Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Heart of Darkness

Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

8 reviews

cm93's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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startjpw23's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book was difficult to read at points because of the racist attitudes and actions of many of the characters. I recognize it was a product of its time. But I am not of that time. The language was very evocative. The book is wonderfully written.

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maricasement's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

I picked this audiobook up because it was one of the shortest one in my Mother's library. Kenneth Branagh is amazing, as is to be expected, but the contents weren't as enjoyable as his performance. Conrad's descriptions are captivating and definitely set the scene for the story, which was something I really enjoyed. But this book is still a product of it's time and uses a lot of racist language and is very colonialist in its messages. It might be an interesting study, but I wouldn't read it again or particularly recommend it to people.

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morrisimo's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

An interesting read. This was assigned reading for a history class but I was quite impressed. Conrad is a great writer in two ways. First, the way he writes is very well crafted, the words apt and intentional, and, despite the time jumps, the flow is masterfully handled. Second, he manages to cultivate a brilliant atmosphere, differing based on his intention but they connected all the way through.
Marlow is a sexist, and while he improves, He's also a racist and a white supremacist. Marlow's arc is eventually an anti-colonialist one, expressing a deep and genuine disgust over what has transpired on the continent of Africa, however one cannot deny the racist overtures. On my part, I feel that Marlow is simply a great unreliable narrator. His perspective is our only insight into the events of the story, and that insight is flawed and certainly inaccurate at points and laden with narcissistic interest. And I love that. Unreliable narrators as so interesting to me, I just enjoy trying to unpack and examine a character's flawed portrayal of events.
The events themselves are somewhat inconsequential. The whole plot is boating up a river, stopping at a place and possibly talking to an interesting character, and continuing boating. It is much more about trying to put you in Marlow's shoes, how he felt, what his headspace was. In that regard I think it succeeds.
Overall a great little novella. Very atmospheric and dark, an intriguing and enjoyable read.

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