Reviews with content warning for Racial slurs - Heart of Darkness: And Selections from the Congo Diary

this is by far the most boring book that i have ever read, so boring and awful i didn’t even bother to finish it because it’s simply just so BAD. it’s just so lackluster to the point where i almost fell asleep while reading, like go girl give us nothing. it’s so bad that i don’t even want to continue reading it to try to find some “dEePeR mEaNiNg” behind it or the overall “message” of the book because whatever “meaning” this book might’ve had is completely overshadowed by the massive amount of racism that’s just sprinkled throughout the book, so i don’t even care to try to find what the meaning of this could possibly be because there’s just so much racism and bad writing in this that it’s too difficult for me to pay attention to what joseph conrad might be trying to say in this novella, like how in the world am i supposed to enjoy this book and figure out the meaning of it when almost every page has the n word in it. life’s way too short to read bad books so i’m not gonna finish it and i surely don’t plan on doing so like ever.

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mattgroot1980's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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requiredreading's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

“The Horror! The Horror!”
These words from Kurtz summarize the impact of unrestrained brutality by European colonialists on the people and countries of the African continent. And the words summarize the self-assessment Kurtz offers of his own misshapen soul in light of the horrors he committed. Problematic today and to be read with a large grain of salt in terms of its racial politics, this novel’s prose still transports the reader into a powerful narrative dimension unlike much else I’ve read before.

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laurynmailey's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

I can't believe I finally finished it. It took me a week and a half to slog through the whole 100 pages of this. Surely we have other books to hold up as great examples of modernist literature that don't involve this much racist and sexist drivel.

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jesterbrooks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

This is my own opinion of the book. If you're reading this you may very well enjoy it more or less. For me, it was so dense and at the same time scattered in its narrative that when I finished it, I was hard-pressed to even recount the actual events. There is some good commentary in here on the nature of humanity, especially in the context of colonialism and exploitation, but it was too buried in the story (and perhaps unintentional, as there are racial slurs throughout).
If you intend to read this, be ready for a challenge, both narratively, morally, and in lexicon.

Content Warnings

danielshelsel's review against another edition

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dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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