Andrew Nagy

Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad

Heart of Darkness is a tale of one young man’s journey into Africa as it was being colonized and exploited by European countries. I really had to push myself to finish this one, despite it’s short length. It seemed like the story developed a driving force very late. However, I will say Conrad writes beautifully and says some crazy things that stick with you. It’s worth the read if you have some time to kill, but I’d place it pretty low on the priority list. Here’s a quote that made me think:

“The mind of man is capable of anything — because everything is in it, all the past as well as all the future.”

The Book of the Dun Cow – Walter Wangerin Jr.

This fable has something I never thought I would enjoy: farm animal heroes. The protagonist is a rooster, for goodness’ sake. Who thinks of roosters as heroes? Walter Wangerin Jr., apparently. Well I digress. I thought this book was a great tale of bravery and protecting your home. It is a tale of good and evil, sharing many similarities with Watership Down by Richard Adams, but on a grander scale. It took me all of two days to read, so it’s a quick one, but very entertaining, earthy, and grounded. It’s full of little platitudes you might have heard your grandma say, and they’re all great. Here’s an example:

“For ‘Done,’ when it is well done, is a very good word.”

Posted on December 15th, 2009 under One Hundred | 3 Comments »