Its New Year’s Eve here in New Zealand, and before we hit 2008, I want to make one more attempt to get close to my target of 26 books for the year. So here goes. I read this book ages ago, and haven’t had a chance to blog it, so please forgive any errors in my memory of the story.
Heart of Darkness is the semi-autobiographical novella by Joseph Conrad telling the story of Marlow, who captains a steamboat up the Congo River. Instead of the opportunities for prosperity he imagined, he discovers the nasty nature of his company’s ivory trade and the people being exploited to support it. On this journey, Marlow develops a fascination for Kurtz, an employee who has taken the company’s strategies of exploitation further than intended, with horrific results for the people in his remote region. Marlow’s mission is to extract Kurtz from his post before things get any further out of hand.
The most striking aspect of this story is its examination of the dark side of human nature – what people will do when they feel there will be no consequences. This theme is explored through a combination of horrific scenes of human exploitation described in stark language and long meandering passages articulating the larger themes of the book. Conrad seems to have very deliberately given his characters certain prejudices. These, combined with Conrad’s own say as much about the nature of colonialism as the plot itself.
Thought not pleasant to read, Heart of Darkness is a truly successful piece of literature in my eyes– it is well-written, tackles difficult and complex ideas and left me contemplating it long after I put it down.
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