Reviews with content warning for Death - El Corazón de las Tinieblas

me rating this less than 2.5 stars seems like a red sniper's dot should appear on my forehead any moment now but frankly atp i do not care. credit where credit's due, i like how it was a story within a story (one of the things i liked abt frankenstein and kokoro too, i just think its cool to get perspectives within perspectives) and i like the brief sentences about the scenery but whewwwwww the rest of this book was heavy and sad and depressing. it was just depressing. its a classic and i understand why it's still so famous today but surely there's better texts about colonialisation to be read? i am waiting for the realisation.

Content Warnings

xkrille's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging 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

2.0

I read this for university and this was not for me. This was not my type of book.

I have no idea what happened in this, what it is about, how it ended, etc. I am so lost. I just wanted to get it over with and finish it. I did not find it interesting.

All of this could just as well be because of my taste, and, in reality, it is a great book. I just found it difficult to get drawn into the book, when I had no idea what was going on.

Content Warnings

jesterbrooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.75

This is my own opinion of the book. If you're reading this you may very well enjoy it more or less. For me, it was so dense and at the same time scattered in its narrative that when I finished it, I was hard-pressed to even recount the actual events. There is some good commentary in here on the nature of humanity, especially in the context of colonialism and exploitation, but it was too buried in the story (and perhaps unintentional, as there are racial slurs throughout).
If you intend to read this, be ready for a challenge, both narratively, morally, and in lexicon.

Content Warnings

startjpw23's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-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

3.5

This book was difficult to read at points because of the racist attitudes and actions of many of the characters. I recognize it was a product of its time. But I am not of that time. The language was very evocative. The book is wonderfully written.

Content Warnings

jemappellecat's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

Content Warnings

jasminawithab's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging slow-paced

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

2.0

read for a uni class and it was okay

i hated pretty much every character but i got a 100 on my essay for it so thats something i guess

Content Warnings

arborapollonis's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional funny reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

An incredibly interesting take on 19th/20th century imperialism, certainly a dense work (every sentence is important), but very much worth the trouble

Content Warnings

beautifulminutiae's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

More...