Penguin Select Classics: Heart of Darkness

“One can’t live with one’s finger everlastingly on one’s pulse.” Charles Marlow, an English seaman, is an ivory trader on the Congo River in Central Africa. The story is a narration of his experiences as he journeys up the river in search of another trader named Mr. Kurtz.As Marlow sails into the heart of Africa, he is horrified and confused by the brutalities he sees displayed at the hands of the traders; the torture, slavery and horror that is part of every-day life in that part of the world.What happens when Marlow finally meets Kurtz? Will he question all of his assumptions and beliefs about civilization and human nature?It’s a journey into the power struggle and dark truths of European Colonialism, displaying the blatant horrors human suppression. An evocative, thought-provoking book, forcing the reader to seek answers to the harsh realities of civilised life.