Heart of Darkness 

is a novella by Joseph Conrad. It was originally

published as a three-part story in Blackwood’s Magazine  in 1899
before being collected into a book in 1902. Marlow tells the story of
his journey up the Congo River, where he meets Kurtz, an ivory
trader. Over the course of his journey, Marlow learns that Europeans
may not be as civilized and advanced as they would like to think. The
main characters are Charlie Marlow , the protagonist, who tells his story
of his travels up the Congo River .
Kurtz is the manager of a trading station in the Congo. He uses
corrupt methods while hunting for ivory in Africa, eventually becoming
insane.  The District Manager is Kurtz's enemy that believes Kurtz's
methods are destroying the district. The narrator is unnamed and sits
on the deck of a ship with Marlow and several others as Marlow tells
his story. Heart of Darkness primarily takes place in the late nineteenth
century in the Belgian-controlled Congo Free State. About a year before Conrad
completed the novella, he says: “There is no morality, no knowledge and no hope; there is
only the consciousness of ourselves which drives us about a world that whether seen in a
convex or a concave mirror is always but a vain and fleeting appearance”.

I chose to present this book because of the originality of the story and
because it speaks a lot about the theme of the journey and makes
readers understand the true meaning. I would recommend reading it
for sure.