Tough to recreate the somewhat disjointed discussion of Heart of Darkness.
First, everyone enjoyed it- hadn't read it since college (I'm not sure I ever read it).
Thick poetic prose, short in pages but you couldn't read it fast and appreciate it.
Tim and others remembered "Apocalypse Now" about Viet Nam, which was based
on Heart of Darkness (I remembered my almost favorite movie-"African Queen").
The descriptions of the physical setting and the ominous wilderness were compelling.
A bit like Moby Dick, very ambiguous, allowing the reader to read whatever he or she
wants into it. An adventure story or a reflection of "civilization" and morality as a thin
veneer or simply situational.
Example, what did "the horror, the horror" mean? Regret, fear at his own behavior or
a valedictory on the local culture which he had to fit himself into.? Did Kurtz lose it,
so to speak, or was he just fitting into the local scene by putting heads on poles?
Shocking account of late 19th century racism and exploitation of the Africans.
Marlow saw the natives as part of the human race but a lesser subdivision. Conrad
makes the point that the Romans coming up the wilderness Thames were faced with
the wild and uncivilized Britannic tribes several milleniums earlier.
Lying to Kurtz's girl friend about his last words- someone said she would have
been better off with the truth and could have gotten on with her life, instead of thinking
his last thoughts were of her.
Well, there may be a few more bits and pieces, but I think that's a good part of the
discussion.
Next meeting is at Chrysanne's, hosted by Lexi. We changed the date from December 11th to December 17th due to this crazy storm we just had. Book is Narrow Road To The Deep North by Richard Flanagan- this year's Booker winner.