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Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Mar. 20th, 2010 01:26 pmThe Blurb On The Back:
In Heart of Darkness unfolds the story of Marlow’s search for Mr Kurtz, the company agent whose “unlawful soul” has been “beguiled beyond the bounds of permitted aspirations” in his dealings with the natives of the Belgian Congo. Witnessing the colonial activity that Conrad elsewhere described as “the vilest scramble for loot that ever disfigured the history of human conscience”, Marlow’s adventure involves him, as it had involved Conrad, in a crucial reappraisal of his own values. It is Kurtz, however, who in his hour of “moral victory” attains to a vision of the inexpressible, terrifying reality of the heart: a vision that has disturbed the thoughts of writers and poets throughout the 20th century.
Displaying masterful technical dexterity in his use of the fallible narrator and the continual testing of the possibilities of language, Conrad makes us fully aware of the deep mystery of truth in this extraordinary exploration of human savagery and despair.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
A product of its time, the racism in this book makes for an uncomfortable reading experience (notwithstanding that Conrad is scathing about the westerners as well) and the slow pace takes some getting used to.
In Heart of Darkness unfolds the story of Marlow’s search for Mr Kurtz, the company agent whose “unlawful soul” has been “beguiled beyond the bounds of permitted aspirations” in his dealings with the natives of the Belgian Congo. Witnessing the colonial activity that Conrad elsewhere described as “the vilest scramble for loot that ever disfigured the history of human conscience”, Marlow’s adventure involves him, as it had involved Conrad, in a crucial reappraisal of his own values. It is Kurtz, however, who in his hour of “moral victory” attains to a vision of the inexpressible, terrifying reality of the heart: a vision that has disturbed the thoughts of writers and poets throughout the 20th century.
Displaying masterful technical dexterity in his use of the fallible narrator and the continual testing of the possibilities of language, Conrad makes us fully aware of the deep mystery of truth in this extraordinary exploration of human savagery and despair.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
A product of its time, the racism in this book makes for an uncomfortable reading experience (notwithstanding that Conrad is scathing about the westerners as well) and the slow pace takes some getting used to.
