And this also,” said Marlow out of nowhere, “has been one of the darkest places of the earth.” Vivid, hallucinatory, haunting.

This story was quite a different storyline than I had ever read before; The underlying messages and plot were not obvious, and certain scenes and phrases really made you think. This is a very challenging book, and I would not recommend letting young children attempt it, on account of gross themes such as cannibalism, and the very classic literary language most children would probably not understand. But, if you are in your teens or adulthood and can handle harder words, then I would definitely recommend this! The story is very exciting, and the characters are very in depth and interesting to read about.

However much I enjoyed the book, it seemed the underlying messages and themes were more important than the actual characters and their actions. I understood that Kurtz was corrupted by the jungle and reverted to its barbarism, whereas he was once idealistic and had great ambitions, but I felt that the actual extent of his evil was poorly exemplified. By this I mean, the spikes or the personal cult, not the treatment of the natives, which was seen as correct in that time. Although that may just be my reading of the book. Otherwise, the themes were profound and the image painted of imperialism conveys just what it did to the native inhabitants and the people bequeathed with the 'white mans burden'.

Conrads semi-autobiographical novel is a must read. Although I t's a compelling, surreal story about African conquest, the true heart of darkness is that which resides within man. Read it then treat yourself to Apocalypse Now (redacted version). Even if you think you know the movie, you'll understand it very differently after this book.

One of 2 or 3 of my favorite books of all time . Have read it over and over since the ,8th grade. TRULY CLASSIC

For everyone that is not familiar with this classic you may know the adaptation into film " Apocalypse Now ". Originally published in 1902 as a novella Conrad uses the story as a critique of imperialism. "Heart of Darkness" can either be read as an adventure story of a young man's exploits in a foreign mysterious continent or a physiological thriller of another man's descent into madness.

Conrad underscores the premise that western civilization is driven by the need to dominate others. He also makes the point that all humans have the capacity for evil. This is one of the classics that many of us had to read for high school English. While I did not consider it an enjoyable read, I must say it was memorable.

Do not read this novel as a story – if you do, you will end up horribly uninterested and miss the remarkable true nature of this masterpiece: read this as an essay. There is a side serving of adventure to this story, but ultimately it is an essay about the human psyche, character development, and how deep the sorrow of a human’s heart can be. If you don’t enjoy words, don’t read this book. If you are going to read this book, know that European Colonialism, and all the benefits and horrors along with it (including truly awful racism) were in full swing, but discounting the themes discussed because of the racist undertones (or even overtones) would be a disservice to yourself if you do choose to read this book.
- @FalcoLombardi of the Teen Review Board at the Hamilton Public Library

Unless you're being forced to read this for a class, stay as far away from it as possible. There was no point to this story, after reading a page I couldn't tell you what happened on that page, so it comes as no surprise that can't tell you anything about this book.

A wonderful book, older style of writing.