Rating: 
Summary: Masterpiece of fiction
Review: What can I say that already hasn't been said. This is a brilliant work of art with layers upon layers of symbols to rummage through. Conrad writes this with a deft touch, making every word count and letting the reader feel every word he writes. This is a book to learn about life from, as we all plod along to a certain goal, the obstacles in the way, etc. I too had to read this in high school but wasn't as impressed. I then read it three times in college and once I fully understood what Conrad was saying it all became clear and I reveled in it.Anyone who says they "don't get this book" or it's "too boring to follow" try watching the movie "Apocalypse Now" which is based on this book, and it'll help you to better understand it. Reviews for this book have one the the largest ranges I've seen. It isn't light fare like Jane Austen or the Brontes, so that turns some people off. I however think this is the single greatest literary achievement in the english language, coming fron an author to whom English was a second language.
Rating:
Summary: It is the essence, the heart, of brilliance and genius.
Review: By the end of this novel ( I can't even believe it's a novel ) I was breathless. The word " genius" has become mundane, but I find no other word that can describe a fraction of Conrad's writing in Heart of Darkness. I thought this novel would be boring and dense, and instead it turned out to be the most amazing book I have yet read. It endeavors so much and completes it so " eloquently." Marlow is what everyman should become at some point, and Kurtz--what can describe Kurtz? He is the phantom, the divinity of some other world. Even if this novel was read on a superficial surface; the descriptions and narrative are explosive and paint a picture that one can almost touch. It's hard to think that this was all in words and is held by two covers..because it is like holding burning dynamite. I'm going to be reading this many more times and for many more years to come. Because how many more ways can I interpret " the horror, the horror"?
Rating: 
Summary: MISUNDERSTANDING
Review: Joseph Conrad showed in this book that he never understood much about human nature. He portrays the horror as if it was awakened or caused by the circumstances. If you wish to read a real book, please read "Nausea" by J.P. Sartre also available from Amazon.
Rating:
Summary: Read it again, and again ... Then you'll see.
Review: For all of those people who wrote a review of Heart of Darkness after having been "forced" to do so by some high school English teacher, let me assure you that by writing this novel off as a tedious way to waste your youth, you are missing out on a world of wisdom delivered in under a hundred pages. You have to realize that this man was there at whatever the heart of darkness may be and the novel isn't his best guess at what happens when all constraints of modern society are removed and humans are left to fend for their own existence. This is knowledge that can only be gained from first-hand experience of getting up to your elbows in all the crap that hides within the unconscious and making it back with even a shred of sanity. The first time I read this book was also for an English class, and just as many other reviewers, I saw no value in the whole exercise. But we had one of those old English professors who could talk about the novel for hours and tell you about all the symbols and how to really interpret what Conrad was saying. Since then, I've read Heart of Darkness maybe five more times, and each time, just as with a Dali painting, I find things I didn't notice before. And I'm always amazed to think that all these things which Conrad writes about could easily be sitting within any civilized person, waiting for the chance to emerge. Read it again, you'll see what I'm babbling about. :-)
Rating:
Summary: Norton makes a great book even better
Review: Heart of Darkness is all symbolism, and that is what causes many readers so slog through it, only to proclaim it "boring" after finishing. The story itself offers little, but the deeper meanings and subtle inferences are extremely satisfying. Conrad uses a lot of images to lull the reader into a hazy state, like the "brooding gloom" used five times in the first few pages. If you can look further, you will be richly rewarded. The Norton Critical Edition offers some wonderful essays about the book, which will provoke a lot of careful consideration, if you take the time to read them. Particularly fascinating is Achebe's scathing indictment of Conrad as a racist. I personally think that the racist overtones in Heart of Darkness are part of the scene that Conrad is setting and not intended as 'propaganda' for racism, but the essay was fascinating, and forced me to reevaluate the book's meaning.
Rating:
Summary: Well worth the effort. . .
Review: Conrad is a lot easier to read if you approach the style like you approach a conversation with your long winded next door neighbor. I actually began to like it after a while, and the use of language and symbolism was fascinating. I read this novel as part of a project for a class. My theme was the wasteland of modern society, and I studied the grail legends, world religions, mythology and the work of Eliot before I actually read Conrad. I understood him a lot better and got a lot more out of his work because of all the backgroud information I had. There are a lot of similarities between Eliot and Conrad. Conrad's main message is actually facinating, and there are a variety of different angles that that message can be viewed from. "Heart of Darkness" actually has a lot of meaning in the modern world. Just as Kurtz's true character was revealed as hollow when he was removed from the constraints of society, the novel calls us to examine the state of our own souls. This novel is not meant for the casual reader or anyone who really doesn't like deep literature.
Rating:
Summary: ouch....
Review: Well, I had to read this book four years ago for my grade 13 english class. I thought it couldn't be that bad since it's not too long. Hmm. How wrong I was. Every paragraph and every page was an effort. And not one of those efforts that pays off in the end. I don't know how I made it through and anyone I talked to that liked it could only regurgitate what the critics had said. "The Horror" was finding out that I had to read it in my first year of university too....
Rating: 
Summary: I didn't like it
Review: My English teacher can't stop praising this book and how Conrad shows us the very center of the heart of darkness of humanity. I don't know, I understood the book but it was boring, a drag of read, and it had no story line. It is a useless novel that absolutely does not enhance my knowledge of anything. It's probably one of the worst books I've ever read because modernist writers think that a book can't be good if it's not brain crushingly complex and boring. This applies to Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse too. Unless you are forced to read it or you have to know what the hype is all about, don't read it, it's a novel that you can live without. I can't say that about The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway or books by Carol Shields. Oh well it's just my opinion.
Rating:
Summary: None Better
Review: The single best English language novel ever written? Possibly. And I am not the only one who holds this opinion. Volumes have been written about this work. There are great lessons here and they are not hard to find, but it does take some imagination. A brilliant work, as is much of Conrad's writing. It must be remembered that English was not his native language which makes all this even more wonderful.
Rating: 
Summary: Book rather pointless, detailed symbolism fascinating
Review: Heart of Darkness is not a particularly enjoyable book to read, but if you are willing to pour over it, there is a deeper meaning to be found. Practically everything and everyone in the book is symbolic, and this is why the book is so tedious to read "for fun". So, if you are the sort of person who loves finding symbolism and hidden meanings in seemingly pedestrian ocurrences, buy several copies of this book. If you are looking for a nice, easy, straight read, don't buy it.
| 
