About the Author: Joseph Conrad was born in the Ukraine in 1857 originally Jozef Teodor Konrad Nalecz Korzeniowski. His parents Polish patriots died when he was a child following their excise. He was brought up by his Uncle. Conrad developed a passion for the sea and he travelled to Marseille where he served on
French merchant vessels before joining a British ship on 1878 and served on these ships for eight years. He then took up writing, he continued to write until his death in 1924. Conrad today is regarded S one the greatest writers of English fiction.
The story describes Marlow's search for Mr Kurtz, the company agent and his dealings with the natives of the Belgian Congo.
The quality of his writing belies the fact that Englilsh is not his birth language. He has very descriptive style portraying the beauty , the ugliness and the passion of his experience within his prose. The obsessive persuit by Marlowe of Mr Kurtz is often merged with his own passion. The 'Darkness' portrays the Congo and it's apparent savagery. It must be noted that this writing reflects the time and there are many descriptions and expressions that are very much a reflection of its time, the overt racism ithat much of it is based on is hard to swallow in 2012
Marlow speaks much of the darkness and in some ways the group felt that this implies that Kurtz's insanity was caused by the knowledge that the natives were naturally subservient or savages. Because of their perceived lower state of their, Kurtz was led to enact his position of power and that is how he lost his humanity. Some of the treatment of the natives was brutal and severe with many of the lucid descriptive passages difficult to read because of their vivid description.
The group felt that overall the language of the writing was beautiful, most of the group felt it was dark and depressing and was an example of greed and exploitation which was prevelant at this time.
The books on offer by Karen this month are short stories;
Guy de Maupassant: The Best Short Stories
Hector Hugo Monro: The Collected Short Stories of Saki
Jennifer Egan: A visit from the Goon Squad
Damon Runya: Guys and Dolls and Other Stories
PG Wodehouse: What Ho!
Henry James: The Turn of the Screw
Katherine Mansfield: The Garden Party
Tye book th taw selected was Katherine Mansfield: The Garden Party
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