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challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-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: Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery
Moderate: Body horror, Torture, Violence
Minor: Racial slurs
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is really fascinatingly written; a very evocative portrayal of a man journeying both into the barbarity of his own culture and the psychological darkness of his on mind. The elliptic narration that grows more and more unsure of its own truthfulness is genuinely frightening and unsettling and had me at the edge of my seat. What does of course not work anymore is the use of local Congolese (for lack of a better discriptor) cultures as a "prehistoric mirror" the "savagery" of which reveals the darkness also lurking within European culture, I don't need to tell anyone that this is racist. But it's also a story with a distinctly anti-colonialist position, depicting and denouncing the mindless hypocrotical violence inflicted onto Africans under Colonialism, published in a mostly pro-Colonialism magazine, no less. So I think this is an interesting study in how anti-colonialist writing in Europe developed and how racist rhetoric was still very much a part of that, which we can use to reflect on our current political rhetoric, especially progressive ones which are nonetheless undoubtedly still marked by racist bias. I would recommend this both for quality of writing and relevance to contemporary discourse.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Colonisation
Moderate: Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Cannibalism
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Murder, Colonisation
Moderate: Cannibalism
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
read for a uni class and it was okay
i hated pretty much every character but i got a 100 on my essay for it so thats something i guess
i hated pretty much every character but i got a 100 on my essay for it so thats something i guess
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Colonisation
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Classism
Minor: Violence, Cannibalism
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Cannibalism, Colonisation
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An incredibly interesting take on 19th/20th century imperialism, certainly a dense work (every sentence is important), but very much worth the trouble
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Colonisation
Minor: Cannibalism
dark
slow-paced
I listened to this one to fulfill the prompt: A book I should have read in high school.
I’m not sure why they were teaching this in high school. I guess the storytelling style (a narrator retelling Marlow’s narration) is interesting and the prose itself is well written and artfully packed with metaphors. However, with all of the options out there, this is a poor book choice to critique colonialism, or to suggest imperialism is bad. Marlow is racist and doesn’t grow much, and the objectification of black people is pervasive throughout the book. Gross.
I’m not sure why they were teaching this in high school. I guess the storytelling style (a narrator retelling Marlow’s narration) is interesting and the prose itself is well written and artfully packed with metaphors. However, with all of the options out there, this is a poor book choice to critique colonialism, or to suggest imperialism is bad. Marlow is racist and doesn’t grow much, and the objectification of black people is pervasive throughout the book. Gross.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation
Moderate: Terminal illness
Overly descriptive writing style, I found this very hard to read, I felt it just kept going with no point or plot
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Colonisation
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It’s an interesting piece to analyze, but it’s a really slow story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Colonisation, Classism
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Brilliant writing. So lush and beautiful. It’s a tough and nuanced topic, one that I’m sure was a controversial opinion in Conrad’s day, but the racism was still so difficult to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Colonisation