Grete Halling
Herning, DK
In Danish: ”Mørkets hjerte” af Joseph Conrad
En roman fra 1899, som tager udgangspunkt i forfatteren Josef Conrads egne oplevelser som dampbådskaptajn kolonialismens Congo. Hans indtryk af Belgiens imperialisme i Congos mørke, uigennemtrængelige og mystiske jungle-flodland, hvor farer lurer overalt.
Fortællerformen er kompleks, og sproget er koncentreret symbolsk og billedrigt, men alligevel så poetisk, stemningsladet og følelsesfuldt dragende, at det er en af de få bøger, der har fået mig til at læse den igen og igen for at forstå de mekanismer i menneskets psyke og drifter, som Conrad udtrykker. En kort roman, men en stor fortælling, der for mig åbnede imperialismens ansigt, men også giver eftertanke til, hvad der stadig kan drive mennesker i nutidig civilisation.
In English: ”Heart of darkness” by Joseph Conrad
A novel from 1899, that is based on the writer Joseph Conrad’s own experiences as the captain of a steamboat in Congo during the colonial times. His impressions of Belgiums imperialism in the dark, impenetrable and mysterious land of jungles and rivers, where perils lure everywhere.
The way the story is told is complex, and the language is very symbolic and full of images, but at the same time so poetic, filled with emotions and emotionally compelling. The book is one of the few books, I have read again and again to understand the mechanisms of the human psyche and instincts, the way Conrad gives voice to them.
The volume of the book is small, but it’s a grand story, that to me opened up the face of imperialism, and also makes you reflect on what it still is that drives humans in today’s civilization.