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)

Great story

I tried several times to read this book and always got lost... couldn't concentrate. Hearing it was great, special, amazing. off to watch Apocalypse Now again

Kenneth Branagh is a revelation

I just re-read this book once again and hearing Kenneth Branagh breathe new life into Conrad’s words was delightful.

Gripping

The story is a little slow starting but has a very piercing message with deep symbolism. The story itself is good, but Kenneth Branagh reading it is even better. His masterful performance breathes life into the story’s narrator and the events being described.

A classic story and a fabulous reader

I often complain about readers being unable to properly pronounce. No problem with Branagh.No histrionics, no mispronounciations, just a rich, if grim, tale in a rich voice. Terrific.

politically censored

A book should retain the language of its time. Is that not partly their purpose? At the same time, its doesn't really detract from the story that all racial slurs have been thoroughly blunted, while at the same time The Heart of Darkness isn't as dark if you censor its hate.

Incredible performance

Eloquent use of language from an age of formality performed flawlessly in congruence with the writing.

As with most, this was a good bedtime story

I enjoy most audible books and this was no acception. They help me fall asleep or amuse me on long drives. This story was rich in descriptive imagery, very desturbing at times, but was a well down story about a young man's folly turning into a mad man hunt.

Wonderful performance!

This read aloud of such rich text was executed beautifully! I was moved to tears more than once by the language and the artistry of Branagh's delivery. I now will seek out Lord Jim to read in book format. I wonder if I will have the ability to render as much meaning without the guidance of a master story teller.

Great voice

Not all actors are very good readers, but Branagh crushes it. The story arc is not intriguing, but the language in his voice holds interest.

Love me some Conrad

Great version of am awesome book. Production value as a whole was high. This book paints a fabulous picture.