Awful. I read this book when I was studying postcolonialism in literature, but I would never have gotten through it otherwise. It is just awful. This novella proves that it really doesn't matter how short a book is; it can sometimes be even harder to read as a longer but better book.

As estimated by the review in the back of the book, it took me 7 to 8 hours to read this tiny novella (dictionary time included). The stream of consciousness was hard to follow at times, but with some focus, it surely added to a feeling of intoxication. "The Heart of Darkness" left me morally vulnerable, apt to reflect on my thoughts. I recommend that readers also try "Season of Migration to the North," which follows the story of an African man who travels to England.

Gack. Gack again. When you put down a book, it shouldn't be that hard to find your place again. You should be able to remember the parts you read, and parts you haven't read shouldn't seem familiar. The symbolism wasn't even that impressive. All in all, it was confusing, overly wordy, and depressing. And lest you think me a philistine, I have read and enjoyed Jane Eyre, Les Miserables, Crime and Punishment, and All Quiet on the Western Front. But this was awful.

"The sombre theme (of Heart of Darkness) had to be given a sinister resonance, a tonality of its own, a continued vibration that, I hoped, would hang in the air and dwell on the ear after the last note had been struck." Joseph Conrad, Author's Note 1917.

This surely must be one of the great works of fictional imagination... a story within a story, full of false optimism. Written at a time when deep doubts about who is really civilized were rising to the surface of European life. Beautifully written and paced, with the haunting inner voice of Marlow not soon forgotten.

Such a scary horror story. It took me a few tries to understand this book fully.