Heart of Darkness vs Typee: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Sailors, Sea Stories, Description and travel, Drama, Fiction
Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness (1899) is a novella by Polish-English novelist Joseph Conrad, about a voyage up the Congo River into the Congo Free State, in the heart of Africa, by the story's narrator Charles Marlow. Marlow tells…
1 film adaptation
vs
Typee
At one time the most popular of Melville's works, Typee was known as a travelogue that idealized and romanticized a mysterious South Sea island for readers in the ruthless, industrial, "civilized" world of the…
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Heart of Darkness is the quickest read — about 2 hours vs 6 for Typee.
- Heart of Darkness has the widest readership — 573782 ratings behind its score.
- Heart of Darkness reaches further in scholarship and criticism — cited 52 times.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Heart of Darkness | Typee | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.4 (573782) | 3.6 (6226) |
| Hardcover | 2.0 (1) | 3.6 (15) |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (2209) | 4.0 (60) |
Reception
| Heart of Darkness | Typee | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 573782 | 6226 |
| Editions | 553 | 216 |
| Citations | 52 | 3 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 340601 | 6333 |
| Reading it now | 22862 | 555 |
| Written reviews | 26235 | 629 |
| Wikipedia attention | 52853 | 2954 |
| Pages | 130 | 326 |