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challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
Heart Of Darkness (1899) - Joseph Conrad. Overall score 3.5/5
The 1st half of this book didn't engage me in the same way that the second half did.
The characters were very human and well written and this is one of the strengths of this book. Pairing this with Conrad's eloquent prose paints very vivid scenes and he loves to use these tools often.
The Narrator of this audiobook David Horovitch really elevated the quality of this book with excellent emotional weight in his narration.
It feels like there is so much more for me to dig into on rereads, a critique that follows on from the use of such flowery prose is that things can get confusing in a negative way that doesn't add to the narrative experience.
The 1st half of this book didn't engage me in the same way that the second half did.
The characters were very human and well written and this is one of the strengths of this book. Pairing this with Conrad's eloquent prose paints very vivid scenes and he loves to use these tools often.
The Narrator of this audiobook David Horovitch really elevated the quality of this book with excellent emotional weight in his narration.
It feels like there is so much more for me to dig into on rereads, a critique that follows on from the use of such flowery prose is that things can get confusing in a negative way that doesn't add to the narrative experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism
The writing style is quite engaging, but I couldn't stomach reading this any further because of how racist and misogynistic the main character is. I get that Marlow is meant to be an unlikeable character, but the way he dehumanises the native Africans and kept calling them the n word made my skin crawl. I suppose it makes sense for the time period, but that doesn't mean I enjoy reading it.
I also don't think this book is a particularly effective critique of colonialism. While the brutality that the Europeans inflict is very obvious, none of the African characters are given the chance to speak for themselves. None of them are even named. Although the story opposes colonialism on paper, in practice, it doesn't do much to empower African people. We only ever hear about them through the eyes of their oppressors, who obviously have a racist view of them already. Instead, the story focuses on the white characters, whose perspectives I'm just not particularly interested in hearing. We already live in a white supremacist world, so I'm just not interested in hearing what a violent racist has to say. I'd rather hear the perspective of the colonised people to be honest.
Overall, I think it's a perfectly adequate story in terms of how it's crafted. It's just not one that I want to read.
I also don't think this book is a particularly effective critique of colonialism. While the brutality that the Europeans inflict is very obvious, none of the African characters are given the chance to speak for themselves. None of them are even named. Although the story opposes colonialism on paper, in practice, it doesn't do much to empower African people. We only ever hear about them through the eyes of their oppressors, who obviously have a racist view of them already. Instead, the story focuses on the white characters, whose perspectives I'm just not particularly interested in hearing. We already live in a white supremacist world, so I'm just not interested in hearing what a violent racist has to say. I'd rather hear the perspective of the colonised people to be honest.
Overall, I think it's a perfectly adequate story in terms of how it's crafted. It's just not one that I want to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism
Moderate: Misogyny
challenging
dark
sad
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:
Complicated
- I got the version that has an intro from Karen Swallow Prior bc I knew I’d need some extra help understanding this book, and I was totally right. Her intro gave me context into the author and where it fits in history. Basically, the first part is narrated an unnamed guy in a boat with a few other guys in a boat just floating away. Then, one of the other guys, Marlowe, tells the longest story ever about his trip into Africa as colonizer going to colonize - or civilize as they said - Africa. He is racist and prejudiced, a product of his own time, but he did question his role as the colonizer as his story meandered on and on.
- The story gave a lot of “what men will do instead of going to therapy” vibes. Seems like Conrad (the author) had a lot of questions and feelings that he needed to process and did it by writing a book about a man who also had a lot of questions and feelings. Conrad wrote the book as three installments to be published in the newspapers so the book is just three long parts. Also, the book isnt long, it just feels long.
- I didn’t love this, but I didn’t intend to. It was a good discipline to read something that wasn’t an easy read for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Cannibalism, Murder, Colonisation
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Racism, Slavery, Abandonment, Colonisation
Moderate: Death, Violence
Minor: Cannibalism, Abandonment
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Colonisation
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
I am very compelled by Heart of Darkness, not for it itself, but for the discourse around it. It’s truly fascinating.
Although I can’t denied, the story is masterfully written and well narrated in the audiobook I listened to. It wasn’t this particular one, but the one I found on Spotify had absolutely no voice actor credits and I couldn’t be bothered to search for another hour to find whoever narrated that version. (For anyone interested, it’s the one with a black-and white cover uploaded during the July of 2023.
Although I can’t denied, the story is masterfully written and well narrated in the audiobook I listened to. It wasn’t this particular one, but the one I found on Spotify had absolutely no voice actor credits and I couldn’t be bothered to search for another hour to find whoever narrated that version. (For anyone interested, it’s the one with a black-and white cover uploaded during the July of 2023.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Trafficking
Moderate: Terminal illness
Minor: Sexism
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
"The people had vanished. Mad terror had scattered them, men, women, and children, through the bush, and they had never returned. What became of the hens, I don't know either."
Conrad's Heart of Darkness has about the same appeal as a textbook— it's very dry and boring, and for being only 90-some pages, drags on and on incessantly. The most interesting aspect of the book is Mr. Kurtz, and he's only there for like three pages. Conrad also employs my least favorite 1800's trope in writing— having a character within the story recount the story to the narrator. This happened for like three chapters in Carmilla, and there I found it confusing. Here, it's the entire book. So sometimes when I start a paragraph and glance over the little apostrophe, I'm weirded out until I go back and reread. Maybe that's just a "me" problem, but I hate that kind of formatting. The prose, as some have called it, is more akin to a biology class handout than anything overtly literary. Conrad is a capable writer, but I do think this could have been tackled differently.
Those negatives still withstanding, this book is good. It's not just good, it's insanely readable. Because it has a sort of textbook vibe, you sort of feel like you're learning something— and what you're learning is a thinly veiled, scathing commentary on imperialism. You don't have to be a historian to know Conrad was shedding light on the deplorable Belgian Congo, with a semi-interesting plot to go across that torturous backdrop. The trip down the river is a horrifying one— but the terror starts before we even get on the water. Evil, greedy men in charge of a population of enslaved Congolese people (who are not painted in the best light), lying, pushing everyone to the furthest extreme, all for personal gain. Kurtz, who is somewhat of a villain, is ultimately a MacGuffin in the true search for more riches. His death, might I add, is one of the more haunting ones I've read. Chills! Heart of Darkness is endlessly nihilistic, too, and you know how I love a feel-bad book. Marlow enters with nothing, and leaves with less, becoming less of a human as he has seen and been party to the true evils of man.
In total, this book is kind of lame and exploitative. But it did inspire Apocalypse, Now so it has that going for it.
Conrad's Heart of Darkness has about the same appeal as a textbook— it's very dry and boring, and for being only 90-some pages, drags on and on incessantly. The most interesting aspect of the book is Mr. Kurtz, and he's only there for like three pages. Conrad also employs my least favorite 1800's trope in writing— having a character within the story recount the story to the narrator. This happened for like three chapters in Carmilla, and there I found it confusing. Here, it's the entire book. So sometimes when I start a paragraph and glance over the little apostrophe, I'm weirded out until I go back and reread. Maybe that's just a "me" problem, but I hate that kind of formatting. The prose, as some have called it, is more akin to a biology class handout than anything overtly literary. Conrad is a capable writer, but I do think this could have been tackled differently.
Those negatives still withstanding, this book is good. It's not just good, it's insanely readable. Because it has a sort of textbook vibe, you sort of feel like you're learning something— and what you're learning is a thinly veiled, scathing commentary on imperialism. You don't have to be a historian to know Conrad was shedding light on the deplorable Belgian Congo, with a semi-interesting plot to go across that torturous backdrop. The trip down the river is a horrifying one— but the terror starts before we even get on the water. Evil, greedy men in charge of a population of enslaved Congolese people (who are not painted in the best light), lying, pushing everyone to the furthest extreme, all for personal gain. Kurtz, who is somewhat of a villain, is ultimately a MacGuffin in the true search for more riches. His death, might I add, is one of the more haunting ones I've read. Chills! Heart of Darkness is endlessly nihilistic, too, and you know how I love a feel-bad book. Marlow enters with nothing, and leaves with less, becoming less of a human as he has seen and been party to the true evils of man.
In total, this book is kind of lame and exploitative. But it did inspire Apocalypse, Now so it has that going for it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Colonisation
Moderate: Death
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Difficult to rate because it's become more difficult over time to figure out what the book is "about". There are many scenes that seem to showcase the dehumanising impact of colonialism on the people of the Congo and the corruption of the colonisers - but the book is told from the perspective of a coloniser and the Congolese people are regularly dehumanised as is. This muddies the water - as does just how much we are supposed to agree with Marlowe as a narrator and how much we use him as a barometer for Conrad's intended meaning. Regardless, I think it does show the awful impact of colonialism pretty viscerally in a few scenes and the little time we get with Kurtz seems to be a good showcase of the mental impact of colonialism on the coloniser - how it drives him crazy and how he kind of begins to see himself as this weird goldy figure. Although, I do think Kurtz never really lived up to the hype that was built for him and much preferred the earlier scenes contrasting the awful consequences of colonialism with the business-as-usual attitude a lot of the colonists had as a more powerful representation of colonialism in its weird professionalism and sort of reinforcement of just how normal all these people committing atrocities were (by the standards of the time of course) to the weird semi-mysticism of Kurt.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Colonisation