Congo diary and other uncollected pieces

by Joseph Conrad

Congo Diary and Other Uncollected Pieces

158 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

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

[Emily D. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I learned a couple of interesting things about Joseph Conrad and his life and background from this collection-I didn't know before that he was Polish, born in Ukraine, then became a British citizen, and that English was actually his third language (after Polish and French). I also thought the Congo Diary was rather interesting. The short story "collaboration" with Ford Madox Ford at the end was somewhat interesting although Conrad didn't contribute much to that story. The Up River Book was mind-numbingly boring and tedious-it was literally a long and detailed set of directions on boating up the Congo River, complete with compass readings and depth sounding and fathoms to the next point-completely useless to me as a casual reader. Only needed if I happened to be geo-caching in Congo..anyway..
The other pieces in this collection are mostly prefaces, reviews, essays, etc. written by Conrad about various works of his, so irrelevant for me to read unless they are included with the actual works mentioned. I would recommend this book to scholars who happen to be writing a thesis or dissertation on Joseph Conrad but this is not at all fun to read for the layperson.