Critical Insights: Heart of Darkness Reviews

Monday, August 15, 2022 11:48:35 PM
"...The issues of European imperialism, slavery in Africa, colonialism, and ethics brought forward in Conrad’s novella carry with them a complexity, especially to today’s undergraduate or high school student. While it is not a summary of the novella, students assigned the work and looking for a better understanding of these complex topics will appreciate the many perspectives represented in this volume. The diverse viewpoints taken up in the essays makes it an important addition to a high school or undergraduate library in particular, but this would be a welcome volume in any academic research library"- Against the Grain, April 2023



“Critical Insights: Heart of Darkness offers superb essays by exceptionally credentialed current literary scholars with thoroughly daunting professional histories. . . . A Critical Contexts section commences with the editor's description of Sidney Hinde's The Fall of the Congo Arabs, a little-known account of Arab and native African raiding, slave trading, and cannibalism. Evans avers that Conrad may have "downplayed or intentionally overlooked" (p. 18) these atrocities, because Europeans used Africans' slavery practices to justify colonialism. . . . the inclusion of Hinde's book adds usefully to HD's ancillary historicism. The editor's "Overview," a survey of critical works on HD 1899-2015 in major bibliographies of Conrad scholarship, with excerpted commentary on every critical approach to HD, both situates the novella in the history of scholarly discourse and affords a handy reference for research scholars . . . . We close with thoughts on the merits of this volume. The easy prose style and intriguing illustrations afford and encourage an informed reading of HD. . . . Much is to be learned here.” -The Polish Review, July 2022