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The Secret Sharer and Other Great Stories
1969 PAPERBACK
- GenresFictionShort Stories
Mass Market Paperback
Published February 1, 1969
5 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Conrad
3,286 books4,968 followersJoseph 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 24, 2010
I love the short story form--fell in love with a lot listed here have been favorites since they were assigned in high school: Lawrence's "The Rocking Horse Winner," O'Connor's "Everything That Rises Must Converge," Cather's "Paul's Case," Chekhov's "The Bet," Benet's "By the Waters of Babylon" (a science fiction story no less), Crane's "The Open Boat," Welty's "The Worn Path," Broun's "The Fifty-First Dragon," Saki's "The Interlopers," and the work that forms part of the title, Conrad's novella, "The Secret Sharer." Anyone with an American high school education will recognize several other authors and titles. Sure, there's a lot of the great short story writers missing--Poe, Hawthorne, Hemingway among others. And many of these are in the public domain and can now be found online. I'd recommend other short story anthologies over this one, particularly Moffett's Point of View or Best American Short Stories of the Century, but this isn't a bad choice when looking for a collection of 23 of the best.
February 29, 2008
This old edition contained the stories, "Youth", "The Secret Sharer", and "The Shadow Line". The stories all deal with the same themes of youth, being in first in command and tests against values and experience. They're all written from a first-person narrator, in a very conversational tone (especially for the time period) and often the story unfolds between dialog.
I guess "The Secret Sharer", about a captain who hides a murderer in his cabin and finds his own likeness in him, is the more popular. But my favorite was "The Shadow Line". The narrator, another youth about to give up sea life, finds himself in command of a crew. He's haunted by a sickly second mate who knew the previous captain. The entire ship's crew eventually falls ill after twenty-something days just drifting at sea waiting for wind. The whole thing seems to be some test of endurance and against the haunting reputation of the previous captain. Simply really spooky and eerie. It's almost as if you can hear the narrator questioning himself, growing and understanding as we do too.
I guess "The Secret Sharer", about a captain who hides a murderer in his cabin and finds his own likeness in him, is the more popular. But my favorite was "The Shadow Line". The narrator, another youth about to give up sea life, finds himself in command of a crew. He's haunted by a sickly second mate who knew the previous captain. The entire ship's crew eventually falls ill after twenty-something days just drifting at sea waiting for wind. The whole thing seems to be some test of endurance and against the haunting reputation of the previous captain. Simply really spooky and eerie. It's almost as if you can hear the narrator questioning himself, growing and understanding as we do too.
February 28, 2021
My favorites:
Everything that rises must converge
Silent snow, secret snow
The bet
Act of faith
The interlopers
The fly
Everything that rises must converge
Silent snow, secret snow
The bet
Act of faith
The interlopers
The fly
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews