Reviews with content warning for Racial slurs - Heart of Darkness

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Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

164 reviews

ruee's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 41%

It just didn’t really click for me. This may be because I’m not a huge fan of older literature or because it was both rushed and too slow paced at the same time. Just not for me.

Content Warnings

faithx5's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

hanni63's review against another edition

2.0

challenging dark medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Loveable characters: No

Content Warnings

thatone2112's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

gfisher1's review against another edition

3.5

dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Overall the anticipation of meeting Kurtz builds up an unsettling amount of mystery and suspense. I actually don't think the character in the book quite lives up to his reputation unlike in the film adaptation, Apocalypse Now. Nevertheless a good read and a fascinating anti-Colonial piece of literature.

Content Warnings

thebookishtriangle's review against another edition

2.75

challenging dark tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I struggled with this book having had such high hopes for my first reading of Campbell’s fiction given his infamy as a storyteller and notoriety regarding the hero’s journey. The first thing I did was Google “Joseph Campbell Racist” & will definitely fall down the rabbit hole of various essays and articles on the topic of just how problematic this novel is. I understand the modern backlash and wrestled with my resistance throughout. All that being said… there is some beautiful writing in this novela and I think it’s important to read things that challenge you on occasion. In addition this was written in a very different time and I am grateful to live now instead.

Content Warnings

mrx99's review against another edition

2.5

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

bahskfldkt's review against another edition

1.0

Content Warnings

maricasement's review against another edition

2.25

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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.

Content Warnings

agnesiana's review against another edition

2.25

dark medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

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