would have given 5 stars, but I suspect the man slipped some subversive racism into his work

Found him to be frustrating to read until a prof gave our class handouts that had Conrad explaining his intent in writing fiction. Now I am amazed at this man's genius. Jarring tales that are anything but easy to engage with, but all the more rewarding for it.

Conrad can be slow-moving and ponderous, but at times his dark, brooding writing, his examination of the underside of the human spirit can be most compelling. Heart of Darkness, Lord Jim, and The Secret Sharer are all must-reads if you want to get into this guy (Note: Rateitall censored my citation of one of Conrad's major titles; for our purposes, let's call it N of the Narcissus). He is not for those who read for the surface, and trivial concerns of story or plot: Conrad is concerned with human values, the workings of the human mind, morality, duty, conscience. His language is the product of the late Victorian time in which he wrote, plus the fact that he didn't speak English until he was 17 years old. The fact that he became one of the great writers in English is a testimony to the man's genius, similiar to the achievements of Nabokov (who wrote in Russian, German and English) and Beckett (who wrote most of his major works in French). Once again, it's pretty pathetic that Rateitall posters rank this guy 43rd, yet rank a no-talent one book wonder like Harper Lee 17th: this is because Conrad is probably well over the heads of most posters on this site while Lee appeals to the junior high school level of cultural discernment displayed by these troglodytes.

The reason I read.

it was the greatest thing that i have ever com in contact with in my extremely long lifetime.

When faced with the tragic prospect of finishing "Heart of Darkness," or failing English class, I considered the option of killing myself. I then resigned to pulling my hair out and screaming while I struggled to finish this dark and tedious novel. Perhaps I am partially to blame, since I never understood what on earth the book was even about (I think I lost the plot on page two), but to give myself credit I tried. I have no problem understanding Shakepeare's language, so why should Conrad's have proven such a challenge? I choose to think that it was not because it was difficult to understand, but rather because I lost all will to understand after reading 50 pages and finding the story going nowhere. My English teacher called him the greatest writer of all time, to which I must say "Then God help us all."

Used the English language to better effect than any other author I can think of.

Great writer who demonstrated the surmountability of language barriers. Good ideas for stories (i.e. "The Secret Teller", "Heart of Darkness", etc.) are good in English AND in Polish (but better in English, no doubt).

For a dude whose native language was Polish, his writing in English sure kicks ass.

He is boring and can't tell a story.

He knew more than he let on about.

He varies his sentence length which creates variety and movement. An excellent epic adventure writer.