Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

8 reviews

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A very mild read, whose status as a classic is surely upheld by its relevance as a historical document.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

anhedonia_n_anomie's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racism, and Slavery

Moderate: Body horror, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Racial slurs

luis0n7i's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Cannibalism

edesia_guest's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes

1.0

Important to read to understand ideas perpetuated at the time but it’s still a horrible book which holds bias and prejudice. you need to be aware of the author and context but if sensitive just avoid. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, and Colonisation

Minor: Cannibalism

rory_john14's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gore, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Minor: Animal death, Genocide, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, and Classism

thesawyerbean's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

1.0

Huh? I am so confused about what I just read. That has to be some of the most verbose and constipated writing I have ever read. I could barely understand what the point of the book was. If it wasn’t so short, I would’ve DNFed it very fast.

I can give it credit for its historical importance, as one of the first writings by a white author to bring attention to the deplorable horrors, genocide and violence of colonialism in Africa. However, this doesn’t mean it was good. In fact, I would hazard to say it was more dehumanising to the  people it was attempting to uplift. What was even more perplexing was that the very man who had committed atrocities, that the whole plot line was apparently centred around, was then heralded as some kind of god, hero or virtuous man after his death, instead of the despot he was.

I don’t know, maybe I was simply not paying enough attention because I was severely bored, but I do not get it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Murder, and Colonisation

doomluz's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Colonisation

Moderate: Cannibalism

Minor: Misogyny and Sexism

b_caligari's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Colonisation

Moderate: Gun violence, Terminal illness, and Grief

Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury