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About Joseph Conrad

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Synopsis

Heart of Darkness has been considered for most of this century as a literary classic, and also as a powerful indictment of the evils of imperialism. It reflects the savage repressions carried out in the Congo by the Belgians in one of the largest acts of genocide committed up to that time. Conrad's narrator encounters at the end of the story a man named Kurtz, dying, insane, and guilty of unspeakable atrocities.

Reviews

Customer Review: 05 July 2011

Reviewer: Eric Bustin

'Conrad is one of my top 5 authors. His description of Marlow''s journey is stunning despite how dark and gloomy the subject of the book is.'

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Student Review by Lucy Bowes, Durham University.

 

Conrad’s Heart of Darkness speaks of Marlow’s journeys deep into the heart of the Congo in search of the mysterious Kurtz. Not only does his novel speak of the horrors of the colonial rule in the Belgian Congo and its futile intent, but in a more symbolic way of the human condition. Held in perfect equipoise between realism and modernism, Conrad explores consciousness in a manner which, if not entirely comfortable, is nonetheless fascinating. Infused with the echoes of both the gothic and the detective genre this book appeals to a variety of literary tastes.

I was captivated by the abundance of imagery and symbolism that haunt the pages of this dark novel. I found myself driven further on with an urgency similar to that of Marlow’s, both to discover and understand Kurtz. Deep and complex questions are raised and for a relatively small volume their significance is vast. Long after the last page has been turned these questions continued to linger at the periphery of our conscience.

Heart of Darkness is a classic that is not only a pleasure to read, but causes us to examine in new light the nature of our being.

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