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Review
As powerful a condemnation of imperialism as has ever been written Observer Once experienced, it is hard to let Heart of Darkness go. A masterpiece of surprise, of expression and psychological nuance, of fury at colonial expansion and of how men make the least of life ... endlessly readable and worthy of rereading Telegraph
Book Description
'Hunters for gold or pursuers of fame, they all had gone out on that stream, bearing the sword, and often the torch, messengers of the might within the land, bearers of a spark from the sacred fire'. Marlow, a seaman, tells of a journey up the Congo. His goal is the troubled European and ivory trader Kurtz. Worshipped and feared by invaders as well as natives, Kurtz has become a godlike figure, his presence pervading the jungle like a thick, obscuring mist. As his boat labours further upstream, closer and closer to Kurtz's extraordinary and terrible domain, so Marlow finds his faith in himself and civilization crumbling.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Haunting Re-Readable Classic,
By
This review is from: Heart Of Darkness (Paperback)
Set in the Belgian Congo during the 19th century Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, is a journey to the darkest corners of the wilderness and the human heart. The story is told by Marlow, a sailor, who journeys to the Congo to captain a river steamer and ends up on a expedition to save an extrodinary ivory trader by the name of Mr. Kurtz.Throughout this journey he encounters the raw brutality of colonialism in all its horror and greed. Conrad brings the reader to the frontier where men do savage things all for the spoils of conquest. This is in sharp contrast with other African adventure classics, such as King Solomon's Mines, which take a much more amiable view of the conquest of Africa. Conrad shows all this barbarism with vivid imagery. His description of the Congo wilderness brings it life with all the mystery and majesty it is due. Conrad's prose is magnificent; you feel like you are at Marlow's side throughout the whole story. However anyone thinking this is a fast paced thriller is mistaken. It plot moves at a leisurely pace and isn't as rushed as novels today. Another one of the beauties of this book is its re-readability. I first read it through without reading the introduction and I am glad I did. It let me interperet the meaning of the book without anyone else's influences and when I read the introduction at the end I found that there was a myraid of other themes that could be drawn from the story that I had not thought of. I am now reading it a second time in a new light. I suggest anyone reading it the first time to skip the intro and the footnotes until you've read it once. It will definetly make it a more enjoyable read. Not that it is not already an excellent book. Heart of Darkness is a literature masterpiece that shows the raw repungent character of colonialism and human nature with haunting power.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Into the vacuum poured the primal force of the cosmos.,
By
This review is from: Penguin Essentials Heart Of Darkness (Paperback)
When Kurtz exclaims "The Horror! The Horror!" it is in the same sense that we would also cry out if suddenly faced with the unshielded countenance of God. At the threshold, just before we were either consumed, or absorbed, this too would be our cry.This most remarkable of books is a dissection of the Western psyche. We start with the capital city of the living dead in Europe itself. This is a land of sleepwalkers who have never awakened- they live out their lives spinning castles in the air that ultimately mean nothing. This is the state of the modern Western mind. Theory and profit, but no soul. On the journey down the African coast we encounter the European battleship antiseptically shelling the coast. These are transplanted westerners hiding in the shells of their technological terrors while lobbing shells into the outer world- without really being contaminated by it. Then we reach the coast, where the high ideals preached in Europe are more and more obviously abandoned the farther inland one travels. When the land and the natives become "difficult", pure force and brutality are used to overcome and destroy. In other words, if they will not be "westernized", turned into copies of us, they must be obliterated. Preferably while making us a profit.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A True Classic,
By
This review is from: Heart of Darkness (Audio CD)
I was exposed to Conrad when I took a course in Modern Fiction as an undergraduate, 20 years ago. I took the course as an elective to fill a lit requirement. It was one of the best courses I've ever taken, and of all the tremendous books that were assigned, this was my favorite. I have read this at least 1/2 dozen times in my life. I WAS glad, however, that I had a literary scholar walk through this one. I doubt I would have appreciated it as much had I not. I would therefore recommend the critical edition if you're reading this on your own. Modern Fiction - the literary period from circa 1900 to the mid-fifty's, is not everyone's cup of tea and can understand the negative reviews. The best of these works are dense, relative to today's standards but worthwhile - at least to me. Simply, they don't make'em like this anymore. After reading Heart of Darkness, take another look at Apocalypse Now, the best film adaptation of a novel - ever. Dark, hypnotic, surreal - Heart of Darkness stands alone as a unique classic of american literature. Want to see more reviews on this item?
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