Shine a light in the darkness

Advantages: A story that tells you a lot about yourself if you'll only let it
Disadvantages: A bit difficult to read at times

...I had to read Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness for my University degree and will admit that I personally found it quite tough going, despite the book being ever so short in length, 111 pages in fact. After writing a 2000 word essay on a particular aspect of the book however I found myself being drawn into the story and have know come to if not like at least respect the book. When Marlow was a young child he would spend hours staring at the blanks spaces on maps and when he found one that particularly interested him would exclaim 'When I grow up I want to go there'. Now older he still has a passion for adventure and despite the fact that those once empty spaces are now coloured in by the colours of the empires that own them he still wants to travel there. Becoming a seaman and head of a steamboat Marlow leads an expedition down...

MI9to5 26.01.2009 · Read review
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Review of Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

Haunted Hunter

Advantages: one of the gems of English literature, short
Disadvantages: none

...published in 1902, at that time Belgium had a colony in central Africa, the Congo, Marlow becomes the captain of a steamer going up and down the Congo river serving the stations where the ivory the African natives (have to) hunt for the Belgians is collected, counted and then shipped off. The description of the jungle really puzzles me, several times we read about its 'stillness'. I haven't been to the jungle but from what I know from books and feature films the jungle is very noisy with all the animals screeching, howling, cawing. Yet Conrad's jungle is an impenetrable silent wall. The African natives are stereotyped as ugly, savage cannibals with sharpened teeth constantly rolling their eyes and performing strange rites. One can get the impression that Conrad only read and heard about the jungle and the Africans but never saw the one...

MALU 26.10.2006 (27.10.2006) · Read review
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Review of Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

Wonderful Anniversary at the Conrad Brussels

Advantages: Immaculate Accommodation. Superb Staff. Excellent ambience. Attention to detail.
Disadvantages: It's not usually cheap, but some great deals can be found - as we did.

...We had really looked forward to spending our twelfth wedding anniversary at the Conrad for some time and we were certainly in no way disappointed. It being our wedding anniversary, and being a Hilton Hhonors Gold VIP member, we were given a free upgrade to an absolutely superb duplex suite at an astonishingly good rate, although it is clear that any room at this hotel would be delightful; it's known for its very spacious, well-furnished rooms. Basic rooms are 42 square metres - yet our suite boasted 120 square metres. We paid 190 Euros per night. The rack rate was 1150 Euros. The Euro is very much on a par with the US Dollar. We were absolutely delighted! Two nights in a duplex suite, a bottle of champagne on ice, international telephone call from our room, delivered breakfast and a room-service pizza late at night all came to less...

andymcf 01.11.2002 · Read review
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Review of Conrad International Brussels, Ixelles

Joseph - King of Dreams

Advantages: Exactly the same as the bible story.
Disadvantages: Soundtrack - bad quality.

...Again, this is a review of the film only - not the DVD. This is another find from Oxfam's 3 for £1 selection. I bought this video by mistake, thinking it was The Prince of Egypt, which is a film I saw in primary school and loved! Nevertheless, I did like the film, despite it being the wrong one. Although it's a bible story, I still found it ok (if you don't know what I'm talking about, watch any other film of a bible story - they're all crap). The story centres around Joseph, of the house of Jacob. He can tell the future through his dreams and can interpret the dreams of others. His brothers are jealous of him as their father pays special attention to him as he believes Joseph is a gift from God. Joseph's nine brothers decide they've had enough of him so sell him into slavery. I know, heartwarming stuff, isn't it. Anyway, after...

tb240904 06.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Joseph - King Of Dreams (Animated) (DVD)

Is it really that good? I'd say yes.

Advantages: Evocative and disturbing
Disadvantages: Sometimes difficult

..."My task which I am trying to achieve is, by the power of the written word, to make you hear, to make you feel - it is, above all, to make you see. That - and no more, and it is everything." So wrote Joseph Conrad in his introduction to The Nigger of Narcissus, and any reader of Conrad will get some idea of what this means. Conrad's writing however is subtle and the language is intellectual. These are the first stumbling blocks that many readers will encounter. Conrad will make you see, but only if you want to, and perhaps only if you are able to. His writing does not hammer the truth into you as many others would,b ut allows you to discover it for yourself. Unfortunately this is not always possible, as the language, prose, and poetics may alienate the reader who does not want to engage with the text. I think his use of words is...

temf 05.11.2003 · Read review
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Review of Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

A surprisingly modern tale

Advantages: Great prose style, interesting plot
Disadvantages: Some archaic attitudes hiding away

...Conrad?s Heart of Darkness is one of those works of literature that everyone means to read, but generally never gets round to. Having re-read the book, I?m now asking myself why I?ve not got around to reading any more of Conrad?s work, as he?s a marvellous writer. I suspect that the answer is that I?ve got too much else vying for my attention on my bookshelf at the moment, but I really ought to add some more Conrad to the queue. Surely a standard text for any colonial literature course, the story is concerned with a Belgian company operating in Africa, its treatment of the ?savages? and the effect this has on the white men who go out to work there. Using, unusually, two narrators, one of whom tells the reader about being told the tale by one Marlow, seasoned seafarer and spinner of yarns. This Marlow had apparently got it into...

DavidBedford 30.07.2001 · Read review
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Review of Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

Martyn Joseph - honest and memorable

Advantages: Great guitars, honest and powerful lyrics
Disadvantages: Depends whether you like the genre

...Martyn Joseph - Martyn Joseph Just before Christmas, we went to see Martyn Joseph at Haren Church, near Brussels airport. I don't not what surprised me more, that a Welsh singer-songwriter should turn up at a small venue in cold, dark Flanders or that this was the fifth successive year he had been there. We had seen him once before, back at Spring Harvest in Minehead in 1996, and had a couple of his albums. One of these, the eponymously entitled Martyn Joseph is the subject of this review. = MARTYN JOSEPH - WHO IS HE? = Martyn Joseph was born in Penarth in 1960, and came to prominence in the 1980s, primarily among Christian circles. As he said in his self-deprecating manner at the concert, he was originally classified as a rock and pop artist, then this changed to folk, and most recently, a new category has been found...

lobourse 07.01.2008 · Read review
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Review of Martyn Joseph - Martyn Joseph

Joseph & His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Advantages: Fun, Cheap & A Great Sing-A-Long Film
Disadvantages: None

...Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is the dvd from the fantastic West End and Broadway hit musical. Which still plays to packed out audiences worldwide today, after it's first performance back in 1968. This DVD, an adaption of the stage version turned into a film, rather than a live stage performance recording, starts off with the Narrator played by London stage veteran Maria Friedman. She plays the role very well and then walking through the school assembly audience, incomes Joseph, played by the fantastic star, Donny Osmond singing the famous hit Any Dream Will Do. Joseph is the favourite son and his brothers resent him for it, his father gives him an amazing technicolor dreamcoat, full of a dazzling array of stunning colors. His brothers are fuming so sell him to become a slave and lie to their father saying he has...

hunnybabyuk 30.10.2008 · Read review
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Review of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (DVD)

The pulsating stream of light or deceitful flow?

Advantages: A fascinating read. Original and Classic. A fairly short novella.
Disadvantages: Very complex and fragmented structure.

...I had to study this for my A level English Literature. Initially i was dubious of it since i found it difficult to focus on and identify a sequential narrative within the tale. After a while however, i became captivated by the quality of Conrad's writing. By his tremendous and articulate vocabulary, and vivid descriptions. Conrad is an author who bases much of his work upon symbolism and imagery. This means the plot is very tangled and complex whilst appearing to be simple: THE PLOT: It's a story about a man, Charlie Marlow, who travels to Africa in order to seek an ivory hunter known as Kurtz, and about his intensely 'enlightening' experiences. Throughout the story, Marlow's views about the world around him frequently change and are inverted, until he realises 'the horror' of human nature. Heart of Darkness focuses keenly...

bengar 04.02.2006 · Read review
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Review of Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

into the dark heart of

Advantages: good characterisation, usually cheap
Disadvantages: a bit thin perhaps and the ending could be better

...Vietnam or the Congo). This theme is something that cropped up many times in the writings of nineteenth century explorers in Africa. It is also something mirrored in the activities of the US in Vietnam. While the 'Heart...' deals with the commerce 'Apocalypse Now' deals with the military. It is not one of Conrad's longest books by any means but it is engaging. It might however be slightly spoilt for you if you have already seen the film. The ending is a bit weak I'm afraid too. However the book is usually cheap due to its size amongst other things....

oclumhain 28.02.2001 · Read review
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Review of Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad