HEART OF DARKNESS
THE SECRET SHARER
Written by Joseph Conrad

Collection published 1950 ***** 158 pages
Heart of Darkness originally published 1899
The Secret Sharer originally published 1910

This incredibly short collection features two brilliant stories by Joseph Conrad. Most notable is Heart of Darkness, which everyone knows was the inspiration for the Francis Ford Coppola film Apocalypse Now. Heart of Darkness tells the tale of a young man's journey to find a European Ivory Trader gone rogue in the Congo. It's a deep psychological study of what it means to be human, and it begs to be dissected, as it has been for many, many years. The brilliance of Heart of Darkness shouldn't draw the reader's attention away from the other offering here. The Secret Sharer, although billed second, actually appears first in this book. It's a short story about a ship's captain who hides a stowaway on board his vessel. Again, a deep psychological study of human nature and what is good and evil. These two stories complement each other very well, and publishing them together is a stroke of genius all its own.