Great Short Works of Joseph Conrad

by Joseph Conrad

In 1914, the New York Times asked the most highly regarded authors of the day to name the best short story in the English language. They are collected here for the first time.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Short Stories, Literature, Adventure, 20th Century

407 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1910

About the author

Joseph Conrad was a Polish-British novelist and story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in the English language and, although he did not speak English fluently until his twenties, he became a master prose stylist who brought a non-English sensibility into English literature. He wrote novels and stories, many in nautical settings, that depict crises of human individuality in the midst of what he saw as an indifferent, inscrutable, and amoral world.
Conrad is considered a literary impressionist by some and an early modernist by others, though his works also contain elements of 19th-century realism. His narrative style and anti-heroic characters, as in Lord Jim, for example, have influenced numerous authors. Many dramatic films have been adapted from and inspired by his works. Numerous writers and critics have commented that his fictional works, written largely in the first two decades of the 20th century, seem to have anticipated later world events.
Writing near the peak of the British Empire, Conrad drew on the national experiences of his native Poland—during nearly all his life, parceled out among three occupying empires—and on his own experiences in the French and British merchant navies, to create short stories and novels that reflect aspects of a European-dominated world—including imperialism and colonialism—and that profoundly explore the human psyche.

Reviews

[Murray Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read Heart of Darkness several times, and consider it one of the great (if imperfect) novels. But I have never read anything else by Conrad, and figured it was time to do so.
My overall impression is that Heart of Darkness is not only the best thing he wrote (or at least the best of those selected here), but it is the epitome of what he was trying to accomplish with his writing.
Conrad is, obviously, a great writer of sea tales. Which fits most of these stories. They have the feel of a sailor relating his latest adventures (several are even structured as such). He is especially fond of storms at sea (not surprising, as much of the rest of a sea voyage can be deathly dull), and pulls off minute by minute recounting of such. His prose can be as overwhelming as the storm itself.
There is a deeper purpose to much of his writing. Conrad is interested in how we react to stress and danger. A storm is a perfect stressor. But Conrad’s characters are rarely changed by their ordeals, rather the tests they are put through reveal what was always there.
Which can be as much of a weakness in his writing as a strength. The young sailor in “Youth” remains cheerful through disaster after disaster because he is young; the unflappable captain in “Typhoon” steers his ship through the storm because he is unflappable. Nothing profound is learned.
Which brings us to the two key stories in this collection, one successful, one not so much.
“The Nigger of Narcissus” is clearly problematic today, just starting with the title. Yet its problems run deeper. The modern reader might hope that the story redeems the racism of the title, but it does not. In fact, there seems to be no real reason for the main character to be black. The story neither repudiates racism, nor attempts to justify it; it barely even addresses the subject, at least not directly. (I should note that a strain of casual racism runs through many of these stories. While acknowledging the humanity of the various races presented (from the Africans in “Heart of Darkness” to the Chinese “coolies” in “Typhoon”), they are consistently generalized and still lesser to the white characters.)
“Nigger of Narcissus” is quite non-committal on the issues raised. Is the character a con man, shirking his duty, or genuinely sick? What role does the attitudes of the other sailors play in his fate? Conrad leaves it all up to the reader. On one hand, it makes it read like just another sea tale, Conrad presenting something that happened to him at sea (maybe the character is black because that’s just how it happened), without editorial content. On the other hand, the story seems tailor made for future literature students to debate.
Which brings us to “Heart of Darkness.” Here, Conrad definitely wants to editorialize. If the experience of sailing through a typhoon left Conrad thrilled, his experience in Africa clearly left him horrified. But he still wanted to have it both ways — to describe the horror clearly but without editorializing, yet still declare it a horror. So he put those words in Kurtz’s mouth.
Which I find to be the flaw in the book. Kurtz, like the “Nigger,” remains an enigma. Despite Marlowe’s rhapsodizing about how Kurtz could talk, we never hear him (except for those final words). In fact, we barely see Kurtz himself, we only see what others say about him.
When Kurtz says, “The horror. The horror,” we assume he is talking about the horror Marlowe observed, and described to us. But we don’t know for sure. In a way, it would have been more appropriate if the words had come out of Marlowe’s mouth.
Even as I write this, I am not sure if this is a strength or a weakness to the book. Does removing the declaration twice from Conrad’s mouth (remember, Conrad’s character is a sailor listening to Marlowe’s tale) force the reader to reach his own conclusion, or give him the option of evading it?
Conrad’s strength is description, not deriving meaning from what he describes. He consistently leaves that to the reader.

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing writing. If I never read another story about the sea, I’ll be fine. I feel sea sick

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Consisting of two novellas, one very long short story, and four shorter stories, this collection encompasses the spirit of the late 19th Century English colonial world, with all the evils and adventures involved. Conrad was not unabashedly on the side of white superiority - if anything, he probably thought the white race as savage as those it encountered. But, he was a man of his times, and it can be increasingly difficult to encounter the racist depictions which sprinkle his stories. Yes, he undercuts the beliefs of his characters, but to read a brilliant novella the very title of which contains a word painful to read - The . . . . of the Narcissus - is at least somewhat problematic. Conrad's James Wait is more of a symbol than Twain's very humanized Jim in Huck Finn - but the story around him is as enthralling as anything I've ever read. The Heart of Darkness, read for the second time in a year, is even more uncomfortable for its depiction of the effect of African natives on a supposed brilliant white man, though, Conrad's tale of the effect of that man's madness on the narrarator's belief in truth itself is complex enough. And women - well, Marlow (the Heart of Darkness and Youth narrarator) says they are completely incapable of dealing with the real world, and Conrad may not be too far from that opinion. The things which ring true in Conrad - the ways in which men don't really know their capacities until faced with chances to discover them, often in furious battles with nature as most frequently shown to be the sea - are overwhelming, and his storytelling is compelling. He wrote these stories 120 years ago, and they still have much to offer, not the least of which is their complex engagement with the thinking of their times.

[Stephen Gamble · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heart of Darkness is the famous short story here, and justly so as it is a disturbing look into the worst that humanity can be, but the real pleasure for me was The Nigger of the Narcissus - a short story doomed by its title to be shunned in our modern world. Conrad writes with the values of his times as do most writers, what makes him interesting is that he can stand aside and look at those values and even begin to imagine how they may be re-evaluated. The conclusions he reaches are not our modern conclusions, but they are not unrelated. I also enjoyed the Nigger of the Narsissus for the dark humour and the suspense inherent in the plot, a suspense that comes from not being able to identify where the truth lies in the narrative until quite late on when it has become almost irrelevant. It is also a rip-roaring tale of the sea and of ordinary men in extreme circumstances ( which is something of a theme for this collection ).

If you are a cheery heart or a politically correct literalist you probably won't like these stories, if you are interested in what makes us good or bad then you may well find they make you think and think hard.

[Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A selection of Joseph Conrad's famous short works are included in this book. I especially enjoyed "The Heart of Darkness" which is often considered one of Conrad's greatest short story depicting colonial Africa. In addition, "The Secret Sharer" has a resemblance to Feodor Dostoevksy's novella The Double, delving into the psychology of a living or imaginative doppelganger.

[Chris Linehan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's almost impossible to review an anthology. Some of the stories I liked better than others. Some of the stories are similar so reading them back to back felt tedious and familiar. But that said, I found them fascinating as a whole. I especially enjoyed Youth and Typhoon.

[Idyllwilde · Rating 1 out of 5]

ugh. the entire thing is in shades of brown; none of them dark enough to define an idea, none pale enough to alight on beauty.

[Chris]

I love Joseph Conrad, I think because most of his stories are from his life experience. I like to "escape" with him!

[Mark Singer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my introduction to Joseph Conrad. I picked it up on a whim many years ago at a yard sale and was pleasantly surprised. Good writing stays fresh, and Conrad never disappoints.

[Greg · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've read and reviewed Heart of Darkness, Youth, and End of the Tether: the three works were very much alike and the film "Apocalypse Now" so overwhelms "Heart of Darkness" that between these two facts, I could not get a clear picture of Conrad, the writer. So I selected this collection: still, every story is the same. But the unfortunately named "Narcissus" (I'll refrain from the full title) has an interesting premise: a black man, Jim Wait boards as a crew member (the rest of the crew is white) as does Donkin'. Jim has a trunk and various personal belongings. Donkin' has nothing at all and is dressed but with a few rags. Donkin' is given a few personal items from other crewmen while Jim immediately begins coughing. Jim may or may not be dying while Donkin' befriends him. There is a storm, Jim almost dies, and everyone on the ship becomes protective of Jim, as if their own lives depend on the survival of Jim. So the question Conrad raises to the reader is: Who is the bad guy? Through various other events, all is explained. Still, the title and much of the inner thoughts of the characters are racist: much more so than what one would expect at that time in history. Hence, I now have a handle on Conrad and I will read no more of his works. I can't recommend any of Conrad's works to anyone except for "Youth" which is a short story about a young man encountering a reality he thought was far in the future. And since every story, apparently, that Conrad writes is the same, one need only to read "Youth" if one is curious.

[Dave Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had read "Heart of Darkness" in college (after "Apocalypse Now" was released) and for years considered it the most difficult reading I had encountered (due to the verbiage and writing style). Upon re-reading it I no longer feel that way. Actually, it was quite "fluid" and an easy read. (I think that as a younger man I simply had not read a lot of the writing of that era.)

As for this collection I found every story interesting in some way.

"The Lagoon" was almost a parable.

"An Outpost of Progress" shows what happens when the values and virtues of one society collide with the values and virtues of another.

"Youth" felt like something of a plain adventure tale.

"Typhoon" feels like it could have been fleshed out a lot further. I think this would be an excellent movie with more emphasis on the Captain's understated (misinterpreted as "simplistic") style of command.

"The Secret Sharer" was probably my least favorite. It felt like something of a snapshot of an event with little character development.

"Heart of Darkness" is great. A lot to unpack.

"Narcissus" (I'm not going to use the full title) is the longest story in the book but it really feels like it is overly long.

A collection that is well worth reading.

[David Riseley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just not my thing I guess. I feel like his only purpose in these stories is to give a highly descriptive account of things he experienced in his travels. There aren't good guys and bad guys; just people.

[David H.]

Why I didn't finish this: I kept trying to finish this, but couldn't do it. I think I got through Heart of Darkness at least, but the other stories didn't help. Conrad may not be for me.

[TrumanCoyote · Rating 2 out of 5]

Talk about a guy telling the same story over and over again...which you might not notice if you see these stories separately, but clumped all together like this it's evident. Like the similarity to the openings of "Heart Of Darkness" and "The Secret Sharer." It seems like he has some good stuff to tell about but then he's always bogging it down with Literature--like the ludicrous awful last line to "The Lagoon." Not helped either by a muddy, monotonous style--more of that fine-writing crap. And how often can you milk that "youth is fleeting and life's a burnt-out cinder" cow? "Typhoon" was pretty pointless--and "Nigger" horribly overwritten, even for him (I just skimmed most of it--and it turned out to be completely pointless). Of course, since it's all Great I suppose I have no recourse..."No use in me complaining/my objection's overruled." But his prose is one of the top scorers on the groanmeter (out loud, that is); doing things like using the phrase "heart of darkness" about 10 times throughout "Heart"--or in "The Secret Sharer" (which has to be one of the all-time worst stories) the phrase "secret self" or some such over and over again.

[Jose Vera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cuatro cuentos muy bien desarrollados y plasmados. Cuatro historias en donde teniendo como telón de fondo el mar o la guerra Conrad explora el comportamiento humano.

Hice una pequeña reseña de este libro en mi blog:

http://lectorcompulsivo.com/2015/01/u...

[Mts Chimirri]

....nice reading in a rainny and sad night....

[Dominick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man this guy takes a long fucking time to describe a ship. Like three damn pages about the grim on a ship. SHhhhhhiiiiiiitttttt

[Miranda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Probably too challenging for me then