Heart of Darkness (Norton Critical Editions)

Not sure if this was meant to happen, but Conrad's classic had me laughing out loud quite often.

The horror! The horror! Heart of Darkness -- an impressionist nightmare, an incomprehensible abomination -- makes a pilgrimage to hell. Charles Marlow, hired by a company in the Belgian Congo, must return a mysterious man named Kurtz to civilization during an ivory transport. But reality has collapsed into appearance. All has unconditionally surrendered to implacable forces and...more

The horror! The horror! Heart of Darkness -- an impressionist nightmare, an incomprehensible abomination -- makes a pilgrimage to hell. Charles Marlow, hired by a company in the Belgian Congo, must return a mysterious man named Kurtz to civilization during an ivory transport. But reality has collapsed into appearance. All has unconditionally surrendered to implacable forces and inscrutable intentions. The charismatic Kurtz, a devil ruling devils, obliquely projects a weighty illusion of real presence.   hide

In heart of darkness Conrad does a great job at exploring the human condition especially in Leopold's Africa. The dysfunction of the entire system is applicable to all stages of society.

Amazing! Perfect example of how environment shapes individuals--how adaptable we become in abnormal situations.