Heart of Darkness (version 4)


Read by Peter Dann

(4.3 stars; 29 reviews)

In this powerful novella based on Joseph Conrad's own experiences in the Belgian Congo, Charles Marlow, an experienced seaman, tells a small group of friends about a profoundly disturbing episode in his life where he was employed by a large colonising enterprise to sail a tinpot steamer up a river into the heart of Africa with a view to bringing out an ivory trader who had gone rogue. Conrad biographer Maya Janasoff has argued that while Marlow's descriptions of Africans are crudely racist, the author binds this racist language with "a potentially radical suggestion. What made the difference between savagery and civilization, Conrad was saying, transcended skin color; it even transcended place. The issue for Conrad wasn’t that 'savages' were inhuman. It was that any human could be a savage." - Summary by Peter Dann (4 hr 3 min)

Chapters

Chapter I Part 1 48:01 Read by Peter Dann
Chapter I Part 2 43:15 Read by Peter Dann
Chapter II Part 1 40:55 Read by Peter Dann
Chapter II Part 2 33:37 Read by Peter Dann
Chapter III Part 1 40:28 Read by Peter Dann
Chapter III Part 2 36:44 Read by Peter Dann

Reviews

Great reading, not very good book.


(3 stars)

Racism...


(4 stars)

Whilst the descriptions of Blacks are indeed racist, as the summary tells us, Conrad was a great author. Due to the general non-badness of the story and skill that the reader clearly possesses, this earns 4 stars.

Good Reading


(5 stars)

a nice rendition that I enjoyed in my revisit to this classic

Haunting


(5 stars)

A long hard look at the darkness that resides within us all.


(5 stars)

This reader is fantastic! Great Job!