The Nigger of the 'Narcissus' (Penguin Classics) (ISBN 0140431705)

A Great Work of Literature:
In my opinion, Nigger of the 'Narcissus' by Joseph Conrad is one of the truly great novels in English. It goes on the list with such works as The Great Gatsby, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Passage to India, and Moby Dick. It is fascinating, gripping, deep, and entertaining. It defies description, analysis, or summary. (Nevertheless Doug Anderson in his review has done a pretty good job, so I won't even try.) I don't feel competent to write reviews of great literary works, but not everyone may be familiar with Conrad's Nigger of the 'Narcissus' and what a wonderful novel it is. ... I had no expectations about it and was taken completely by surprise. Nigger of the 'Narcissus' is not just another good novel. It is a masterpiece of literature.

depressingly mean-spirited:
This is the first Conrad novel I've disliked for its racism. "Lord Jim" and "Nostromo" were also about the struggle of racial empire, but more complex and rich in feeling. This one, like "The Secret Agent," seems propelled mainly by resentment. Here the "Nigger" of the title, and his white ally on the ship, are despised by the true-hearted English sailors yet have somehow learned to make the modern world work for them. The message seems to be that weak manipulators, racially corrupt, are taking over the empire. The action of the plot is more allegorical then consequential and lacks internal logic. However the "Nigger" has the seeds of an interesting character, if we could only get to know him -- maybe on shore, and in good health.

I agree, it's an interesting but not amazing reading:
The nautical setting is interesting: Recognizable to those familiar with sailing, a learning experience for those of us who are not. One star. The characters are interesting: Ranging from hardend sailors with strong work ethics to unpricipled slackers, with a mysterious black shipmate (who may or may not be faking illness) thrown in to shake them all up. One star. What I didn't find interesting was Conrad's writing style. His descriptions contained far too many confusing similes, his run-on sentences and three-page paragraphs were tiresome, and his sudden switch from third-person to first-person narration was a bit bewildering. No stars.

The Nigger of The Narcissus:
This book was one of three Conrad books I had ordered for my daughter who is in the U.S. Coast Guard. This was her absolute favorite. It arrived well before Christmas and was in excellent condition. Thank you. Che & Lawrence Martini

Interesting, Not Amazing.:
I came across Narcissus as a reference to one of Faulkner's inspirations in writing As I Lay Dying. As the latter book was superb, I suspected the former would perhaps shine as brightly. I was definately wrong. It's not that the book is bad--certainly not. But the book, as a story, isn't all that riveting, and as a social commentary is not anything that most haven't seen time and again (that Conrad's work came before much of what we've seen is, of course, of some merit). From an academic standpoint the book is probably worth a read. Historically, it's clearly important as it effectively captures the mood of an era long past. As a study in literature I found Conrad's employment of seamless shifts between the first and thrid person as subtle and deceptively powerful--clearly this is where Faulkner borrowed style from the work.