Heart of Darkness

When it comes to books on the eReaders (on my iPhone), I pick lots of the classics. There are two reasons for this... 1. I feel it's a good idea to expand my noggin (the ones that I didn't get to read in High School/College) and B. they're free if they are 50 years past the author's death. God bless Project Gutenberg!

So, years ago, the first boyfriend and I had a debate over "Heart of Darkness" and whether or not Francis Coppola swiped the story without giving credit (ie: Apocalypse Now). The boyfriend had read "HOD" at the hoity-toity private school he went to. Whatever...

Well, I'm not totally convinced that Coppola shouldn't have skipped the homage. While the basic story line is the same - guy volunteers to drive a boat up a river to bring back Kurtz, the prophet/daemon/messiah/megalomanic (pick one or all) antagonist of the story - the settings of the two stories varied dramatically. And while I am one who believes that the book is always better than the movie, this might be an exception.

Perhaps movie credits should have a rating system too. This one would have been "story LOOSELY based on book by Joseph Conrad."

Worth a read if you're into the classics. Don't watch the movie first though. It's far more exciting than the book.

(Should I feel guilty that I wasn't impressed by a piece of "literature?")