The Nigger of the "Narcissus" (World's Classics) [Paperback]

Joseph Conrad (Author), Jacques Berthoud (Editor)

Book Description

Series: World's Classics | Publication Date: January 17, 1985

The most succinct and complete narrative of a deep sea voyage in the English language in the shape of a dramatic story of near mutiny on a storm-tossed sea, and the persecution of the Negro of the title by a vindictive crew member. This edition includes a short essay on Conrad's important preface, and a glossary of nautical terms.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This edition is particularly good for students at the introductory level because of the chronology and helpful introduction."--Mary Morzinski, Berry College

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

Founded in 1906 by J.M. Dent, the Everyman Library has always tried to make the best books ever written available to the greatest number of people at the lowest possible price. Unique editorial features that help Everyman Paperback Classics stand out from the crowd include: a leading scholar or literary critic's introduction to the text, a biography of the author, a chronology of her or his life and times, a historical selection of criticism, and a concise plot summary. All books published since 1993 have also been completely restyled: all type has been reset, to offer a clarity and ease of reading unique among editions of the classics; a vibrant, full-color cover design now complements these great texts with beautiful contemporary works of art. But the best feature must be Everyman's uniquely low price. Each Everyman title offers these extensive materials at a price that competes with the most inexpensive editions on the market-but Everyman Paperbacks have durable binding, quality paper, and the highest editorial and scholarly standards. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (January 17, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192816233
• ISBN-13: 978-0192816238
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,072,794 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Conrad's first masterpiece, September 14, 2001

By 

Doug Anderson (Miami Beach, Florida United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Nigger of the Narcissus (Classic, 20th-Century, Penguin) (Paperback)

I read this in one sitting on a very dark skied rainy afternoon in an attic which looked like the interior of a ship and I was riveted by it, truly amazed by this tale which was at least in part based in fact. Conrad had written a couple of minor novels and some stories before this but this was his first masterpiece and remains his best tale of the sea, though he wrote other good ones none of them approach the power of this one. There is not only a great telling of a perilous holding-on-by-the-skin-of- your-teeth tale of a ship in peril but also a figure on board whose presence has an unsettling effect upon the men. While the ship sails on calm waters the crew and captain all appear to us as individuals only united by the fact that they all walk on the same decks, they are seen as unique presences and they all have their own reaction to the strangers "condition" which is an apparent illness. As the storm approaches and the ship and crew begins its stunningly told fight for life the individuals all merge as it were into one entity sharing the common task of sailors versus the sea. As the men try to save the ship the strangers presence is forgotten and the captain himself is mysteriously quiet as the men simply do what they must to survive the storm. Once the ship is no longer in peril the uneasy balance of personalities resumes and once again the stranger is suspect. Fascinating and exciting story. Elements of both mystery and high adventure combining here to give one not only a wildly enjoyable read but one which leaves ones mind opened in some way. Heart of Darkness and Lord Jim were Conrads next efforts, but don't miss this one. The prologue to this has Conrad setting down his artistic credo but read it only after the tale is told. That way your mind can absorb in its own way this excitingly told tale.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful and evocative tale that reaches far and deep., October 13, 1999

By 

John Pincus (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Nigger of the "Narcissus" (Norton Critical Editions) (Paperback)

This a powerful and dramatically written sea story of shipmates under trial both from the sea and from eachother. But the sea is only its point of departure. Behind the surface there abides the universe of human struggle, sacrifice, betrayal and death. In the final lines, Conrad says so: "A gone shipmate, like any other man, is gone forever." Then the story ends with a farewell image of the crew tossing aloft in the night, battling with the sails in the teeth of a westerly gale -- a fitting description of struggle and victory at sea and a metaphor for the struggles of life. This is a remarkable work, which is prefaced by an author's note setting forth Conrad's artistic mission as he saw it.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The sea of another time, January 11, 2003

By 

Shirley A. Phillips "ocee" (Lawrence, KS United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Nigger of the "Narcissus" (Norton Critical Editions) (Paperback)

Joseph Conrad provides a memory from life of the sea in the waning days of square-rigged ships. How far that age is gone is illustrated by the rebuilt Constitution. When she was gotten out in recent years after her reconstruction she really wasn't put under full sail--you couldn't assemble a crew to do so in the USA.

Conrad suggests he was among the crew but at other times assumes the stance of an omniscient observer (as when he reports that conversation between Donkin and Jim Wait in the closed deck house). Yet he does this in other novels and I can live with it for the reward of his evocation of the sea--at least I think it's a realistic evocation of the sea, I who have voyaged only in air conditioned cruise ships and a small inland sail boat.

More important than Conrad's nautical narration is his penetration into the psyche of nearly everyone on board. The first customer reviewer was wrong to say that "the loathsome Donkin" stands for the crew and to align the novel with political literature. A great humanistic work cannot be demeaned to the status of a political analysis, at least this one can't.

The last pages of the novel are as melancholy a picture of the vanished men of a dead age as I can imagine. They have undergone three fates (except for Donkin, who of course succeeds): death at sea, death by land, and transfer to a steam vessel, the latter equated with a sort of death.

Even the material remnants of that age are fragmentary and unsatisfactory, a few ships in dock as museum specimens and the great East India docks transformed to the trendy "Docklands" development.