Heart of Darkenss was difficult for me to separate from Apocalypse Now. Knowing what I know about Apocalypse now and how it was adapted from Heart of Darkness, what parts were departures and the real similarities, colored my reading so much that one doesn't exist without the other.
Heart of Darkness was interesting, especially the story within a story device that Conrad uses. It was told with a great amount of economy and clarity. I would have liked for Kurtz, though mythic, to be more than the sketch I feel he was. Overall I'm glad I read it and wish it had been one of the books I was assigned to read in high school. I think it would have helped me, nearly as much as reading Hamlet did, to move past science fiction/fantasy as my primary reading choices.
The Road was a wonderful book. The ending moved me to tears. I had never read McCarthy, though I have wanted to read Blood Meredian for quite some time, and I hope this was a good representation of his writing. It was violent and tension filled, but not the least bit exploitive or sensational.
People should know that I have always had a love of dystopian or post-apocalyptic literature and this is another knotch on the belt.
I could probably write for days about this book. I haven't read a book this fast since The Sun Also Rises (which I read in one sitting) and I believe that should be recommendation enough.
1 comment:
can't wait to read it. it's on my nightstand now (the road that is).
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