Almost a year ago I started reading a book with two stores in it. Both of them were by Joseph Conrad.
The first story was "The Secret Sharer." I liked it so much, I went to the library the next day and checked out a book of Conrad's short stories. The collection published by Penguin included "Typhoon," "Amy Foster," "Falk: A Reminiscence," and "To-morrow."
For better or worse, I read those four stories and then let several months pass before thinking I should write comments about them here. I only have general impressions of what they were. I liked "Falk: A Reminiscence" the best of the Penguin book bunch. In sharp relief I can remember the setting, the characters, the mood, the action, and the emotions of it.
Last week I finally decided to pick up the original book again. I let myself put off reading it for so long because I knew the book would always be sitting on my shelf.
Heart of Darkness
As Conrad's most famous work, I expected it would be great. I would rate the book somewhere between good and great. Some of the conservations were hard for me to understand. A character would talk for a paragraph but I would not be sure which person of the two or three in the scene was the one speaking. Consequently, I had trouble figuring out who they were talking about and had to backtrack. Despite this, I would recommend you pick up the book.
When reading Heart of Darkness I was reminded of the movie Apocalypse Now. In both stories the protagonist is going up a river to find a guy named Kurtz. I will have to watch the movie again because I do not remember much from when I saw it eight years ago.
I also want to read Conrad's novel Lord Jim. It is supposed to have some similarities to Heart of Darkness. However, that might be a few months off. I want to read the textbook for the DSP class I just started. The first chapters of textbooks talk in generalities and are often a waste of time, but my lack of knowledge of electronic embedded systems makes it interesting.
HoD is one of my favorite books. Inside its slim binding is more emotion and power and wisdom and beauty than most gargantuan books combined.
ReplyDeleteI also like the Secret Sharer, but to me its a shadow in comparison to HoD (har har, Sharer is about a 'shadow').
Also, Apocalypse Now is a retelling of HoD set in Vietnam.
Because I see them as related, I would recommend you read Moby Dick sometime (if you haven't already). MD is one of my favorite novels. Counterpointed to HoD's breathtaking concision, Moby Dick is bloated, verbose, and ragged.
But both have that grand, melancholy, metaphysical, and exploratory feel. Both aren't afraid to go balls-out with epic portrayal and mighty themes. For many, they don't work. But for some, there is nothing better. I mean, think about it: a mad captain hunting a whale that took its leg? Fucking Christ! THAT is a story!
I'll stop rambling.