Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Just finished Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. And surprisingly it is not talking about the female heart it's actually about a trip into the depths of the African Congo. I had no idea until I just looked it up that it was the basis for Apocalypse Now. I don't know why...maybe it was the style of writing but I really didn't care for this book. It just never grabbed me. It was less than a hundred pages and felt like it took me forever to finish.

Next up is The Book of Evidence by John Manville as selected by my most trusted advisor Matthew.

Nice turnaround!

Finished with Atonement by Ian McEwan. As I said earlier, I didn't make it through very much of the movie. Also, when I first started with the book it didn't seem to be much better. I mean several mornings I woke up with the bedroom lights on and the book lying upon my bed. However once I got through the exposition which was the first about hundred and fifty pages or so, it became much better. The rest of the story especially about Robbie Turner's march to Dunkirk and Briony Tallis's experiences as a nurse during World War II really brought the story around and then the conclusion really finished the story off well.

So next on (or should I say off?) the list will be The Book of Evidence by John Banville as chosen by good friend and most trusted advisor, Matthew. However, it's not scheduled to arrive until Friday so in the intervening time I think I'll try to finish off Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad which I began before I started Atonement.

If You're Scoring at Home or Even if You're Alone

So where am I? Currently I'm reading Atonement by Ian McEwan as chosen by Justin. So far I don't expect this to be atop my favorite books' list. Its about a wealthy English family and it seems like every character is very neurotic and unsure of themselves. A movie was made of this book a few years back which received critical success winning an Oscar and being nominated for several others. I remember I only made it through about twenty minutes or so of it. But that was before the quest and now I must surge forth and vanquish this book.

Foe by JM Coetzee

Just finished Foe by J.M. Coetzee. This is a re-telling of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. It's told from the point of view of a woman castaway on Cursoe's island. When she returns to England she enlists Mr. Foe to write the story of the island. This also gave me the opportunity to add South Africa to the list of countries represented by my reading quest.