Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. The classic novel is primarily based on morality. As Charles Marlow traverses down the Congo river in an effort to save the chief of the Inner Station, the infamed Kurtz; he deals with multiple conflicts of morality. In a place where things aren't as black and white as good and evil, he has to make a difficult decision between the lesser of two evils. Set in the late 1800's, the reader follows the journey of Marlow during Brussels's imperialistic advances on the Congo.

This was one of the approved books on the AP English reading list. This is the second book I've read from that list. In my humble opinion, I thought this book was not only tiring, but also rather uninteresting. The way it's printed makes the reader bored just looking at the text. Giant paragraphs spanning up to three, possibly more pages, the lack of space for the reader to just rest makes it tiring and something the reader soon comes to look at resentfully. The narrative though interesting at parts lacks any major climatic events, rather than taking the reader along for the ride the extensive way Conrad tells the story drags the reader along. Marlow's lack of opinion or any serious stance on anything - his constant habit of sitting on the fence - makes the reader hate him rather than sympathize for him. Frankly I found myself sympathizing with Kurtz and his embodiment of imperialistic madness rather than the annoying protagonist. However this might still be my predisposed hate of classic novels. Recommendation for AP English's second list on the approved reading list? Try the Great Gatsby, slightly confusing but makes a lot more sense and is an easier read.