Hearing the Heart of Darkness

The best 35,000 words ever put to paper in English? My vote goes to “Heart of Darkness.”

That is bound to start an argument, but I welcome it as long as those girding for battle do one thing: Listen to a good reading of this novella on audio cassette.

Even those resistant to the idea of putting classics on tape will be transported.

The aural sensation here achieves such an awesome level that you’d swear Joseph Conrad sat down in 1901 and wrote this tale to be read into a late 20th-Century microphone while a high-tech recording apparatus hummed nearby.

Speaking through his character Marlow, Conrad says, in effect, “Got a little time to kill? Let me tell you a story.”

An intimacy is achieved immediately. A great tale is about to be told, and you tingle with anticipation as it moves forward.

“Heart of Darkness” fans will recall that as it begins, Marlow, the erstwhile seaman and world traveler, is sitting with four chums on a cruising yawl anchored in the Thames.

The sun dips, the powerful tide jostles them amid their game of dominoes, and, almost apologetically, Marlow drifts into a story about his days as a steamer captain on the Congo.

Today, thanks to biographer Norman Sherry and others, there is little mystery about how “Heart of Darkness” came about.

A Belgian company hired Conrad in 1890 to pilot a steamboat up the Congo to pick up some ivory agents. He made only one trip, so disgusted was he with the greed he saw. It is worth thinking about as we in this supposedly more civilized time witness the slaughter of the last African elephants.

“The word ‘ivory’ rang in the air, was whispered, was sighed,” wrote Conrad in “Heart of Darkness.” “You would think they were praying to it. A taint of imbecile rapacity blew through it all, like a whiff from some corpse. By Jove! I’ve never seen anything so unreal in my life. And outside, the silent wilderness surrounding this cleared speck on the earth struck me as something great and invincible, like evil or truth, waiting patiently for the passing away of this fantastic invasion.”

When you hear the late Michael M. Thompson read that part for Recorded Books you know you are in the grips of both a great writer and a man whose easy, confidential voice is perfect for this story.

You must pay attention, though, because Thompson uses only one voice and it is possible to get confused as he switches from the omniscient narrator to Marlow to several other characters in the book.

This is not a book for stop-and-go driving. Listen to it on a long drive or late at night on a Walkman so that you can savor it and never lose the marvelous thread.

Another excellent reading is done by Jack Sondericker for Books in Motion. There is no chance of confusion here because Sondericker uses a different voice for Marlow, for the Russian who shows up later in the story and for the mysterious Mr. Kurtz.

Both of those readings of “Heart of Darkness” can be rented ($9.50 from Recorded Books; $7.50 from Books in Motion). The unabridged reading lasts 4 1/2 hours.

If you want to own this masterpiece on audio cassette, it is hard to beat Norman Barrs’ reading for Listening Library. Along with the unabridged “Heart of Darkness” you get excerpts from “Lord Jim” and Conrad’s great sea tale, “Youth.” The purchase price is $44.95.

Books on Tape also rents and sells “Heart of Darkness,” but I cannot recommend their reading by Wolfram Kandinsky .

Where to Order Tapes

Recorded Books; (800) 638-1304; Box 79, Charlotte Hall, Md. 20622.

Books in Motion; (509) 922-1646; East 9212 Montgomery, Suite 504, Spokane, Wash. 99206.

Listening Library; (203) 637-3616; 1 Park Avenue, Old Greenwich, Conn. 06870.