Rating: 
Summary: Good Storytelling
Review: I felt I was sitting across from Marlow, who is telling the story of his experience in the Congo. This novel is different from most in that it is written so that the reader is listening to someone's story related rather than the reader feeling s/he is there as the story happens. The style matches that of someone telling you his experience as you listen. This makes the style somewhat choppy and sometimes confusing as to who is speaking, the narrator or another character. Nonetheless, I found myself gripped by the tale. I read the book in one sitting.
Rating: 
Summary: Only For Enthusiasts
Review: I had to read Heart of Darkness in my senior years at High School, and I admit that I found it very difficult to get through - the story seems to focus more on the thoughts of the main character, Marlow, and not on the events of the novel. Not that the events of the novel are really that exciting. A steamboat travels up through the Congo in Africa in search of a man, the mysterious Mr. Kurtz, who has set himself up as a kind of tribal leader. Basically, Marlow goes up the river, finds Kurtz who then dies, and then goes back down the river. If the narration were more descriptive and eventful, this book would be a lot more interesting. It does contain some wonderful commentaries on civilisation, and the savages of Africa and the flaws of their society. For this reason, this book would only be for English enthusiasts, or those interested in the commentaries of man and his existence.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful stuff
Review: I'd always heard that "Apocalypse Now" drew plot elements from "Heart of Darkness", but didn't realize just how closely it was based. After HOD, it will be fun to watch that movie again. Sentence by sentence, this book resonates with the sound of classic literature. I'm a fan of eloquent wordsmithery, and Conrad was a master. Having read this independently, I probably didn't pick up on all of the symbolism or social commentary about European colonialism. However, the essential themes are clear and persuasively shown: the corruption of power and the potential in humankind for regression to savagery when social inhibitions are absent - much like "Lord of the Flies", which another reviewer astutely noted. Beyond the meanings, I think it works very well as a dark adventure narrative, building premonitions of disaster as Marlow journeys deeper into the continent and closer to the mythical Kurtz. My only criticism echoes many previous reviews: the encounter with a weakened Kurtz is anticlimactic and leaves the reader hungry for demonstrations of the great man's warped charisma.
Rating: 
Summary: The title has become a cliche; the book is as fresh as ever
Review: No-one seriously interested in English literature can afford not to read this book. As a central device, the parallel journey into the heart of Africa and the dark centre of the human experience, remains as powerful as ever. The writing in the opening pages, depicting the men and the Thames and the wide possibilities that rise with every outgoing tide, remain as evocative as anything in English. Conrad's subject is barbarity, a theme as relevant now as then. His dark view of the colonial instinct also stands as a warning at this very hour. With "Lord Jim" a thicker, but in many ways easier book to read, Conrad poses the great existential question that was to dominate personal politics throughout the 20th Century, the taking of personal responsibility, the search for personal redemption - as one character puts it: "How to be - Ach! How to be?" With "Heart of Darkness" he articulates what Michael Ignatieff has described as "the seductiveness of moral disgust." Faced with the darkness around him, the character Kurtz advises "exterminate the brutes." His final, dread epiphany, his message from the heart of his own darkness "The Horror! The Horror!" is as chilling now as it was a century ago - a century that has seen more horror than even Conrad could have imagined.
Rating:
Summary: Apocalypse Now
Review: I found this book very interesting to read. I also found it very frightening as it leads into trust and emotions. It enters both these areas quite deeply. I found it strange at first as I wasn't use to reading a book that contained so many quotes but I found this an interesting part of the book. The book leads to a lot of thinking as there are constantly images that Conrad describes loosely so your own mind thinks about them more. Having read this book, I watched Apocalypse Now and realised the large similarities that there are between the book and film. I also liked the book as it is a realtively short novel. If only all books were as gripping & thought-provoking.
Rating:
Summary: The Irony of Conrad's Pro-Colonization Stereotype
Review: Conrad who is pro-colonization of Africa, as most Europeans are, are swept by the irony of the Africans, who are "uncivilized" in all shapes and forms. In this novel it can be seen that a large theme is self-control, and the Africans actually exhibit more of that than the Europeans. On the trip upriver Marlow enlists a crew of about 30 cannibals to do the boat's manual labor. In contrast to the idiotic pilgrims, Conrad portrays the cannibals with dignity. They grow increasingly hungry on board, especially after the pilgrims throw their provision of stinking hippo meat overboard and the manager refuses to stop to trade for food on shore. Marlow tries to imagine why they don't eat him and the pilgrim, and the only answer he can offer is the restraint he values so highly in civilized people: "Restraint! I would just as soon have expected restraint from a hyena prowling amongst the corpses of a battlefield. But there was the fact facing me" (Chapter II). Marlow respects them: "They were men one could work with, and I am grateful to them." Work is one of Marlow's highest values, and the pilgrims, we know, are terrible workers. In fact, the pilgrims are always behaving on a level beneath what you would expect of civilized men, while the cannibals keep acting on a level above what you would expect of savages. Conrad's style is original, perplexing and filled with imagery and symbolism.
Rating:
Summary: hmm
Review: I'm not sure how I really feel about this book. I understand that it's one of the greatest stories ever written and I understand the deep meaning and everything by the way I had to read this for class. It's fun to analyze and find the deep meaning and I guess that's why I like it. It's also pretty boring. I don't really like Conrad's writing style. Much too wordy for me but I appreciate the book
Rating:
Summary: Wicked!
Review: Want to take a trip into the darker side of the human soul? Want to read a book which will challenge your grasp of good and evil? Then read this and ponder the evil potential in all of us.
Rating:
Summary: A true masterpiece
Review: This novel is a true masterpiece, because it is extremely concise and manipulates the reader like no other novel. Conrad writes in the most eloquent prose imaginable, making ever syllable count as if it were poetry. As a result, it is very short and easy to read. His descriptions are vivid to the point where it beings to make you sick, which is the point. The journey into darkness and the tone of the novel have a way of manipulating the reader. There is no other book that can own a heart the way this one can. It is bone-wrenching, and the sight of skulls on fenceposts aren't the only illusions that will have you holding your breath. Even if you hate it, you will appreciate it because the novel owns you while you are reading.
Rating:
Summary: Only for the Smart and Open minded
Review: This is a great book. But, if you are the kind of reader that reads only words, not comprehending them and reading between the lines, like trying to see what marlow was trying to say, then this book is too advanced for you and you will not enjoy it or learn from it. Be sure you can understand hard books or else the meaning and the time you took to read this will be useless and wasted It is basically about a man named Marlow who visits a great man who lives in the heart of the congo, or in the Heart of Darkness. But what he learns from this guy, Kurtz, and how krutz influences all the tribes should mean something different about mankind and how they are weak to everyone who reads this book. The moral isn't written down, you really have to think hard becuase it doesn't end like normal books. This book is written diffenently then you may expect. the whole book is in quotes basically. if you try to speed-read, you will be lost very quickly. Try to read this book out loud in your head and maybe slowly to comprehend what marlow is saying. When the grammer doesn't look right, its probably how the guy talks, so just try to imagine you are reading the book to yourself like someone is reading it out loud to you. Everything connects in the end, so don't give up in the middle.
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