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Heart of Darkness
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 4 hrs and 6 mins
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Heart of Darkness
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Summary
Joseph Conrad's searing tale of one of the strangest and most memorable journeys ever taken. Quite simply the scariest book ever written, this is a searing tale of one of the strangest and most memorable journeys ever undertaken - to the heart of a geographical and psychological wilderness from which no-one returns unscarred. For this isn't simply a journey up an uncharted river into a geographical wilderness; rather, it's a trip deep into our collective subconscious.
This story - about what happens when so-called "civilized" human beings go off the rails - was the inspiration for Francis Ford Coppola's movie Apocalypse Now.
Conrad himself had undertaken such a river journey as a ship's captain back in 1889 when he was in his early 30's and before he took to writing full time. Back then, the Congo Free State, as this area of Africa was known, was a Belgian colony under the personal control of King Leopold II. Atrocities were commonplace, to the point where the international community finally had to sit up and take notice; in a report published in 1904, over 3 million people were said to have died as a direct result of European intervention in the area.
It has long been argued whether Heart of Darkness, which first appeared in 1902, was in any way influential in bringing Leopold's violent regime to the public's attention; but whether or not, it remains a searing indictment of human rapacity - and depravity.
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What listeners say about Heart of Darkness
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lukas
- 17-06-16
Amazing
Incredible story, chilling and emotional performance. I've found a new favorite book. Absolute must read/hear.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Erin
- 02-04-22
Elusive on audio
I really struggled with this one; as an example, I had to re-listen to chapter 4 3-4 times! I think the combination of the narrative structure and the ethereal/mysterious style made it hard to grasp on audio. I definitely wasn't able to catch when it cut back to present day because both Marlowe and the narrator used "I".
While reading the Spark Notes (because that's how elusive the narrative was for me), I felt like I had read an abridged version with many interior portions removed. Marlow and xxx near the natives' fire when Marlow thinks he should strangle xxx? Totally missed it.
Better - more graspable - to read in text, I think.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mr. R. E. Towers
- 07-11-21
A disturbing exposé of colonial rule
Joseph Conrad knows what he is writing about here. Charles Marlow, is the captain of a ship owned by a Belgium ivory trading company on a trip to the Congo. This is based on Conrad's own experience of captaining a ship on just such an adventure.
It is also about man's descent into darkness and, as he attempted suicide, we can assume Conrad knew something about this too.
The book is deeply disturbing in its exposure of colonial rule, bigotry and racism and the language is shocking for today's readership.
The story soon becomes about Marlow's search for Mr Kurtz who is in charge of a remote trading post. Kurtz is talked of in revered, almost legendary, tones but it is clear that he has gone rogue, if not insane.
In a harrowing scene, the ship is attack when passing through dense jungle by a barrage of arrows and the helmsman is killed. The further up the river the further into madness they drift.
They find the trading station where Kurtz is worshipped by the natives. There are native heads impaled on posts and Kurtz saves the ship from being attacked.
I won't give away the ending but it is unsatisfactory for both men. Certainly this is a psychological story and much of the writing is ambiguous rather than explicit. It is also the study of colonialism and racism.
The book, though short, is profound and influenced the movie Apocalypse Now. If you like Ernest Hemmingway or other manly seafaring adventures with a psychological twist, you will love this.
Very well read.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- willus
- 08-02-19
Spectacular
The writing is complex yet the narrator made it accessible. David Rintoul is absolutely superb. I have just downloaded another book he has narrated as I enjoyed listening to him so much.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Raphael
- 23-09-17
Darkly poetic masterpiece, congenial narrator
The congenial interpretation by David Rintoul hits the nail; he manages to enrich this masterpiece of thoughtful poetry by providing it with a deeply reflective, rich sonorous voice - this one of those audiobooks that make you longing for more as soon as you have finished it, or maybe just start over again?
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- xrd
- 10-01-22
I need an synopsis
No doubt it is good. It's just difficult to follow while you commute or work. A YouTube synopsis or explaination should do the trick.
This book is a must as it is an origin of many stories.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Name
- 26-12-20
Corrupt
Another audiobook riddled with corruption. I take for example a rapid succession from the beginning: the men here are on charge, not 'Change (this latter explaining why they are present quite specifically), and 1900 years ago the Romans here have legionnaires (which are almost 1900 years more recent than 1900 years ago) not legionaries, and indeed here we have Falerian wine rather than Falernian (Falernian being in much esteem with the Romans, but Falerian wine is just nothing, really). Nonsense, corrupt, bin.
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2 people found this helpful