Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

I had no clue what this book was about before starting it. Knowing it to be a classic, I had taken it from my brother’s bookshelf a few years ago. It then sat on my bookshelf and moved with me from apartment to apartment until I finally decided to read it now, largely because I have read just about all of my books. My first impression was that the book was a lot shorter than I expected. I read it in almost one reading and when I finished, I didn’t even realize I was at the end. During this reading, I was also slightly drunk. This hurt my ability to fully appreciate this literary work. Despite my intoxication, I enjoyed reading about Marlow’s adventures into the unexplored world, the Congo. Conrad paints a rather vivid picture of imperialism in the Congo. Despite the egregious scenes he describes, I found the landscape to be surprisingly romantic. I mean, who wouldn’t want to take a river boat into the heart of the “unknown”?

Completed: January 18, 2007