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3.03 AVERAGE
3.03 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Honestly, this was a disgusting read. I understand for the time it very much exposed a lot of the horrors of the ivory trade but even its protagonists are wrought with colonialism, racism, and sexism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation
Moderate: Cannibalism
Do not ask me what happened in this book. Never in my life have I been so confused as to what the fuck was going on.
All that stuck was... Ivory... Mr. Kurtz... Darkness... By Jove!... The horror!.... N*****.... By Heavens!... Ivory...
This was about a bunch of white boys invading Africa? Then the main boy returned to Europe feeling like a sigma joker pilled emo boy? Because of... the horrors... he had witnessed?
I felt like I was reading this book for English class in high school and I haven't so much as looked at a high school in 8 years.
Some of the dialogue felt surprisingly modern for its age though.
Did not give a single flying Dutchman fuck about anything that happened in this book.
Good riddance...
All that stuck was... Ivory... Mr. Kurtz... Darkness... By Jove!... The horror!.... N*****.... By Heavens!... Ivory...
This was about a bunch of white boys invading Africa? Then the main boy returned to Europe feeling like a sigma joker pilled emo boy? Because of... the horrors... he had witnessed?
I felt like I was reading this book for English class in high school and I haven't so much as looked at a high school in 8 years.
Some of the dialogue felt surprisingly modern for its age though.
Did not give a single flying Dutchman fuck about anything that happened in this book.
Good riddance...
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
dark
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I reread this after a sequence of books on the Democratic Republic of the Congo - Cobalt Red, The Poisonwood Bible, and King Leopold’s Ghost. Reading this for what it is - a beautifully written but devastating account of the horrors visited upon the Congo rather than an object lesson in literary techniques as it’s usually taught in high school, is a sobering experience. One finds in Kurtz and the malevolent emptiness at his heart a disturbing parallel to certain prominent figures of our times. This is a dark and awful tale, brilliantly told.
Yes it was the basis for Apocalypse Now, but if you've seen the movie you should still read the book. Take away the overtones of the Vietnam war and you have an extremely insightful look at the level of inhumanity it is possible for people to sink to when the constraints of civilization (and sanity) are removed. - Aimee F.
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I had to read this book for my gothic literature class and I didn't enjoy a single second of it. I understand why it's considered gothic, however, it was just a story of a colonizer/seaman going to Africa in search of a man that was highly looked up to and did cruel awful things just to attain Ivory. I will not ever touch this book again. I appreciate that Kenneth Branagh and the production team changed the n word to native for the audiobook. Kenneth got me through this book, but barely. He's a great storytellor, I just have zero interest in this story.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes