Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh

By: Joseph Conrad

Narrated by: Kenneth Branagh

Length: 3 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Prose that demands to be read aloud requires a special kind of narrator. For the Audible Signature Classics edition of Joseph Conrad’s atmospheric masterpiece, Heart of Darkness, we called upon four-time Academy Award nominee Kenneth Branagh.

Branagh’s performance is riveting because he reads as though he’s telling a ghost story by a campfire, capturing the story’s sense of claustrophobia, while hinting at the storyteller Marlow’s own creeping madness. Heart of Darkness follows Captain Marlow into the colonial Congo where he searches for a mysterious ivory trader, Kurtz, and discovers an evil that will haunt him forever.

With this landmark work, Conrad is credited with bringing the novel into the twentieth century; we think Branagh brings it into the twenty-first.

Stay tuned for more one-of-a-kind performances from actors David Hyde Pierce, Leelee Sobieski, Tim Curry, and more, only from Audible Signature Classics.

Listen to more Audible Signature Classics.

Public Domain (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Acclaimed Irish actor/director Kenneth Branagh impersonates Marlow in this recording. Admirably, while fully playing the drama, he never goes overboard. He plays the tale for the great yarn that it is." ( AudioFile)

Excellent Story Telling

Would you consider the audio edition of Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh to be better than the print version?

No, Both were very good. It was nice to read along as the story was read, or just sit back and listen.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I haven't finished book yet

What about Kenneth Branagh’s performance did you like?

The way he made you feel the characters he was reading

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

nothing extreme, it did make me chuckles a few times

Branagh is fantastic! Well-written, eerie.

Conrad writes in a slowly unfolding narrative that only reveals enough to keep the reader turning the page. I was slightly off-balance from the beginning. It was a mystery, beautiful writing, exquisite vocabulary (especially for someone writing in his second language).
I was stirred by the themes of human nature, fear, British imperialism and the raping of the African Congo, but I think critics who accuse Conrad of racism miss a deeper perspective. That is, Conrad's protagonist is simply naive, narrow, and blind to a culture and people he doesn't understand. His fear blinds him. That is true of many people throughout history. Marlow is an example.
Branagh is an excellent reader and I was drawn to this because of him. He did not disappoint. I was creeped out by Conrad, but I will certainly read more.

Darkness

This story is atemporal, it doesn't matter how many years pastm we are always fighting the same demons and fears.

There's always a very dark and scary side inside us, and this book (with the wonderful narration) give us just a taste of how in the perfect place we can be the worse version of ourselves. AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY

Great break in experience for Audible

Where does Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This has been top two of the performances heard so far.

Any additional comments?

For the fun of it after listened to the book in its entirety, I went to Sparknotes and took a test on the material to see what I had retained. It was effective for someone with ADD.

I only wish this had been the full version!

I would listen to Kenneth Branaugh read anything, even, God help me, 50 Shades of Grey.
His rendition of this classic is magnificent. Listen and be awed.

Beautiful narration, pointless story

Is there anything you would change about this book?

have the story lead you somewhere or at least leave you with a decided impression what it was trying to say

Would you recommend Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh to your friends? Why or why not?

no. the narration is absolutely beautiful and the story is detail rich and visually compelling, but it doesn't "go" anywhere. That is to say that when it's over, you're just as curious what it was about as you were when you started. Except you're a littel more depressed and quite tired of the words darkness and silence.

Have you listened to any of Kenneth Branagh’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but I will not hesitate to listen to another one of his narrations because this one was perfect. In some book narrations, you can't tell the characters apart by the voices used or the reader pauses or adds inflections that don't seem to go with the story.... like the narrator didn't really know what the character was feeling or trying to say. You never get that in this story, and as wild and hopeless and deranged as some bits of it are, that is quite an accomplishment.

Could you see Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No. The turmoils, revelations and outcomes in it are largely internal to the mind of the main character.

Stirring

Kenneth Branagh's narration is truly haunting and brings this dense complex tale outside of the pages to a terrifying life.

Sounds familiar.

Would you listen to Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh again? Why?

Yes. For all you fans of Apocalypse Now, this is going to sound very familiar.

Beautiful performance!

The performance was the best I could imagine; the story is haunting. It’s portrayal of women and indigenous people is highly antiquated, as expected for its time, but still disheartening to hear. Otherwise the plot is intriguing and its emotions ring of truth.

Branagh is a beast! Oozing with gnar! Awesome!

totally frickin' great. Imagine a review bursting with f-bombs of praise and adoration. The goods.