Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

12 reviews

cm93's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Slavery, Xenophobia, Cannibalism, Racism, Murder, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence

ragna_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This is really fascinatingly written; a very evocative portrayal of a man journeying both into the barbarity of his own culture and the psychological darkness of his on mind. The elliptic narration that grows more and more unsure of its own truthfulness is genuinely frightening and unsettling and had me at the edge of my seat. What does of course not work anymore is the use of local Congolese (for lack of a better discriptor) cultures as a "prehistoric mirror" the "savagery" of which reveals the darkness also lurking within European culture, I don't need to tell anyone that this is racist. But it's also a story with a distinctly anti-colonialist position, depicting and denouncing the mindless hypocrotical violence inflicted onto Africans under Colonialism, published in a mostly pro-Colonialism magazine, no less. So I think this is an interesting study in how anti-colonialist writing in Europe developed and how rascist rhetoric was still very much a part of that, which we can use to reflect on our current political rhetoric, especially progressive ones which are nonetheless undoubtedly still marked by rascist bias. I would recommend this both for quality of writing and relevance to contemporary discourse.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Racism, Racial slurs, and Slavery

Moderate: Torture, Cannibalism, Gun violence, and Violence

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

Moderate: Cannibalism

librarymouse's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-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

1.5

I don't know if I want to rate this. I'm reading it for a class. There's some interesting parts to it, and a lot to write about, but it would be a stretch to say that this is an enjoyable book. I'm glad I'm reading it in grad school, rather than in highschool like a lot of my peers were required to.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Classism, Racial slurs, Torture, Trafficking, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Genocide, Violence, Medical content, Sexism, Racism, Terminal illness, Colonisation, Death, Gore, and Grief

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

Moderate: Gore, War, and Fire/Fire injury

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

chubbypug21's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Slavery, Gun violence, Racial slurs, and Colonisation

mushrooms23's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, War, Suicide, Racism, Slavery, Racial slurs, Murder, Misogyny, Mental illness, Violence, and Physical abuse

ambdocksey22's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, War, Violence, Suicide, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Murder, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Gore, Grief, Genocide, Death, Colonisation, Confinement, Classism, and Cannibalism

pyladesreads's review against another edition

challenging dark informative 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, and Gun violence

mim_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

3.75

I'll review it in depth a bit later when I would've gathered all my thoughts and feelings. In short, the book was deep, morose and indeed felt brimming with darkness. The language was, obviously hard to read at times, filled with such eloquence and lyrical qualities — honestly, I loved it, unlike a lot of other people. The content however, gave me a mixed feeling. While it definitely portrays the darkness of colonialism, it altogether creates a racist picture? Please correct me if I'm wrong, I need a good discussion on this books to properly grasp everything that happened in the book. (Also, I'm shamelessly admitting that I lazed around and then hurried through this book at the very last moment to complete it within this month. -.-)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence and Violence

Minor: Racism