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Heart of Darkness

Joseph Conrad

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Jun 16, 2017 Travis rated it liked it · review of another edition

3.5 stars

This is a difficult book to rate. Colonialism and racism are pervasive. The action is sparse.

And most importantly, this book is based on the conceit that Kurtz is a genius, a man apart: Marlow is constantly being told and also himself asserting that Kurtz is an extraordinary person. But we are only ever told this but are never shown why or how. Apart from Kurtz's ability to procure ivory and command the dedication of the local tribes, we aren't given any reason why Kurtz is so universa 3.5 stars

This is a difficult book to rate. Colonialism and racism are pervasive. The action is sparse.

And most importantly, this book is based on the conceit that Kurtz is a genius, a man apart: Marlow is constantly being told and also himself asserting that Kurtz is an extraordinary person. But we are only ever told this but are never shown why or how. Apart from Kurtz's ability to procure ivory and command the dedication of the local tribes, we aren't given any reason why Kurtz is so universally venerated by the Russian, by Marlow, by most of the whites, by his fiancée. And this is no small shortcoming. Without understanding the nature of Kurtz's uniqueness, we have no way to assess how far he has fallen or accurately gauge the import and meaning of his famous last words: "The horror! The horror!"

In spite of these problems, the book is compelling, though I found the first half something of a chore to read as there was not much of interest occurring with the plot or with character development. However, as the book continues, the seeds of darkness that Conrad has planted early grow, flourishing and engulfing the novel with an overwhelming sense of despair, with the eponymous darkness. Yet the source of the darkness remains vague, which serves to infuse the story with a grim sense of foreboding, thus adding to the power of darkness.

What most impressed me with this book is Conrad's ability to create such an all-encompassing atmosphere, an atmosphere that transcends the borders of the written page and infects the mind of the reader (at least this reader) in an all too unpleasant fashion. The book ends with Marlow's companions (those to whom he has been telling Kurtz's story) similarly infected with the darkness. We readers are those companions. We, too, are sickened by the darkness.

The grand metaphor of the book is, obviously, darkness. We live in a world shrouded in dark mysteries about our origins, our purpose, and our destiny. The highly unsettling cry of despair that Marlow and his men hear emanating from the banks of the river is the perfect summation of this book. For some of us, this mystery is a darkness, a debilitating and despairing darkness, and that despair assaults the reader throughout. Having finished Heart of Darkness, I need a light, airy, happy read to cleanse my literary palate. ...more

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