You may think it in the Halloween spirit that the title of the post includes the word "horror", but it's actually one of the more iconic phrases in Heart of Darkness. Reflecting the realization of the narrator of the dispicable, awful ways Kurtz, a Belgian colonist gone mad, exploited and slaughtered natives in what is now known as the Congo. Nothing light-hearted (as perhaps the title might imply) or Halloween-y festive about it.
So to back up, the book I read actually contained 4 of Joseph Conrad's short stories: Youth, Heart of Darkness (which was a little over 100 pages, certainly not full-blown novel length), Amy Foster, and The Secret Sharer. Of those, I actually liked The Secret Sharer the best, mostly because it had kind of this surreal feeling to the story, from the plot to the writing. I actually questioned a few times whether the story was being told as actually occurring (a sailor who murdered another sailor on his own ship swims multiple miles to a nearby ship only to be concealed by the captain, who refers to the castaway as 'his second self') or if I was to believe that the castaway murderer was a figment of the captain's imagination/lunacy. There were so many things that seem implausible and odd. I just kind of enjoyed reading this story best.
But then for Heart of Darkness. I didn't really know anything about how European colonists exploited and decimated African cultures during colonization, although I don't know why I should expect it would be all that different than the same that occurred to Native Americans here. While I don't imgaine that forcefully claiming lands and peoples as part of your own country would happen peacefully, with all bunny rabbits and roses, I certainly didn't know about the horrific things that occurred. Particularly with Belgium and the Congo. Human heads on stakes? Check. Cutting off hands of those who didn't produce what was expected? Check.
I think that this kind of story should be required reading, lest we forget the evilness that can inhabit once good people in the pursuit of financial gains and power. While it happened a long time ago, it certainly doesn't feel like it couldn't happen today (or that it isn't currently happening today...I can't admit to being knowledgable about cultures and conflicts of the world).
Up next, a shift in focus to Amy Tan's, The Joy Luck Club. I need a serious break from books about ships, and sailing, and evil, and the sea. Between Moby Dick and these short stories by Joseph Conrad, I've spent like 8 months of this year reading about ships, so much that I'm pretty sure I could hop aboard a schooner and be a skipper for sure.
Progress: 251 books left to read.
