Heart of Darkness (by Joseph Conrad)
Quick thoughts: Kenneth Branagh reads Joseph Conrad. Spectacular, even if some cultural aspects haven’t aged well.
I’ve read Heart of Darkness several times before, and with each new reading I am astonished anew by the evocative nature of Conrad’s writing. That’s not to say that it’s one of my favourite books—it probably wouldn’t even make my top twenty—but it’s undeniably a masterpiece of mood and tenor. This particular edition slipped nicely into my reading schedule, both on account of the sales offered by Audible over the holidays, and because it seemed like an appropriate segue between the two books I was reading by African authors.
Having Heart of Darkness sandwiched between two works of African literature was truly an eye-opening experience as to how overexposed I am to a Western worldview. In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart—the book I had read just prior to Heart of Darkness—the story begins from a purely African point of view, where a well-established system of tribal government is self-evident to the reader. Unfortunately, this is not so self-evident to the British. That same cultural blindness and willful ignorance is amplified and placed in sharp relief when these two works are read back-to-back.
While I remained impressed with the elusive and suggestive atmosphere of Conrad’s writing, it was disappointing to fully realize how faceless and inhuman Africans are presented in his work—and I admit to being a little ashamed at accepting it without question in the past. Unbeknownst to me, Chinua Achebe actually wrote and delivered an essay almost 40 years ago called An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’, where he argues that any proper criticism of Heart of Darkness needs to address the xenophobic mindset of the author. Although the accusation of racism is ultimately unhelpful, the underlying thesis brings a much-needed counterpoint to any critical discussion.
In looking beyond that taint of ethnocentric jingoism, Heart of Darkness is actually quite critical of European colonialism. The title holds references and double entendres regarding a voyage into the middle of the unknown jungle, and most likely an unfortunate allusion to skin colour—but the real heart of darkness is the greed and exploitation of empire building.
Audiobook notes: Do I really need to say more than Kenneth Branagh? He is one of those few people with enough talent to interpret prose in a way that reveals unexpected nuance and innuendo, much like a diamond cutter who can see the facets of a rough stone. This is one I would recommend based on performance alone.
Read what some other bloggers have said:
The Sleepless Reader: “Sometimes you just create an image in your mind of what a certain book will be like, and in this case, I was genuinely surprised on how different it turned out…. What I found was a clear story that easily dragged me along. It was also the perfect book for audiobook because most of the book is story-telling [by] the main character.”
Jules’ Book Reviews: “Overall a good story, but I suggest using a readers guide to look over afterwards, or read it in a book club to help ensure you’ve have a grasp on everything. And, although it’s a short book, it’s not a short read.”
A Literary Odyssey: “I can appreciate the language and the beautiful way Conrad expresses his thought and ideas. I just didn’t like the overall delivery.”
This is one of those books I’m too intimidated to read – or maybe I should say, I have it in my head that it will be tedious and dull and that puts me off. And Conrad doesn’t use paragraphs or anything in this book does he?
Do you ever have those books, that over the decades (yipes!) they get built up in your head in a certain way, through comments other people make partly, until you find you’ve made a judgement on it without even realising it?
I think, also, I had always thought this was about the Vietnam War. Where did I get that idea? Just goes to show, I know nothing about this book but had already written it off! I should smack myself and get a copy!
I know exactly where you’re coming from, and yes I’ve been there many times myself. For the Vietnam reference, that might be on account of Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now” being a self-proclaimed remake of “Heart of Darkness”. I imagine the length of that movie also helped create an image of the original novella as a mountainous wall of text. That’s not the case, though. It’s dense with themes and metaphors, but it’s still a novella (with paragraphs and chapters).
Remember too that the copyright expired long ago, so there’s not really anything holding you back from wading into the first few chapters on Project Gutenberg. I do hope you’ll give it a try; I’d be curious to hear what you think after having it built up in your head for so long!
It’s been a while since I read HOD. It’s on my list of books to re-read, as I think I read it at the wrong time the first time around. I wasn’t receptive to it and I think I gave it short shrift. I love Branagh’s voice, by the way, and didn’t realize he’d read the book. I may have to search that out…
I’d like to meet somebody who doesn’t like Branagh’s voice! Well, not really, I suppose—but it’s hard not to be drawn in by his performance of just about anything. Hopefully you can find a copy with relative ease (mine was obviously purchased through Audible). And I’d love to hear your thoughts if you do get around to a second read!