Comments on: Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Inspires Sensitive Travel

By: Blakesjourney

Blakesjourney — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:50:40 +0000

I think its bold of you to call out what is so rampant in the west- unapologetic ethnocentrism. Heart of Darkness has been on my list for a while now. I’m a lover of fantasy/sci-fi escapism (cheap fantasy!) but I always try to splice in some more classic lit when I travel, too. HoD will definately be on my next trip.

Isn’t it amazing how much one reads while traveling; I think it’s quite nice. I think I read more on my 6 month rtw journey than in my whole life combined.

blakesjourney / tbd
.-= Blakesjourney´s last blog ..Costa Rica Video: Fortuna Tour and Tico Ninjas =-.

By: Frugal Kiwi

Frugal Kiwi — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:18:23 +0000

This pakeha has never read Heart of Darkness either, but it might be easier to swallow with the mindset Craig suggests. Thanks Craig! .-= Frugal Kiwi´s last blog ..Felt Me Up | Hand Felted Soap =-.

By: pen4hire

pen4hire — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:29:19 +0000

Craig. Here's the link for anyone interested in the Hearts of Darkness - A Filmmaker's Apocalypsedocumentary about Apocalypse Now from Amazon. (Also,The link in the article leads to the original version rather than the revised version released later by Coppola.)

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:24:50 +0000

Not sure if I should admit this publicly as an English Lit major, but I never read Heart of Darkness. Now that I've actually traveled a bit in Africa, I have a greater desire to read it. .-= Dave´s last blog ..Walking Tour of Washington, DC =-.

By: Craig

Craig — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:23:52 +0000

@ Vera Thanks for giving me the opportunity; and adding the clarification. There’s a great documentary called Hearts of Darkness which follows the Coppola family during their filming and charts their own descent into near ruin — financial and emotional.

@ JessieV It’s well worth a read and, like most of Conrad’s books, quite short! It’s available on Librivox, but I do recommend reading it because of the density of language. For a second language speaker, he had an extraordinary vocabulary.

By: Terry Calvin

Terry Calvin — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:00:46 +0000

I love learning new things and this brief bit added two things to my repertoire. The disconnect between Conrad’s book about Africa and Coppola’s movie about Vietnam were unknown to me as I had neither read the book or seen the movie. And of course the word Pakena.

By: jessiev

jessiev — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:00:47 +0000

bravo, craig! i avoided this book, to be honest, because i couldn't deal with the racism, etc. but now i think i may delve in. one of the things that is so important to understanding other cultures is seeing them from a local POV. i'd much rather read chinua achebe (and have). .-= jessiev´s last blog ..Craigievar Castle’s new face unveiled =-.