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3.03 AVERAGE
3.03 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I think as I got older I learnt to read more patiently and thoughtfully, so this second reading of Heart of Darkness is better nuanced and layered with life experience, historical context, and a richer, more powerful imagination. I can see better the deep, forbidding Jungle which Conrad composes, the deep silence he weaves out of just words, and it is a quite a solemn pleasure to steep and travel into this prose now.
The walls of text, the turgid paragraphs may just be Conrad's style, and/or a convention of the period, but they also mirror the impenetrable jungle he writes about. I can't help but wonder if this was a deliberate choice in form, along with the almost hypnotic rhythm of the narrative.
I still don't really like the thick chunks of introspective text, and the layers of unspoken meanings hiding that sit beneath the dialogue. As a modern, Singaporean reader unfamiliar with the speaking and writing conventions of this period, I can't help but feel I'm missing several strata of inside-meanings, symbolisms and half-thought references here in moments when the protagonist speaks with other characters.
The walls of text, the turgid paragraphs may just be Conrad's style, and/or a convention of the period, but they also mirror the impenetrable jungle he writes about. I can't help but wonder if this was a deliberate choice in form, along with the almost hypnotic rhythm of the narrative.
I still don't really like the thick chunks of introspective text, and the layers of unspoken meanings hiding that sit beneath the dialogue. As a modern, Singaporean reader unfamiliar with the speaking and writing conventions of this period, I can't help but feel I'm missing several strata of inside-meanings, symbolisms and half-thought references here in moments when the protagonist speaks with other characters.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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
Gotta say that for all the words I heard (audio version) I didn't get much out of the story.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This novel was very short, but very good. The treatment of Africans described is horrible and shows how even witnessing these things can drive someone crazy. I thought it was overall very good, however I did zone out for a good chunk of it, being very confused as to what was going on. I will most likely do a reread in the future, but overall I thought it was very good. I give it 3.5 stars
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
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:
Complicated
This book gave me the flu.
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’ll be honest, I didn’t love this one. The prose was a high point. Conrad builds some beautiful sentences and I definitely used the dictionary function of my kindle a ton.
The plot just didn’t feel satisfying. We hype up Kurtz through this whole book only to find him sick and dying. It felt like a massive let down. The only information we ever glean from him is from the crazed Russian. It felt like the ending just felt rushed.
This book was interesting from a historical standpoint. After reading King Leopold’s ghost, a lot of the book is put into a more historical context. If anything, Kurtz’s actions aren’t even that bad in comparison to what really happened in the Congo.
This book is worth a read from a historical standpoint and from a prose standpoint but maybe not a plot standpoint.
The plot just didn’t feel satisfying. We hype up Kurtz through this whole book only to find him sick and dying. It felt like a massive let down. The only information we ever glean from him is from the crazed Russian. It felt like the ending just felt rushed.
This book was interesting from a historical standpoint. After reading King Leopold’s ghost, a lot of the book is put into a more historical context. If anything, Kurtz’s actions aren’t even that bad in comparison to what really happened in the Congo.
This book is worth a read from a historical standpoint and from a prose standpoint but maybe not a plot standpoint.
slow-paced
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated