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adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Cannibalism, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Classism
adventurous
reflective
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
fast-paced
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A very mild read, whose status as a classic is surely upheld by its relevance as a historical document. Conrad harshly criticizes colonialism, but does so from within the racist framework of his times.
I liked that the reader is constantly reminded that the story is being told by a specific character with specific views on life, and therefore is only one of many different perspectives on the narrated events.
Conrad paints the colonial environment and the Congolese forest as engulfed in a haunting, menacing spell that gives an air of magic realism to the novella – when it did not have the tones of exoticism, it painted a beautiful picture.
I liked that the reader is constantly reminded that the story is being told by a specific character with specific views on life, and therefore is only one of many different perspectives on the narrated events.
Conrad paints the colonial environment and the Congolese forest as engulfed in a haunting, menacing spell that gives an air of magic realism to the novella – when it did not have the tones of exoticism, it painted a beautiful picture.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Grief, Colonisation
Moderate: Gun violence, Blood
Minor: Animal cruelty, Genocide, Mental illness, Misogyny, Cannibalism, Alcohol
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
“We called at some more places with farcical names, where the merry dance of death and trade goes on in a still and earthly atmosphere as of an overheated catacomb; all along the formless coast bordered by dangerous surf, as if nature herself had tried to ward off intruders; in and out of rivers, streams of death in life, whose banks were rotting into mud, whose waters, thickened into slime, invaded the contorted mangroves, that seemed to writhe at us uh the extremity of impotent desire”
Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’ describes a steamboat journey down the Congo river where the sailor Marlow is in search of the missing esteemed ivory trader Kurtz. Conrad’s work has been praised as a critique of the European blindness towards imperialism and the actions of empire, set in the brutal Leopoldian control of the Congo, however I struggled to identify many places where such was the case. It didn’t have much substance in regards to plot and was just extremely racist in language, (the use of objectifying terminology of the Congolese natives and tribespeople in addition to frequent use of drastic racial slurs), depiction of native characters as below human and also no such narratorial or descriptive condemnation of the actions of colonialism or treatment of native people by the protagonist Marlow or Conrad’s narrative voice. Whilst some claim in highlighting the atrocities of imperialism Conrad was critiquing it, with the awful way such was handled, the tragedies dismissed as normal and even praised in places, I cannot see how ‘Heart of Darkness’ was doing anything but serving as a product of and contributing to the racist societal systems of its time, and struggle to understand even further why it is so frequently referenced and canonised.
Stepping away from the major problems with ‘Heart of Darkness’ and its handling of race, beyond that the plot nor the characters were even particularly well developed or engaging, Kurtz is just an awful ivory trader that is shaped out to be a hero and Marlow some opinion-less lackey who falls into the colonialist system he has built around him, and the plot of the novel constitutes of primarily racist remarks towards Congolese natives.
I really struggle to look back and pick up much of value I took from reading ‘Heart of Darkness’ other than not to think or write alike to Jospeh Conrad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Murder
challenging
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs
adventurous
dark
slow-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
This was me revisiting this book for the first time since studying it in high school. I still find it to be such an incredibly interesting novel. To say I "enjoy" this book doesn't feel right -- but to say it enthralls me as a historical object is definitely true.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Xenophobia, Colonisation
Moderate: Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Genocide, Misogyny, Cannibalism
I first tried to read this some 10 years ago, maybe more, I made it to a 50 page mark and gave up.
However, since then, I watched Apocalypse Now a couple of times and I felt compelled to give the book another go. After all, it was described as the most linguistically rich book ever written, so why not?
It certainly did flow much smoother this time around and I did change my initial stance on it. Insanely beautifully written and vivid in its imagery. I'm happy that I gave it a second chance, because it was an interesting ride for sure.
However, since then, I watched Apocalypse Now a couple of times and I felt compelled to give the book another go. After all, it was described as the most linguistically rich book ever written, so why not?
It certainly did flow much smoother this time around and I did change my initial stance on it. Insanely beautifully written and vivid in its imagery. I'm happy that I gave it a second chance, because it was an interesting ride for sure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism
challenging
dark
tense
fast-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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Colonisation
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
So... I can safely say I didn't enjoy this. I felt like there was nothing happening and even the climactic moment of the story was extremely bland and underwhelming. I appreciate the theme and topic of the novella, the playing with the light and dark... But this was not for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Colonisation
Moderate: Death