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william_gwynne 's review for:
Heart of Darkness
by Joseph Conrad
After reading this for the first time, I've now had more than my fair share of Heart of Darkness!!1
“He struggled with himself, too. I saw it -- I heard it. I saw the inconceivable mystery of a soul that knew no restraint, no faith, and no fear, yet struggling blindly with itself.”
REREADING HEART OF DARKNESS FOR THE 3RD TIME - The first time I read this, my problem was that I was not immersed and engaged from the beginning. Second time around, I enjoyed the first half far more, and found myself hooked from beginning to end in this tense and disturbing tale! Who knows what is in store this time...
Heart of Darkness is known as one of the great short stories/novellas, with a powerful message regarding empire and exploration, in a tale with strong horror aspects. That reputation alongside Cormac McCarthy loving the works of Joseph Conrad intrigued me, and I finally picked it up.
Heart of Darkness to me seemed at first to be a fairly similar classic story to many others that I have read. But the further on that I progressed, the more distinctive and unnerving this tale became. Without giving too much away, and to over simplify it, Heart of Darkness is about someone journeying to the heart of the Congo and having their expectations and idolisations destroyed. There are strong horror aspects. There is a great deal of tension. It explores the abuse of power, and also appears to suggest that the British Empire should not expand into lands that are not its own. A fairly progressive idea for the time. It still displays hegemonic values of the time which are morally wrong, but it was interesting to see some of these more progressive opinions being shared at the time when it was written.
I was not immediately hooked, but as the story evolved, Conrad brilliantly crafts tension that builds up to some incredibly powerful and visceral scenes that I remember vividly, a year after closing the final page.
4/5 STARS
“He struggled with himself, too. I saw it -- I heard it. I saw the inconceivable mystery of a soul that knew no restraint, no faith, and no fear, yet struggling blindly with itself.”
REREADING HEART OF DARKNESS FOR THE 3RD TIME - The first time I read this, my problem was that I was not immersed and engaged from the beginning. Second time around, I enjoyed the first half far more, and found myself hooked from beginning to end in this tense and disturbing tale! Who knows what is in store this time...
Heart of Darkness is known as one of the great short stories/novellas, with a powerful message regarding empire and exploration, in a tale with strong horror aspects. That reputation alongside Cormac McCarthy loving the works of Joseph Conrad intrigued me, and I finally picked it up.
Heart of Darkness to me seemed at first to be a fairly similar classic story to many others that I have read. But the further on that I progressed, the more distinctive and unnerving this tale became. Without giving too much away, and to over simplify it, Heart of Darkness is about someone journeying to the heart of the Congo and having their expectations and idolisations destroyed. There are strong horror aspects. There is a great deal of tension. It explores the abuse of power, and also appears to suggest that the British Empire should not expand into lands that are not its own. A fairly progressive idea for the time. It still displays hegemonic values of the time which are morally wrong, but it was interesting to see some of these more progressive opinions being shared at the time when it was written.
I was not immediately hooked, but as the story evolved, Conrad brilliantly crafts tension that builds up to some incredibly powerful and visceral scenes that I remember vividly, a year after closing the final page.
4/5 STARS