Reviews

El Corazón de las Tinieblas by Joseph Conrad

alasdairjamesbrown's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No

4.25

argsill77eldemoji's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense 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

5.0

sydtravis's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

sj_books's review against another edition

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2.0

It was ok at the start but didn’t enjoy the rest

monetsmith8's review against another edition

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5.0

Ok, so let me just say that I had to read this book, since it was a requirement for my final year English Literary studies. So I did not approach the book with the best intentions, an open mind or enthusiasm.

I really cannot remember much about the book, but it is a combination of adventure, history, brutality and realism. So if you are a fan of any of those, go for it. It uses a lot of things which happened in the Colonial era to create these scenes. It is not a book you'll get comfortable with. It has an eerie feeling to it, you can't find your footing anywhere in it and it leaves you unsettled.

The writing style is good, but in all honesty, it is not my kind of book. So do not take my rating as reliable. Read it, you got nothing to loose. If nothing else, you'll walk away with a different perspective on colonial cultures.

schwimfan's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging 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

linda_1410's review against another edition

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Technically, I listened to the whole thing, but I can't really say I got much out of it. Lots of n-words and imperialistic attitudes with a smidge of moral consciousness, and nearly 60 occurrences of dark/darkness, in case you missed the title. The book isn't subtle, but then again, given when it was published, could it really afford to be subtle? The fact that it wasn't popular in Conrad's time tells me it was probably too good at criticizing imperialism. Of course, that criticism is coming from the angel of "we're just as bad as those 'primitive savages'," which is problematic in its own right since it doesn't acknowledge any of the positive aspects of the civilizations that were being destroyed by imperialism. I understand the criticisms and the praise, but I came away feeling mostly meh about it.

tpaolinelli's review against another edition

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1.0

no.

baries's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

jomamma's review against another edition

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3.0

interesting but at times just very slow