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3.03 AVERAGE
3.03 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A must read for every human, for the darkness in all our hearts.
I can see how some dislike this book, but I really enjoyed it! I found it an eloquent commentary on the “white man’s burden” and colonialism. Marlow allows the reader a look into the mind of a white man in the time of said colonialism, and I also enjoyed the way Conrad wrote Marlow’s mounting insanity as he travels down the river. Conrad’s writing has a distinct, dark voice which I thoroughly admired. However, I do think that Apocalypse Now went about this story in a more tactful manner. Conrad seemed to lose sight of his original intention and plot towards the end, making Apocalypse Now more impactful. Not only that, but the beginning of the story felt completely unnecessary. Francis Ford Coppola evidently saw the deeper meaning in Heart of Darkness and decided to expand on it fully in his movie. While I appreciate Conrad’s work, he definitely should’ve discussed Marlow’s internal conflict when Kurtz dies - should he take power or relinquish it? This debate was completely ignored in the book, and the end was not nearly as moving nor haunting. Despite all this, Heart of Darkness still stands as a powerful story, and Conrad’s writing is irrefutably exceptional.
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
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:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Very stylishly written, I have to say I was positively impressed by a lot of how things were described, and we have to give this guy credit for 'the horror'.. But in general I feel like the impact of this one was a little lost on me. A lot of telling and not much showing. It was hard to feel impacted by anything that went on.
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I can see why this book is renowned. Its views on colonialism and its mockery of Eurocentric thought at the time must've felt very contemporary. Nowadays however, it just feels like a story with way too much superfluous language which just pads the pages, especially at the first part which was borderline unreadable. It had some nice quotes in it though.
"Droll thing life is—that mysterious arrangement of merciless logic for a futile purpose. The most you can hope from it is some knowledge of yourself—that comes too late—a crop of unextinguishable regrets. I have wrestled with death. It is the most unexciting contest you can imagine. It takes place in an impalpable greyness, with nothing underfoot, with nothing around, without spectators, without clamour, without glory, without the great desire of victory, without the great fear of defeat, in a sickly atmosphere of tepid scepticism, without much belief in your own right, and still less in that of your adversary. If such is the form of ultimate wisdom, then life is a greater riddle than some of us think it to be." - Marlow
"Droll thing life is—that mysterious arrangement of merciless logic for a futile purpose. The most you can hope from it is some knowledge of yourself—that comes too late—a crop of unextinguishable regrets. I have wrestled with death. It is the most unexciting contest you can imagine. It takes place in an impalpable greyness, with nothing underfoot, with nothing around, without spectators, without clamour, without glory, without the great desire of victory, without the great fear of defeat, in a sickly atmosphere of tepid scepticism, without much belief in your own right, and still less in that of your adversary. If such is the form of ultimate wisdom, then life is a greater riddle than some of us think it to be." - Marlow
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Colonisation
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
well. i understand that it critiques colonialism/imperialism, which is a good thing(!), but i did not enjoy this. the only thing about it i liked is conrad’s illustration of how cruel the “civilized” truly were. belgium needs to pay for their crimes. “THE HORRORS” fr.
“The glimpse of the steamboat had for some reason filled those savages with unrestraint grief.” - page 53
That question - to me - catches the tragedy of “Heart of Darkness”. It encapsulates Conrad’s powers of perception and apprehension, but also his failure to realise that the answer lies at the core of that very question. How he recognises the horror, the horror, but can’t understand where the root of that evil lies, simply because he was a child of his time.
Ultimately, he’s saying: “don’t be racist like thát, be racist like me.”
PS. There is also a textbook example of gay panic on page 69.
That question - to me - catches the tragedy of “Heart of Darkness”. It encapsulates Conrad’s powers of perception and apprehension, but also his failure to realise that the answer lies at the core of that very question. How he recognises the horror, the horror, but can’t understand where the root of that evil lies, simply because he was a child of his time.
Ultimately, he’s saying: “don’t be racist like thát, be racist like me.”
PS. There is also a textbook example of gay panic on page 69.
Перша фізична книга яку я взяла до рук після затяжного депресивного епізоду - може тому і здалася мені на початку нуднуватою. Проте я знала жанр що брала до рук - моя провина.
Моя оцінка як вагалась так і вагається між 3.5 та 4. Лину ближче до 3.5-3.6
Стиль написання? Файний. Ллється гарно, хоч у мене і є сумніви щодо деяких маловикористованих/застарілих слів які, думаю, виставляв саме перекладач (вперше заглянула хто перекладає через постійні звернення до словника на першій главі книги. Та проти нічого не маю - сама таким грішу, розумію чому хочеться їх популяризувати; просто іноді відволікає від процесу).
Засудження колоніалізму як такого? Я не думаю. Деякі уривки були сумними, зізнаюсь, та, як на мене, Конрад/його персонаж більше був незадоволений саме використаний методами, а не політикою колоніалізму як такою. В будь-якому разі непогане чтиво, хоч деякі моменти й лишили у мене питання щодо поглядів автора: 26 сторінка до прикладу..
Моя оцінка як вагалась так і вагається між 3.5 та 4. Лину ближче до 3.5-3.6
Стиль написання? Файний. Ллється гарно, хоч у мене і є сумніви щодо деяких маловикористованих/застарілих слів які, думаю, виставляв саме перекладач (вперше заглянула хто перекладає через постійні звернення до словника на першій главі книги. Та проти нічого не маю - сама таким грішу, розумію чому хочеться їх популяризувати; просто іноді відволікає від процесу).
Засудження колоніалізму як такого? Я не думаю. Деякі уривки були сумними, зізнаюсь, та, як на мене, Конрад/його персонаж більше був незадоволений саме використаний методами, а не політикою колоніалізму як такою. В будь-якому разі непогане чтиво, хоч деякі моменти й лишили у мене питання щодо поглядів автора: 26 сторінка до прикладу..