Rating: 
Summary: Guilt and redemption
Review: This is the fifth book I have read by Conrad, and through these readings I have come to deeply appreciate his literary power and the perfection of his stories. Conrad has the skill to border about several similar subjects, without repeating himself. "Lord Jim" is truly a Shakespearean tragedy, mainly because of the Shakespearean nature of the main character. Jim is a young naval officer with high hopes of heroism and moral superiority, but when he faces his first test of courage, he miserably fails. While 800 Muslim pilgrims are asleep aboard the ship "Patna", Jim discovers that the boat is about to sink. There are not sufficient lifeboats for everybody. Should he wake them up or not? He gets paralyzed with fear and then sudenly jumps into a boat being set up by the rest of the officers. He is taken to trial and disposessed of his working licence.Ashamed and humiliated, Jim dedicates the rest of his life to two things: escape the memory of that fateful night, and redeem himself. This agonizing quest to recover his dignity in front of his own eyes leads him to hide in a very remote point in the Malayan peninsula, where he will become the hero, the strong man, the wise protector of underdeveloped, humble and ignorant people. Jim finds not only the love of his people, but also the love of a woman who admires him and fears the day when he might leave for good. The narrator, Captain Marlow (the same of "Heart of Darkness") talks to Jim for the last time in his remote refuge, and then Jim tells him that he has redeemed himself by becoming the people's protector. Oh, but these things are never easy and Jim will face again the specter of failure. Conrad has achieved a great thing by transforming the "novel of adventures" into the setting for profound and interesting reflections on the moral stature of Man, on courage, guilt, responsibility, and redemption. Just as in "Heart of Darkness" the question is what kinds of beings we are stripped of cultural, moral and religious conventions; just as in "Nostromo" the trustworthiness of a supposedly honest man is tested by temptation, in "Lord Jim" the central subject is dignity and redemption after failure. A great book by one of the best writers.
Rating: 
Summary: The ultimate pseudo-intellectual book
Review: This is the hands-down number one long winded gem for pseudo-intellectuals everywhere. If you find yourself in a fog, or stuck in the ranks, longing to reach out to your eastern bride and start taking it all to heart, then this book is for you (rated 4/5 because it is actually a very good book, but be warned that it is extremely long winded and dense).
Rating:
Summary: Undying Truth
Review: Your Words are your honor - your honor is your cross.
Be it the cross to live by, and to be so rudley bolted to in the name of duty.
I CAN not begin to fathom the full depth of this story, no may any living man. Times have cheapened, and like Tuan Jim, the Heros have died.
Yet still, remember - your lives are amiss, adrift without a moral compass, that if you should die without ever reading this book, truly you have failed, surcome to a grey.
In response to the stupidious comments made in other reviews, to those authors - Until you know the the joy of the lonley sea spray, and the great ideals written in this book, fall to your own world of shades. the grey twlight has already consumed you. In Conrad's own words - the prupose of this book is 'to make you SEE.' I stare many nights into the sky, wondering if I will ever stand up to the principals lived by Jim. Do you? There comes a time when we must all shirk out the ghost of cowardice in us, a time when we lose what we valued, only to know its true worth when we gain it back.
At all times, principal, duty , and honor upon your words takes up upon you life. Read this book, only then will tou begin to comprehend the depths of human existance, mortality, and the frailty of those who argue against a good and evil in this world. Lord Jim will open a door to duty, sense, and a common sense of virtue. Comfort is only temporary, only when you read this book can you understand the THE STRUGGLE IS THE GLORY.
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