From the Bookshelf of Should have read classics…

Heart of Darkness

Joseph Conrad

Start date: February 1, 2013

Finish date: February 28, 2013

Discussion: Group Book Discussions

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What Members Thought

Jun 21, 2012 Feliks rated it really liked it

Shelves: brit-lit-classic

My god. I'm so tired of psuedo-analysis of this fine novella by a bunch of clueless modern yardbirds desperate to prove racism in Conrad's character, his personality, his temperament... oh yerr, it was in his mood when he wrote the book, (and say, why did he even write with 'black' ink when he could have used blue?) Yes, yes yes, racism was surely hidden in cryptograms and codes (when you examine his correspondence to his friends that year), there was racism on the inside of his cigar-wrappers t My god. I'm so tired of psuedo-analysis of this fine novella by a bunch of clueless modern yardbirds desperate to prove racism in Conrad's character, his personality, his temperament... oh yerr, it was in his mood when he wrote the book, (and say, why did he even write with 'black' ink when he could have used blue?) Yes, yes yes, racism was surely hidden in cryptograms and codes (when you examine his correspondence to his friends that year), there was racism on the inside of his cigar-wrappers that month, it was hidden in his hatband and in the laundrywoman's marks on his shirts that week as well. We're here to save the day--we come to you twenty minutes on the hour every day--straight from the Lifetime Channel for Women--we're fans of Benedict Cumberbatch and 'Sherlock' and 'Cold Case Files' and we will get to the bottom of this! Oh please.

Just so much horse-hockey. Shrill, misguided hysteria...emanating from raw, green amateurs. The rankest kind of amateur. Hardly even an English undergrad degree to count among them. 'Cereal-box' calibers of literary criticism. But hey, since Chinua Achebe accused Joseph Conrad of racism why then, it must be so, mustn't it? Why, sure. Now, where's that committee-flyer, make sure you put my name down...

Anyway. Listen kiddies. Before you develop your overblown, Encyclopedia Brown case against Conrad, (this is the kind of foppish prattle I'm talking about: https://tinyurl.com/goe7ebt) try reading more than just one of his books. I can't help but notice that none of these knee-high Clarence Darrows ever seem to have read any other relevant Conrad titles. This particular Goodreads reviewer (above) has read all of TWO of Conrad's writings; yet feels he 'has the goods on him' and is ready to land him in the dock at the Old Bailey. Farcical!

Mark this well: you never see these newbs try to proclaim that Almayer's Folly is 'racist'; even though its filled with just as much jungle-description and just as much native-drama as 'Heart of Darkness' is. In fact, there is a lot more. Conrad goes gaga over natives in his other books; he gets right down in the weeds with them---there are native romances; native uprisings; all you could ask for ammo-wise. So why is it only that 'Heart of Darkness' comes under fire? Eh? Big surprise? Startled to hear that jungle and natives are found throughout Conrad's bibliography? Yes, I'm sure.

Try to carry out your phony 'close-reading method' on all those titles and see how easy it is to make a case for Conradian racism. That'll be the day. Don't make me larff.

...more

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Nov 24, 2013 Sorento62 rated it it was amazing

Shelves: classics-western-fiction-1700-1900, hundred-books-cclap

So glad to have read Heart of Darkness after hearing references to it forever. I did not find it as confusing, dreary, depressing, or maddening as many apparently do. I loved the deftness with which Conrad creates the atmosphere of the story. Descriptions are more concrete at the beginning of the story and become more murky and shrouded in referential phrases upon approaching the inner station.

It's a clear indictment of commercial imperialism. The treatment of Kurtz' character is more ambiguous ...more

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