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3.03 AVERAGE
3.03 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Heart of Darkness unfolds as both a story and memory of English sailor, Marlow, about his journey to the Congo as the captain of a ship and his haunting encounter with the shadowy figure of Kurtz, who encapsulates the violence and delusion of the colonial enterprise. It both reflects upon and re-inscribes the horror and racism of European colonisation in Africa. The novella is striking in its flashes of illuminating insight into the dreams and nightmares of the West. Conrad's dehumanising depiction of the African people is confronting and intensely disturbing. This was my second read of the novella, after more than 13 years since my first. Some themes have emerged for me now that didn't then - speech vs writing; truth and lies; and the encounter with bodies (heads, particularly; one's own and of 'Others'). Its dreamlike quality, its deeply spectral atmosphere, the reversal/troubling (however problematic) of temporal and subject relations between 'civilisation' and the 'heart of darkness', and the vast body of memory studies/postcolonial literature discussing the work may warrant returning again to the book in future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Colonisation
challenging
dark
reflective
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
Ultimately this is a book about human brutality, about the darkness inherent in all of this and the various ways we attempt to either justify it or embrace it.
It follows a frame narrative where the story is told to several man on a boat by another man named Marlow who went to the Congo. Ultimately, rarely any names are actually used within the narrative as well, the main ‘villain’ of the book Kurtz and Marlow being the only named characters with everyone else merely being called by a descriptor (e.g. The Manager, The uncle), even Africa, or the Congo aren’t named making the situation within this book capable of being placed anywhere in a way.
It is definitely difficult to read, both in the language and the story matter, despite being about brutality and the attack on the natives the narrator is objectively racist (and even misogynistic) throughout despite the pity he feels using incredibly dated language and viewing the natives as less evolved humans. Being very much a product of it’s time it is still one of the first books to ever mention ‘the horrors’ that imperialism has brought and is in a way a time capsule of it’s era of the thoughts of white men towards those who simply look different than them.
In this day and age it is difficult to recommend, there are so many other stories that actually feature woman, that are told by actual African authors and give voice to African Characters. But to simplify it as merely a “racist and difficult book” would be an intense simplification. If you’re willing to put up with it I believe it is an incredibly fascinating experience on the views of someone who is completely ignorant witnessing tragedy and being unable to fully understand it without painting the other side as either lesser, or evil. It shows that this mindset is not uncommon, and that even the ‘common man’ like many of the characters within the narrative are more than capable of this darkness.
It follows a frame narrative where the story is told to several man on a boat by another man named Marlow who went to the Congo. Ultimately, rarely any names are actually used within the narrative as well, the main ‘villain’ of the book Kurtz and Marlow being the only named characters with everyone else merely being called by a descriptor (e.g. The Manager, The uncle), even Africa, or the Congo aren’t named making the situation within this book capable of being placed anywhere in a way.
It is definitely difficult to read, both in the language and the story matter, despite being about brutality and the attack on the natives the narrator is objectively racist (and even misogynistic) throughout despite the pity he feels using incredibly dated language and viewing the natives as less evolved humans. Being very much a product of it’s time it is still one of the first books to ever mention ‘the horrors’ that imperialism has brought and is in a way a time capsule of it’s era of the thoughts of white men towards those who simply look different than them.
In this day and age it is difficult to recommend, there are so many other stories that actually feature woman, that are told by actual African authors and give voice to African Characters. But to simplify it as merely a “racist and difficult book” would be an intense simplification. If you’re willing to put up with it I believe it is an incredibly fascinating experience on the views of someone who is completely ignorant witnessing tragedy and being unable to fully understand it without painting the other side as either lesser, or evil. It shows that this mindset is not uncommon, and that even the ‘common man’ like many of the characters within the narrative are more than capable of this darkness.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Colonisation, Classism
Moderate: Terminal illness, War
Minor: Cannibalism
The writing style is absolutely gorgeous, but I didn't really enjoy the story itself. Conrad was certainly a talented writer who understood how to use metaphors and create a symbolic story, but I don't believe "Heart of Darkness" accomplished anything that it claimed to have set out to do. It didn't draw my attention the way I thought it would, I didn't end up liking any of the characters, and it felt very outdated. For all its talk about how colonialism is bad, it doesn't manage to take a strong stance on it or actually make a solid point. You can never tell whether Marlow undergoes any character development, and it's impossible to know whether Conrad truly realized the depth of the horrors he was attempting to discuss.
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
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:
Yes
dark
reflective
slow-paced
In this book we follow Marlow as he travels the Congo in Africa. He ventures to meet Kurtz, an ivory dealer. During his journey we see just how dark and inhumane humans can be towards eachother and we get to see a lot of anti colonialism themes throughout the book as well.
The biggest take away though is just how every human can have a cruel and dark side depending on their circumstances.
Loved the concept of the book and it is definitely worth its place as a must read but it was horribly slow and mildly boring.
The biggest take away though is just how every human can have a cruel and dark side depending on their circumstances.
Loved the concept of the book and it is definitely worth its place as a must read but it was horribly slow and mildly boring.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Short little book that's incredibly dense and unpleasant. Revoltingly racist but at its core anti imperialist, and for the period manages to be a cutting study of colonialism. I'm inclined to lean more towards agreeing with Achebe. It's a hard book to stomach no matter how much I try to remind myself of the late 19th century context. By modern standards Conrad, Marlow and the book are undoubtedly racist, and I found it hard to view the book objectively. Marlow may not be the narrator, Marlow may not be Conrad, but the book is based on Conrad's experiences in the Congo. There are no black voices, Africa is portrayed as a primeval wilderness. The book is more an expression of the guilt, shock and (horror!) of the white man in discovering he is complicit in sickening atrocities, that surely he always knew he was complicit in but never conceptualised the true extent until entering the Congo. It's about the realisation that the heart of darkness is perhaps not in Africa but in Europe and humanity itself. There's no denying this is an important book.
Saw this incredible review by another user "Every bit as compelling and sympathetic as a first-hand account of self-aware cancer."
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
reading this on a boat was definitely an experience