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3.03 AVERAGE
3.03 AVERAGE
Really only 1 star for the story and an extra star for the exceptional performance of narrator Kenneth Branagh.
I get how this was a bold statement against the exploitation committed by the ivory trading companies in Africa in the late 1800’s. There is even some very evocative prose that made me think this was headed in a very interesting direction.
And this sounded even more impressive when read by Kenneth Branagh. But, even though there were some very quotable observations about human nature, the story never really pulled me in.
After an acount about how Marlow, the narrator, managed to get assigned as a steamboat captain for the ivory trading company and some description of the wretched jungle conditions and the primitive nature of the natives, the plot primarily focuses on one of the trading company agents, Kurtz, (the Marlon Brandon character in Apocalypse Now). Kurtz’s astonishing success in obtaining impossible amounts of ivory has won him the esteem of the trading company and the envy of his fellow agents. His apparently charismatic personality also causes him to be cultishly worshiped by the natives.
Marlow became obsessed with Kurtz before even he met him – an obsession based entirely on the man’s reputation and a few very vague stories from people who had heard the stories from someone who heard the stories from someone else. Now years later he still can’t get the “remarkable man” out of his mind.
Since Kurtz was ill and mostly non-verbal by the time Marlow arrived at his station, he never actually experienced any direct evidence of Kurtz’s charismatic personality or of the “mind enlarging” wisdom the Russian (who both loved and feared Kurtz) enthusiastically described:
Wow! I wish Conrad would have shared some of that awesome poetry with the reader, but, alas, we only get to hear about the legend of the poetry. The great wisdom that Marlow actually heard with his own ears from Kurtz's lips which he felt totally justified his premature fan-girl adoration and locked Kurtz into god-like status in his mind for all-time?
Yep. A revelation so precise he had to say it twice. (And this is also Brando’s most memorable line from Apocalypse Now)
This Deep Thought was not even in response to any question or a reaction to anything currently happening – he wasn’t even glancing towards his lovely human-head lawn ornaments - so it just seemed to be the senseless mutterings of an insane person. I clearly just didn’t get it, but Marlow did:
I wasn’t convinced. Guess you had to be there.
I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have finished this short novella if I hadn’t been listening to the brilliant narration of Kenneth Branagh.
I get how this was a bold statement against the exploitation committed by the ivory trading companies in Africa in the late 1800’s. There is even some very evocative prose that made me think this was headed in a very interesting direction.
The word ‘ivory’ rang in the air, was whispered, was sighed. You would think they were praying to it. A taint of imbecile rapacity blew through it all, like a whiff from some corpse. By Jove! I’ve never seen anything so unreal in my life. And outside, the silent wilderness surrounding this cleared speck on the earth struck me as something great and invincible, like evil or truth, waiting patiently for the passing away of this fantastic invasion.
And this sounded even more impressive when read by Kenneth Branagh. But, even though there were some very quotable observations about human nature, the story never really pulled me in.
After an acount about how Marlow, the narrator, managed to get assigned as a steamboat captain for the ivory trading company and some description of the wretched jungle conditions and the primitive nature of the natives, the plot primarily focuses on one of the trading company agents, Kurtz, (the Marlon Brandon character in Apocalypse Now). Kurtz’s astonishing success in obtaining impossible amounts of ivory has won him the esteem of the trading company and the envy of his fellow agents. His apparently charismatic personality also causes him to be cultishly worshiped by the natives.
Marlow became obsessed with Kurtz before even he met him – an obsession based entirely on the man’s reputation and a few very vague stories from people who had heard the stories from someone who heard the stories from someone else. Now years later he still can’t get the “remarkable man” out of his mind.
Since Kurtz was ill and mostly non-verbal by the time Marlow arrived at his station, he never actually experienced any direct evidence of Kurtz’s charismatic personality or of the “mind enlarging” wisdom the Russian (who both loved and feared Kurtz) enthusiastically described:
‘Ah! I’ll never, never meet such a man again. You ought to have heard him recite poetry—his own, too, it was, he told me. Poetry!’ He rolled his eyes at the recollection of these delights. ‘Oh, he enlarged my mind!’
Wow! I wish Conrad would have shared some of that awesome poetry with the reader, but, alas, we only get to hear about the legend of the poetry. The great wisdom that Marlow actually heard with his own ears from Kurtz's lips which he felt totally justified his premature fan-girl adoration and locked Kurtz into god-like status in his mind for all-time?
“The horror! The horror!”
Yep. A revelation so precise he had to say it twice. (And this is also Brando’s most memorable line from Apocalypse Now)
This Deep Thought was not even in response to any question or a reaction to anything currently happening – he wasn’t even glancing towards his lovely human-head lawn ornaments - so it just seemed to be the senseless mutterings of an insane person. I clearly just didn’t get it, but Marlow did:
The horror! He was a remarkable man. After all, this was the expression of some sort of belief; it had candor, it had conviction, it had a vibrating note of revolt in its whisper, it had the appalling face of a glimpsed truth—the strange commingling of desire and hate.
I wasn’t convinced. Guess you had to be there.
I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have finished this short novella if I hadn’t been listening to the brilliant narration of Kenneth Branagh.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It inspired me to search more about the atrocious deeds of the whites against the blacks and I kind of regret it, because now I cannot help but think about all the other things they could've done but hid really well. Overall, a nice read and the narration style made it seem like he was talking to the reader face-to-face.
Ik ga de inhoud van dit boek zo me hersenen weer uit laten lopen
2.5. This book is highly quoted, referenced, revered and all that, it was a book I was supposed to read during my degree (oopsies), and I get why but also I don’t. This was confusing and boring and felt like it dragged on even though it was so short. I’m sure there are more philosophies and observations within this book than I noticed which have given it the reputation it has, but I’m sorry to say that as someone who has studied literature, this flopped for me.
Ok so, strange book. This is about a sailor, Marlow, who goes into the Congo River to retrieve Mr. Kurtz, a fabled, mysterious and brilliant man.
I did like the vision Conrad had with this. Witnessing the untamed African wilderness and what it does to people, and seeing the utter disparity and difference that existed between humans. The word ivory was a phantom that floated everywhere and controlled everything. Mr. Kurtz was a greater phantom that kept people afraid, yet yearning to see him.
I even liked the writing. The story begins with “This has also been one of the dark places.” Some of Marlow’s ramblings were interesting. But in the end this was just bad.
The story structure was all over the place. The narrative was inconsistent. The story felt loose, like pieces put together without care for the right thing to focus on, or to let the story breath a bit. It was a short book, but still I struggled to get through it. The journey through the river was basically non-existent. I have no knowledge of the functioning of a European export company in Africa in the 1800’s, nor of working a steamboat, so I was lost on a lot of things. There was a single significant physical incident, other than that it was all a distant dreamlike series of events with no attempt to make it readable or interesting. I genuinely want to stress how absent the story was, it’s like there was no story at all. There were just thoughts, and concepts of people instead of real people. We saw how impressive Mr. Kurtz was, but never really got to know it. The dreamlike approach is just an excuse if the story ends up being bad.
It felt lazy, like the author had a vision and wrote it without trying to make it a compelling story. It annoys so much. And of course there are the racist and sexist problems. This was just bad, and the fact that it tries to seem like more than it is so that you feel like you are missing out on something makes it even worse.
I did like the vision Conrad had with this. Witnessing the untamed African wilderness and what it does to people, and seeing the utter disparity and difference that existed between humans. The word ivory was a phantom that floated everywhere and controlled everything. Mr. Kurtz was a greater phantom that kept people afraid, yet yearning to see him.
I even liked the writing. The story begins with “This has also been one of the dark places.” Some of Marlow’s ramblings were interesting. But in the end this was just bad.
The story structure was all over the place. The narrative was inconsistent. The story felt loose, like pieces put together without care for the right thing to focus on, or to let the story breath a bit. It was a short book, but still I struggled to get through it. The journey through the river was basically non-existent. I have no knowledge of the functioning of a European export company in Africa in the 1800’s, nor of working a steamboat, so I was lost on a lot of things. There was a single significant physical incident, other than that it was all a distant dreamlike series of events with no attempt to make it readable or interesting. I genuinely want to stress how absent the story was, it’s like there was no story at all. There were just thoughts, and concepts of people instead of real people. We saw how impressive Mr. Kurtz was, but never really got to know it. The dreamlike approach is just an excuse if the story ends up being bad.
It felt lazy, like the author had a vision and wrote it without trying to make it a compelling story. It annoys so much. And of course there are the racist and sexist problems. This was just bad, and the fact that it tries to seem like more than it is so that you feel like you are missing out on something makes it even worse.
I think I'm giving this 2 stars (rather than 1) because I just read King Leopold's Ghost and the topics are very similar (Conrad having been in the Congo during that time and possibly inspired by certain people he met there). Conrad is overly descriptive yet still paints a compelling and frightening picture of the landscape. The book is horribly racist which I expected but was still shocked by. The book spends very little time with the actual character of Kurtz, rather spending the majority leading up to the meeting and then after. Do not recommend for casual reading and did not really get this as a "classic".
dark
tense
fast-paced