Ought We Read Heart of Darkness?

So, ought we read Heart of Darkness or not?

• Each reader needs to form his or her own opinion of the novel to decide
• One can, therefore, only decide whether or not to read it after reading it himself/herself
• The wilderness is personified, though in a gender neutral way (it)
  
• The woman by the river is said to be Kurtz's "African mistress"
• Heart of Darkness can be seen as based on Biblical parables and stories
• Is Heart of Darkness an apocalyptic story?
• 'Apocalypse' means lifting the veil, in this sense, Heart of Darkness is apocalyptic
• Is it also apocalyptic in the sense of the imminent destruction of a society?
• Conrad had previously referred to the "piety of writing," is this evidence for Heart of Darkness as a religiously motivated work?
• Heart of Darkness is marked by "authoritarian, fascist concepts of universal prosperity" being brought by a particular nation or culture
• In the end, it is up to each person to decide whether or not to read Heart of Darkness, though this writer feels one certainly should