Heart of Darkness Audiobook

" One of my most difficult and laborious reads ever. A story and lesson worth telling, to be sure, but there has to be a better way than this. As I read this, I couldn't help but to think, "The Geneva Convention was probably designed specifically to outlaw torture of this type - nothing contained in the book, just reading the book!" "

" I probably would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't have seen Apocalypse now first. The casual racism did annoy me a little but I had to accept it as being a product of the times. "

" Wanted it to be darker. I need a British lit nerd to talk about this with me. I was hoping for an African "Apocalypse Now." "

" Profound, hypnotically written with metaphors and allegory (and looong descriptions) in abundance. It was probably the most difficult read of my life and I think a lot went past my head though. Here's one I definitely have to return to later. "

" I thought the book was amazing, the depth that Joseph Conrad uses to describe the trip is haunting. "

" Despite warnings that this book was one of the premeire colonialist ramblings by dead white men, I decided to read it anyway because it was short and literary, kind of like killing two natives with one hurl of a Spanish-forged sword. And what a great book it was! The prose was quite beautiful, being flowerly and dramatic, but also a bit cumbersome. There's not much I can say that hasn't already been said about this book, but as it seemed to be overly racist and offensive, I sometimes wonder if the author was instead being much more subtle and actually offering a critique of the racist and paternalistic nature of our old european friends. "

" Read because it's a classic and because I've read a lot about the history of Africa. For me, it's not a book I particularly enjoyed and I was glad when I'd finished it. It's an interesting perspective in terms of the time it was written but that is about all. "

" Just couldn't get into this book, decided not to force myself to finish. "

" This book is a deceptively dense book. On my first two required readings of the book, I hated it. Upon my third required reading, it clicked and I absolutely loved it. I've revisited it often sense. "

" Brutal, racist and quite good in some ways. Even so, this was the longest short book I have ever read. I'm so happy that's finished. "

" I read this decades ago but still remember the description of the port, the workers, the ships, the men. The writing was admirable and the story ishaunting. "

" Read for Brit Lit Seminar Spring 2013. "

" i did not believe that english is not Conrad's mother tongue. His use of language was wonderful, strong, situational and great. "

" I can see why this was important during the time, but I had a hard time making connections to this. "

" This book was like a slow death... I just wanted it to be over. "

" i agree with perhaps everyone on this one.....not to be missed, or....... "

" Worst four hours of my life. Maybe at some other time I'll go into why this racist, sexist piece of crap pissed me off so much. "

" Pretty racist the way it was written. But there are some good ideas and it was short. "

" No contemporary books have even approached this one in terms of quality. "

" Fantastic little book with a powerful and adventurous story; madness can bring great insight! This is the book that provided the character of Colonel Kurtz for Apocalypse Now. "

" This was an interesting book, but a bit short. "

" This book was a real challenge for me. Book group wanted to read a classic and someone picked this. "

" I read this as part of my Advanced Placement English class during my senior year at Roy High School. This book had a lot of symbolism. Everything there was meant to be "dark." I still remember it after 40 years. It kinda gave me a creepy feeling. "

" One of my favorite books due to the contemplative nature of the narrative and its dialogue concerning the human experience. "

" Worst high school assignment ever... but maybe it was the teacher and my group rather than the book... "

" So boring. I can see why people think it was amazing... but really, what a bore. "

" Achebe is wrong! This book exposes and condemns European racism and colonization, not condones it. It even, in 1898, takes a stab at sexism. Conrad was a genius. "

" A simple novella plotwise. The language is powerful, scenery oppresive and the themes intellectually brutal. "

" Brilliant, although you need multiple reads to uncover it. "

" Good start. By the end you get a bit drowned in the heavy 19th-century writing style. There are some good excerpts and thoughtful moral messages, if you can manage to pick them out from the rubble of words... "

" the sentences! the sentences! The very end makes no sense to me, though. Think he screwed that up. I also don't see what was so great about Kurtz. Seems to me that might have been shown better. But the rest is beautifully written, sentence after sentence. "