Lord Jim

\"Lord Jim\", by Joseph Conrad, tells the story of a decent man who had to make a split-second decision between doing the right thing or being a coward. He chose cowardice. As an officer, he abandoned a ship that was sinking, filled with pilgrims bound for the Holy Land. Due to this act, he spends the rest of his life trying to atone for that moment of error, in an exercise of self-reparation, remorse, and self-doubt.

Rejected by all, unable to do what he loved most, which was to travel by sea, he became bitter and dark. He wandered like a madman, fleeing from one place to another.

Finally, with the help of his friend Marlow, he manages to get a job as the head of Stein's factory and departs for Patusan, a remote place in the East Indies. At first, he is regarded with suspicion by the natives, but he becomes popular by bringing down a local criminal. He marries a local girl and, after two or three years, feels that he has regained his self-respect and rid himself of the shame of the shipwreck incident.

However, Brown, an English criminal looter who stole a ship and ran out of supplies, sails to Patusan and decides to loot the island where Jim lives peacefully... Only by reading the book to know what happens from there.

What a sensational book! Although it is tiring and demands a lot from the reader, Joseph Conrad's narrative style is unrivaled. It is the third book by the author that I have the pleasure of reading. I recommend it to everyone.

I picked up a used book last week titled 'In Search of Conrad', and to my surprise, I found it utterly fascinating. It kindled in me a desire to explore the works of Conrad, an author I had only briefly touched upon before. His books are set in various locations such as Malaysia, Borneo, and Singapore. As I delved into this travel book, I couldn't help but reach for an atlas. The area described in the book intrigued me to no end. I'm almost done with it, and now I'm starting to read another based on a true incident mentioned within its pages.

The original Jim was the second mate on a steamer carrying 1000 pilgrims from Malaysia to Mecca, probably around 1888. When the ship encountered bad weather, Jim, along with the captain and some crew members, abandoned the ship, leaving the passengers to face the sinking vessel. They then told the authorities in Aden that the ship had sunk and they had to abandon it because the passengers had attacked them, which was far from the truth. A couple of days later, the ship and the passengers arrived in Aden as well. The passengers had managed to save the ship themselves by baling out the water. As a result, Jim and his mates were publicly disgraced. For some strange reason, I found the whole situation rather hilarious.

Anyway, Jim returned to Singapore, got married, had 16 kids, and resumed his old life. This was an act of courage considering that for the rest of his life, everyone associated him with his cowardly action. So, he's a sort of tragic anti-hero, and that's precisely what Conrad's novel is about.

This book, 'In Search of Conrad' by Gavin Young, is truly great. I feel as if I've traversed all over Malaysia and the South China Sea while following the maps. The writing is superbly delicious too. Here's a colorful passage:

At night the Chinese warehouses, higher up, blazed with lanterns that reflected red, orange, and yellow light on the water like dollops of liquid fire.

At night, too, a loom of light arced like a halo over the Town Hall; and lights from the rows of cast-iron lamps with globes of white porcelain like ostrich eggs flickered through the rain trees on the Esplanade.

On the other side of the Esplanade, the long facade of the Hotel de l'Europe was a mass of lights like the flank of a great ocean liner. From the dining room, well-groomed globe-trotters brayed at each other over their iced pudding, while on the terrace, matches flared at the tips of cheroots, revealing white shirt-fronts, and a dead cigar butt arced like a shooting star from where Captain Marlowe sat utterly engrossed, while Jim in matter-of-fact tones gave him the terrible details of the Jeddah affair.

Once, when Jim gave way, bursting out under the pressure of his guilt, 'It is - hell,' a couple of tourists looked up, startled, from their pudding.

For those who have not come into contact with his work, let me clarify that Conrad does not write seafaring adventures nor thrilling stories that will accompany the reader to the beach. Conrad artfully surrounds his work with a first level of action in order to write purely existential stories.

There is a common pattern in his books, which is repeated and constitutes his hallmark: His hero fails to connect with himself, with others, with the world around him. While other writers of that era seek and often find for their heroes redemption in some idea, in some metaphysical and non-fundamental principle, in the brotherhood of like-minded people, of fellow combatants, etc., Conrad does not leave such room for complacency to his characters.

There is no escape from the existential burden, no way out for the hero who has to face the void, the lack of meaning in life, but also the lack of a collective ideology and purpose with his fellow humans. If there is any incentive, any guiding principle, it is that of seeing the world from a distance, of the conscious withdrawal from the actions, from which, however, there is no escape. And the end is always unyielding for the Conradian hero who sees the outside world closing unyieldingly like a circle around him.

I think the above apply to the masterpieces "Nostromo" and "Heart of Darkness" (rightly found on every list that respects itself) as well as to "Lord Jim" - an equally emblematic text, indicative of Conrad's demonic writing, although it is not my personal top choice from his bibliography (let's not forget also the excellent "Victory" and "Under Western Eyes").

I explain: I am a lover of his style, but in this work I believe that the main idea he develops would have been better in the form of a novel and not a long story. I often had the feeling that we were making endless circles around the central theme of the guilt of the central hero, until we were led to the inevitable end. The result is a feeling of fragmentation at times, something that I have very rarely felt so far in the writer's books.

The fact remains that even in the weakest moments of his (if the book in question can be considered as such), Conrad remains an exemplary storyteller.

Yet again, I find myself face to face with a book that is proclaimed as a classic. However, I am completely baffled as to how it achieved such a label.

The narrative within this book is extremely convoluted. It is almost an insurmountable task to follow the storyline. It constantly zigzags in and out of coherency, leaving any sense of clear definition far behind.

Moreover, I was left in a state of confusion regarding the identity of the narrator. At first, I thought it was Jim, but it soon became evident that it was not. Perhaps this was my own fault for not reading the book at a slower pace.

As I neared the end of the book, I must admit that I started to skim through the pages more. I simply could not endure any more of it.

In conclusion, I do not recommend this book to anyone. It fails to engage the reader and leaves more questions than answers.

A heroic tale of cowardice, lol.

I liked this one but it wasn't a home run for me personally.

Jim is a romantic man with many great ideals. However, unfortunately, his tale doesn't conform to reality. The closer he gets to his idea of success, the more perilous his situation becomes. His elevation makes him a perfect target. I guess that explains Marlow's (the narrator) fascination with him and how it might be relevant to all of us in some way.

There were times when I was completely engrossed in the story. The narrative switched back and forth in time, with many different accounts told through a single narrator's voice (and not an omniscient one!). If an old man in a bar was telling me this story, I would slowly edge towards the door, lol.

But I will say that I liked the symbolism of the weather (great storms accompanied both of the significant events).

There were some instances of blatant racism (all the narrating parties seemed convinced that only white people were capable of achieving any victory), and the inhabitants had very real concerns about being colonized near the end.

All in all, I'm not sure if I would read this a second time.

È straordinario come attraversiamo la vita con gli occhi semichiusi, le orecchie insensibili e la mente distratta. E forse è bene che sia così, perché potrebbe essere questa stessa insensibilità a rendere così sopportabile e gradita la vita alla stragrande maggioranza. Tuttavia, sono pochi coloro che non hanno mai vissuto quei momenti di risveglio in cui vediamo, udiamo e comprendiamo tante cose in un lampo, prima di ricadere nella nostra piacevole sonnolenza.

Come in Cuore di tenebra, troviamo Marlow che ci racconta una storia. Ancora una volta, questa storia ha per protagonista un uomo che risale un fiume e si insedia in un villaggio, diventando il punto di riferimento per tutta la popolazione. Ma Jim non ha niente a che spartire con Kurtz. Jim è l'ultimo dei romantici, un giovane uomo con un'animo macchiato da un atto di codardia che non riesce a perdonarsi.

In questa terra sperduta, troverà l'amore, la gloria e in un certo modo anche la sua redenzione, cancellando quella macchia dalla sua anima. Lord Jim è un grande romanzo, anche se forse Conrad si dilunga un po' troppo. Una cosa è certa però, Conrad è uno dei più grandi scrittori di tutti i tempi.

If you were required to summarize your life, a life that was rich and full, you would find it extremely difficult, if not impossible. At least, I couldn't do it with just a casual conversation. It would have to be an all-night affair, engaging in a deep and meaningful dialogue with a group of strangers who, through the sharing of your long and complex story, would gradually become your friends. And that is precisely what "Lord Jim" is all about: it is the summation of a life. A life filled with ethical conflicts, a wrong decision that led to choosing the wrong side, and then being forever burdened with shame and constantly on the run. Jim delved deeper and deeper into his mistakes, moving further and further away from redemption, and being constantly plagued by the consequences of his actions. This is truly a remarkable and great book. It was ahead of its time when it was first published, and yet, it remains timeless, continuing to resonate with readers across generations.

It took me an incredibly long time to complete Lord Jim. It was over a year of grabbing every available chance here and there, like reading a Google Play Books version at the bus stop.

When I finally came across a Penguin Classics paperback in a charity shop, the reading pace went a little quicker, but it still felt like a long journey.

The way the novel is told, with Marlowe as the narrator, really made me think of a Tarantino film. The narrative has a tendency to reach back or deviate from the main flow quite often. Marlowe frequently quotes someone who is in turn quoting another person. This unique style makes the nested quotation marks a truly interesting sea to navigate through.

It's as if the story is constantly twisting and turning, leading the reader on an unpredictable path of discovery.

The complexity of the narrative structure adds an extra layer of depth and intrigue to the already captivating story of Lord Jim.

Overall, my experience of reading this novel has been both challenging and rewarding, and I'm glad I stuck with it until the end.