❁

it's a divisive book for sure! there are certainly aspects that you could argue are racist (eg, how we never hear the african people themselves speak, the way these people are described, etc.)

but i would say condemning the whole book as racist would be to judge the book by modern moralistic standards and to miss how absolutely groundbreaking the book was. it's not a fun adventure book, and it doesn't glorify "the imperalist enterprise" in the slightest. it aims to unsettle and shock you with its dark, gory, feverish horrors, and in this way challenge that imperalist enterprise. joseph conrad had been to the congo himself in 1890 and he knew what he was writing about. to describe the book as "romanticising violent colonialism" misses the point COMPLETELY, in my opinion.

i can recommend this "the rest is history" podcast episode on heart of darkness: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5Zcx1uN5hLkEzkA4ZmPx22?si=kefDl-xVSYeIewKgYMMESg&t=0

the rest of their series on the colonisation of the congo is good as well (and harrowing to listen to).