Lord Jim

Rating:
Summary: A flight from conscience
Review: Each one of us has a personal "ideal"...each different in its contours and each varying in its influence on our actions. For the most part, the ideal is hazy and evolving but there are elements which are distinct and rigid...and a compromise on these core principles strikes at the very root of a person's self concept. Most of us are fortunately flexible enough to "adjust" and carry on. For a few, however, the failure to adhere to one's own ideal is as good as a death sentence. Lord Jim is the extraordinary tale of one such extraordinary person.

For me the most interesting character of the novel is the narrator himself. Jim is the focal point, of course, and an exceptional character, but quite predictable. The drama of Jim's life after the incident on the Patna is really orchestrated by Marlowe who recognizes the inevitable doom of his friend even as he tries everything in his power to stall it. It is doubtful whether he really wanted to succeed - It is clear at many points in the narrative, that Marlowe was unable to sign off on Jim's character certificate, even in his conversations with others. He represents, in a way, the conscience of the "western world" - the conscience Jim betrays and attempts to flee from. Jim recognizes that and so does Marlowe...but he also loves Jim...so the dilemma is really his - should he allow his friend to redeem his honour in the only acceptable manner or should he prolong Jim's onerous journey through an unforgiving life by creating an illusion of redemption, which he probably knew Jim's stint in Patusan would. He is, therefore, equally a party to the betrayal and Jim's fatal purging is also, to an extent, his own.

A wonderful book and a subject equal to Conrad's literary class. The only thing that left a bad taste was the implied superiority of the Westerner's ethics and character. I guess it has to be judged in the context of a period when the "sun never set on the British Empire".

Vijay

Rating:
Summary: Where does Joss Ackland end and Joseph Conrad begin?
Review: If you have already listened to Ackland's reading of 'Heart of Darkness' you might suspect that it would be impossible for a rendition of a lesser-known work to live up to the impossibly high standards that the extrraordinary combination of writer and reader had set.

Let me put your mind at rest, this is, perhaps to my own surprise, if anything, even better still.

Ackland makes Conrad's character's voices entirely his own.

The words spring to life and build pictures so vividly that TV, movies and even real life experience are all made to seem less memorable and compelling.

The emotions and thoughts of the characters seem so convincing that to reflect upon the fact that this is fiction whilst you are listening to it, is to entertain the unimaginable.

Like certain collections of music, the recording is unimpaired by endless replaying.

If I could only ever have one audio book, it would be this one.

Rating:
Summary: Lord Jim
Review: Just after the first few pages I was already a little confused. I think just because I don't think I have ever read a book that was told in third person. Eventually you get used to it, and the fact that his descriptions of almost everything is both extremely detailed and long, perhaps a little too long. I think Conrad just wants us, the reader, to know exactly what is going on and to be focused on the story. Most of Jim's story is told by a fellow seaman(a captain) named Marlow who Jim met at a meeting where Jim loses his hopes and dreams of becoming a "hero of the sea".

Jim is a young man who has big plans to become a sea captian, but after pushing through the ranks and becoming chief mate he makes a bad mistake. The ship he was currently boarded, "the Patna", became damaged and without thinking Jim and the rest of the crew abandoned the ship leaving innocents stranded on the boat. This mistake costs Jim his life as a seaman. This is where he meets Marlow, who seems to take interest in Jim. Marlow assists Jim in finding a new way to live in Patusan, where people begin to look up to Jim as their leader.

In my opinion I don't really think we are suppose to think of the story as what is so great but looking at Jim the character as what is. I think Jim is a little to full of himself and everytime the memory of the Patna arises he hides in fear like a coward. He thinks he is superhuman for stopping a bandit in his little town. He needs to realize that heros are only in fairy tales.

I rated the book three stars because it was a good story, but the book for me was a little too confusing and way to long of a book to get the story he was telling across to everyone. Overall, if your looking for a something to do everynite before you go to sleep then I recommend this book to you.

Rating:
Summary: Lord Jim Review (Lestitian)
Review: Lord Jim is the novel of one man's fight against his own past and his attempt to prove himself to the world after he has made one terrible error. Like so many of books it is a story of the sea, although it is not a non-fiction story. The story opens with the fated voyage of a vessel, the ship of Eastern pilgrims which are Muslim with the ship called Patna, which Jim the head mate and the rest of the crew leave and abandon with its passengers still on board the Patna. Jim does not wish to act so shameful and dislike his actions but does so in the horror of the moment. Put on trial for his error the young idealistic Jim is stripped of his papers and is left to follow an existence avoiding his own identity and seeking mystery as he travels the entire world. Marlow organizes a meeting at which Jim goes to Patusan, a remote or ancient region. Jim brings order and strength to the area with his strength of character and leadership. The arrival of the two-faced Gentleman Brown shakes the peace Jim has created and his value systems are called into question before the horror of the ending. The horrors of the ending would be when the angry old man shoots Jim and falls dead.
I really did not like the novel because simply Jim had abandoned a bunch of Muslim pilgrims aboard a ship which he thought was sinking. Then he soon discovers that the ship is not sinking. After going to trial he escapes and goes to a remote. Jim in this part of the story he had done wrong escaping and not paying his consequences. That is basically why I think this novel isn't great. It would have been efficient if Jim had not escaped and to see what has happened.

Rating:
Summary: An amazing novel
Review: Lord Jim turned out to be one of the best novels I have read, and I admit around page 180, for the first time I can remember, I was considering not finishing a novel I had started. The first novel I read by Joseph Conrad was Heart of Darkness, which was narrated by Marlow. Lord Jim is also narrated by Marlow, which was an interesting twist. However, it also made the first 180 pages difficult to follow. Instead of reading a story, a story is being told to the reader. But the book is composed of two parts: Marlow telling us the introduction, and Marlow's letter to one who also heard the story the night Marlow told it. I felt this added something to the novel, making it more thrilling. The last 60-80 pages flew by, the conclusion was exciting, and then it was over. I have read three of Conrad's novels, and I like how he finishes them.

What happens. Jim is a sailor who dreams of glory, but falters in his first trial. He spends time trying to avoid his past and eventually finds himself the guardian of a people in remote India. When trouble seeks him again, he makes a decision with horrible consequences. But instead of running from the consequences as he had earlier in his life, he faces them. An amazing novel.

Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly Disappointing
Review: Maybe my expectations were too high. I had purchased a Modern Library hardcover copy of Lord Jim for myself at a second hand bookstore for my birthday. I was really looking forward to reading it. However I struggled to finish the book, which in my edition was 400 pages long. I normally don't have a problem with books that long, and so I can't say that this was the turn-off. So, what was it that disappointed me? I never really felt empathy for any of the characters. In my book if you are looking for a classic tale of moral failure and attempted restoration try Thomas Hardy's "The Mayor of Casterbridge" or Graham Greene's "The Power and the Glory".

Rating:
Summary: Brilliantly written
Review: One of the best books I've ever read. Brilliantly written, this books tells the story of a young man struggling with guilt about his past. Demonstrates the impact of a single event on an individual's soul and life.

Rating:
Summary: "a shred of meaningless honor"
Review: There is no doubt that Conrad is one of the master writers of the previous century, however I tend to find him rather a chore to read. Not that reading is supposed to be "easy" of course, but that's just by way of a warning. In this novel, he not only embarks on epic page-long sentences, but engages in a whole range of innovative (for the time) techniques for telling the tragic tale of Tuan/Lord Jim. These techniques include abrupt shifts and jumps in time, and a great deal story within a story constructions. The bulk of the story is recounted by a seaman named Marlow (who also was narrator for Heart of Darkness), who is often retelling what he heard from another source, or even third-hand. Some may find this a little confusing at first, but it shouldn't be a surprising device for the modern reader. Technique aside, this is an exceedingly dense work, rich in lengthy descriptions, and requiring the reader's utmost attention.

Jim is a well-bred young Englishman who takes to the sea, envisioning a series of adventures in which he will prove his mettle and emerge as a well-regarded man. Alas, when a ship carrying a load of Malay pilgrims to Mecca strikes something and seems destined to sink, and his senior officers all abandon ship without rousing the passengers, he experiences fear and abandons ship as well. But when the ship doesn't sink, Jim is the only crewman to step forward and present himself to the maritime court of inquiry, which strips him of his sailing papers. Thereafter, Jim knocks around the South Seas, working as a water clerk in various ports, and departing whenever someone recognizes him. Finally, the narrator Marlow arranges for Jim to be installed as manager of a remote Malaysian trading post. There, he becomes the ruler and protector of the native people.

The story is not really of importance though; really, we are meant to be taking a long and careful look at the character of Jim. Some may find him to be a tragic and romantic figure, however I view him as the embodiment of self-absorption and pride. Jim's vision of himself as a brave and true fellow is so key to his ego that he literally can't face his own past actions, even though they are utterly understandable and human. And far from seeking to prove or redeem himself, he seeks to remove himself from the sight of anyone who might recognize him. His self-imposed exile among the Malays allows him to fulfill his dream of being an respected leader, and allows him to avoid introspection. Indeed, had he been even slightly introspective, he might have eventually recognized that his overwhelming adherence to a code of honor has not served him particularly well. Ironically (or maybe predictably), at the end of it all, his misguided sense of honor brings death to him, and destruction to his people. It's not too hard to figure out what Conrad, who spend several decades on the high seas, thought of this ideal of honor. One character gives voice to Conrad's views, by saying that Jim died for "a shred of meaningless honor".

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: 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.