makes a devastating comment on the corruptibility of humankind. Based on Conrad's own 1890 trip up the Congo river, the story is told by Marlow, the novelist's alter ego. It is a journey into darkness and horror - both literally, as the narrator descends into a sinister jungle landscape, and metaphorically, as he witnesses the depths of the moral depravity symbolised by the agent Kurtz.
Another voyage into the self occurs in 'The Secret Sharer, the tale of a young sea captain's first command as he sails into the Gulf of Siam - and into an encounter with his "double", the Jungian shadow self of the unconscious mind.
Joseph Conrad boldly experimented with the novella and novel forms, filled his writing with the exotic places he himself had travelled, and concerned himself with honour, guilt, moral alienation,and expiation of sin. 'Heart Of Darkness' and 'The Secret Sharer' encapsulate his literary achievements - and his haunting portrayal of the dark side of man.
