01-21-2004, 02:16 AM
sorry for refreshing this dusty thread but i just finished conrad's 'heart of darkness'. it was dense reading for me because i had to consult a dictionary roughly three times a page due to my atrocious vocabulary...lol.
i actually really liked it. i loved when mr. kurtz dies right after saying "the horror! the horror!". brilliant because i felt that he was finally showing remorse for his actions...almost like this luminous light that finally shines on him right before death takes him away from the hell he helped create in the name of ivory. i could really relate to the russian dude with the patchwork outfit because he fell for kurtz's charisma. and he too, like kurtz, got swindled by the dark side of african colonialism. i've always considered myself reasonably intelligent, but i must admit that i have felt for the virulent deception of a narcissistic; a man who injected desultory dreams into my vein like an addictive narcotic.
i must admit i wasn't fond of the narrative-inside-a-narrative approach at first, but i got used to it as the story developed. this book is certaintly worthy of being a classic.
right now, i'm trying to read herman melville's 'the confidence man' and i'm not sure i like his style of writing. although it's a story based along the mississippi river, his dialogue is so...well...british...lol. there's this haughtiness to it that seems rather unfitting.
i actually really liked it. i loved when mr. kurtz dies right after saying "the horror! the horror!". brilliant because i felt that he was finally showing remorse for his actions...almost like this luminous light that finally shines on him right before death takes him away from the hell he helped create in the name of ivory. i could really relate to the russian dude with the patchwork outfit because he fell for kurtz's charisma. and he too, like kurtz, got swindled by the dark side of african colonialism. i've always considered myself reasonably intelligent, but i must admit that i have felt for the virulent deception of a narcissistic; a man who injected desultory dreams into my vein like an addictive narcotic.
i must admit i wasn't fond of the narrative-inside-a-narrative approach at first, but i got used to it as the story developed. this book is certaintly worthy of being a classic.
right now, i'm trying to read herman melville's 'the confidence man' and i'm not sure i like his style of writing. although it's a story based along the mississippi river, his dialogue is so...well...british...lol. there's this haughtiness to it that seems rather unfitting.