EP 182: Book Review: "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad

Introduction: Hi everyone! Today, R.N. Roveleh and I, who are writers, are going to be reviewing and analyzing Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” novella. Published in 1899, this novella is widely seen as a critique of European colonialism in Africa. It also examines truth, morality, and power dynamics.

To explore these themes, we will be asking various questions, starting with:

1. What prompted you to read this book?

Fortunus: I remembered that you, R.N. Roveleh, were inspired by the character of Kurtz from this book. I have long heard of this book but never bothered to read it, even though it’s been sitting on my shelf since 2016. I think the writing style really put me off, since it was so flowery and hard to understand.

Helevorn: I was, and I’ll soon explain why in the following.

The reason why I wanted to read this book is also the reason for which I find Joseph Conrad immensely inspirational for me: he is wasn’t a native English speaker (he was only fluent in his 20s) and yet he became one of the most acclaimed writers of English literature who is renowned, among others, for the depth of the language used.