Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

17 reviews

librarymouse's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I'm rating this higher than I did last time around, but not by much. It's not my favorite book by a long shot, but after learning more about Joseph Conrad and writing about textile manufacturing practices  contemporary to Conrad's writing of the book in how they relate to its content, I got a lot more out of it this time around.
It's a slow paced book, but time moves quickly for the characters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Religious bigotry

Minor: Cannibalism

saraaaa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective fast-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

A very mild read, whose status as a classic is surely upheld by its relevance as a historical document. Conrad harshly criticizes colonialism, but does so from within the racist framework of his times.
I liked that the reader is constantly reminded that the story is being told by a specific character with specific views on life, and therefore is only one of many different perspectives on the narrated events.
Conrad paints the colonial environment and the Congolese forest as engulfed in a haunting, menacing spell that gives an air of magic realism to the novella – when it did not have the tones of exoticism, it painted a beautiful picture.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Grief, and Colonisation

Moderate: Gun violence and Blood

Minor: Animal cruelty, Genocide, Mental illness, Misogyny, Cannibalism, and Alcohol

jade_smith's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was me revisiting this book for the first time since studying it in high school. I still find it to be such an incredibly interesting novel. To say I "enjoy" this book doesn't feel right -- but to say it enthralls me as a historical object is definitely true. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Xenophobia, and Colonisation

Moderate: Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Genocide, Misogyny, and Cannibalism

ednam0dewannabe's review against another edition

adventurous informative reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Gore, Racial slurs, Slavery, Terminal illness, Blood, and War

Minor: Gore, Violence, and Cannibalism

diana_raquel's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Blood, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Suicide and Grief

nooo's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Blood

Moderate: Death

elsie_n's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Blood, and Cannibalism

jemappellecat's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Cannibalism

beautifulminutiae's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Brilliant writing. So lush and beautiful. It’s a tough and nuanced topic, one that I’m sure was a controversial opinion in Conrad’s day, but the racism was still so difficult to read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, and Colonisation

mrx99's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, and Colonisation