PICK THREE (3) MINI CHALLENGE - March 2023

PICK THREE (3) MINI CHALLENGE...MARCH 2023


Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

1. Heart of Darkness, a novella by Joseph Conrad that was first published in 1899 in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine.

2.The book examines the horrors of Western colonialism, depicting it as a phenomenon that tarnishes not only the lands and peoples it exploits but also those in the West who advance it.

3.It tells a story within a story. The novella begins with a group of passengers aboard a boat floating on the River Thames. One of them, Charlie Marlow, relates to his fellow seafarers an experience of his that took place on another river...the Congo River in Africa.

4.His story begins in what he calls the “sepulchral city,” somewhere in Europe. There “the Company"...an unnamed organization running a colonial enterprise in the Belgian Congo, appoints him captain of a river steamer. He sets out for Africa optimistic of what he will find.

5.His expectations are quickly soured. From the moment he arrives, he is exposed to the evil of imperialism, witnessing the violence it inflicts upon the African people it exploits.

6.As he proceeds, he begins to hear tell of a man named Kurtz...a colonial agent who is supposedly unmatched in his ability to procure ivory from the continent’s interior. According to rumor Kurtz has fallen ill, and perhaps mad as well, thereby jeopardizing the Company’s entire venture in the Congo.

7.Marlow is given command of his steamer and a crew of Europeans and Africans to man it, the latter of whom Conrad shamelessly stereotypes as “cannibals.” As he penetrates deeper into the jungle, it becomes clear that his surroundings are impacting him psychologically: his journey is not only into a geographical “heart of darkness” but into his own psychic interior, and perhaps into the darkened psychic interior of Western civilization as well.

8. After encountering many obstacles along the way, Marlow’s steamer finally makes it to Kurtz. Kurtz has taken command over a tribe of natives who he now employs to conduct raids on the surrounding regions. The man is clearly ill, physically and psychologically. Marlow has to threaten him to go along with them, so intent is Kurtz on executing his “immense plans.” As the steamer turns back the way it came, Marlow’s crew fires upon the group of indigenous people previously under Kurtz’s sway, which includes a queen-figure described by Conrad with much eroticism and as exoticism.

9.Kurtz dies on the journey back up the river but not before revealing to Marlow the terrifying glimpse of human evil he’d been exposed to. “The horror! The horror!” he tells Marlow before dying. Marlow almost dies as well, but he makes it back to the sepulchral city to recuperate.

10.A year after his return to Europe, Marlow pays Kurtz’s partner a visit. She is represented—as several of Heart of Darkness’s female characters are—as naively sheltered from the awfulness of the world, a state that Marlow hopes to preserve. When she asks about Kurtz’s final words, Marlow lies: “your name,” he tells her. Marlow’s story ends there. Heart of Darkness itself ends as the narrator, one of Marlow’s audiences, sees a mass of brooding clouds gathering on the horizon—what seems to him to be “heart of an immense darkness.”

The Challenge
Choose a book or books that meet the categories below. Can be one from three different categories or 3 from the same category
Read a book that the words "Dark" Darkness" or "Heart" appears in the title.
Read a book that is set in England, Scotland, or Africa.
Read a book that takes place on or near a river.
Read a book that has the numbers 1,8, or 9 in the page count.
Read a book that the main character is in command of something, or a large company is featured in the story.
Read a book that a character is ill, either physically or psychologically.
Read a book that does not necessarily end happily
Read a book whose author is named "Joseph" or "Joe" (First or last name)
Read a book that the authors first and last name initials can be found in HEARTOFDARKNESS.

Carol's Journey Down the River Thames is Hopefully Happier than the one in this book:(

Read a book that the words "Dark" Darkness" or "Heart" appears in the title.
1. The Dark Days Club - Allison Goodman- 3★
2, Home Before Dark Riley Sager - 4★
3. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark - Alvin Schwartz -3.5★

Read a book that takes place on or near a river.
1 Callander Square - Anne Perry - 4★
2.Getting Friendly - Saxon James - 3.5★
3.The Whispering House - Elizabeth Brooks - 4.5★

Read a book that the authors first and last name initials can be found in HEARTOFDARKNESS.
1. Rocky Start - Annbeth Albert (A & A) - 4★
2. The Boyfriend Gambit - Elle Keaton - E &K) - 4★
3. Catherine House - Elizabeth Thomas - (E &T) ★

Books set in England:
Wings of Fire - Charles Todd 4.5★s
Dead Heading - Catherine Aird 4★s
Date with Mystery - Julia Chapman 4.5★s

These challenges are such a help!

Read a book that the words "Dark" Darkness" or "Heart" appears in the title.
Read a book that is set in England, Scotland, or Africa.
Read a book that takes place on or near a river.
Read a book that has the numbers 1,8, or 9 in the page count.
Read a book that the main character is in command of something, or a large company is featured in the story.
Read a book that a character is ill, either physically or psychologically.
Read a book that does not necessarily end happily
Read a book whose author is named "Joseph" or "Joe" (First or last name)
Read a book that the authors first and last name initials can be found in HEARTOFDARKNESS.

Read a book that a character is ill, either physically or psychologically
Head On by John Scalzi - the narrator (and many of the characters) live with Hayden's Syndrome ✔

Read a book that does not necessarily end happily
Children of the Night by Mercedes Lackey has a death of one of the main characters at the end ✔

Read a book that is set in England, Scotland, or Africa
I ended up not making it to Maisie Dobbs in March. It's ready for April, though!

Read a book that a character is ill, either physically or psychologically
The Last Coyote by Michael Connelly has the main character, Harry Bosch, dealing with a lifetime of PTSD, and not just from his time in the Vietnam War ✔

>4 threadnsong: Love the Maisie Dobbs series. The first book is excellent.

Read a book that is set in England, Scotland, or Africa.

Read a book that the authors first and last name initials can be found in HEARTOFDARKNESS