Heart of Darkness

Dover Thrift S.

By Joseph Conrad

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Average Rating: (See all 5 reviews) Format: Paperback, 80 pages, New edition Edition Published In: United States, 18 March 1991 Quantity Available: 46 Ships within 6-12 days From The Publisher: Dark allegory describes the narrator's journey up the Congo River and his meeting with, and fascination by, Mr. Kurtz, a mysterious personage who dominates the unruly inhabitants of the region. Masterly blend of adventure, character development, psychological penetration. Considered by many Conrad's finest, most enigmatic story. Publisher: Dover Publications Inc. ISBN: 0486264645 EAN: 9780486264646 Dimensions: 20.0 x 130.0 x 0.0 centimeters

Wow, what an amazing book. The story of a river boat captain who has to journey deep in the primeval African Jungle travelling up the Congo.
It was the inspiration for the Francis Ford Coppola film “Apocalypse Now”.
It very accurately sums up the European attitude towards the African people as well as being a chilling journey in to one mans insanity..

Wow, what an amazing book. The story of a river boat captain who has to journey deep in the primeval African Jungle traveling up the Congo.
It was the inspiration for the Francis Ford Coppola film “Apocalypse Now”.
It very accurately sums up the European attitude towards the African people as well as being a chilling journey in to one mans insanity.

This is a classic book with a lot to offer. Marlowe takes us on a journey to the heart of Africa, and to the darkness that can exist within the heart of a man.
The tale has a dark and disturbing undercurrent, the whole time Marlowe was in the Congo I was thinking “get out, get out Marlowe. None of you (the Europeans) should be there�. The descriptions of the way the African people were mistreated and exploited was disturbing and made me sad, all the more so because it really happened, and on such a huge scale.

I really find this novel interesting because it is openly critical of European colonization and exploitation of Africa at a time when it was still happening and widely socially accepted. Apparently the British reading public found the criticism acceptable because it was aimed at Belgium which made all the difference for them (LOL).

In “Book Lust�, Nancy Pearl recommends following up “Heart of Darkness� with “Things Fall Apart� by Chinua Achebe (which is what I plan on doing), and I think that these two books will complement each other well, as Achebe’s book was written more than 50 years later, and gives an African perspective, and also shows the long term effects of European colonization/imperialism on the African people.

It pays to have a dictionary on hand when reading this book for some of the old fashioned and naval terms. Conrad’s writing is all the more impressive when you consider that English is his third language, and he didn’t start to learn it until he was 21!

I hated this book. The imagery isn’t all that spectacular and it is often hard to figure out who is talking to whom and where as the story is told by a man on a boat, telling a story about traveling into the Congo on another boat. So it does become quite confusing. My teacher really appreciated this book, so perhaps that indicates who the book is directed at.

I hated this book. The imagery isn’t all that spectacular and it is often hard to figure out who is talking to whom and where as the story is told by a man on a boat, telling a story about traveling into the Congo on another boat. So it does become quite confusing. My teacher really appreciated this book, so perhaps that indicates who the book is directed at.

There is both a literal and a metaphorical heart of darkness here as man journeys from boring old England to the unknown Belgian Congo. That unknown is the physical heart of darkness.

The other heart is the psychology of the man himself, and the man that he meets there.

"The psychological journey of man's descent into darkness".
This is how my English teacher taught us the book and went on and on about the psychological aspect of the book. Nothing was made of the actual content - how Europeans viewed Africa, colonization etc..

It's a racist and conservative book about how if man does not control his desires, impulses he ends up like the uncivillized natives. Though he concedes that London too was once in the dark during Roman times. It's about the darkness within, how we are all animals like the savages. The Africans are treated like the savages in King Kong. Cannabalistic, wild, dark etc... I guess it's how Africans were viewed back then and dare I say these attitudes still exist.
It's still regarded as a great work of literature because really it's telling it as it was. It should be read as an account of colonial times.

Often cited as one of the finest pieces of writing in the English language. Heart of Darkness is a deeply layered and deeply contentious exploration of the European in Africa as the narrator voyages upriver to the dark heart of not so much Africa as humanity to find the legendary and brilliant Kurtz who has gone native.