Hi everyone
This is my review for Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad.
I got my copy at the Fnac and it has 363 pages of story and 4 pages about the book by Harold Bloom.
You can find all my Joseph Conrad reviews here.
I got my copy at the Fnac and it has 363 pages of story and 4 pages about the book by Harold Bloom.
You can find all my Joseph Conrad reviews here.
“Jim, first mate on board the Patna, is a simple and
sensitive young man who dreams of becoming a hero. But when the Patna threatens
to sink, Jim takes the cowardly way out and jumps clear. His unbearable guilt
and shame at having violated the unwritten moral code of the sea lead him to
become an exile in a remote Malay state. There he fashions a new identity for
himself as the benevolent ruler of an exotic land - until his idyll is
interrupted. Rich, moving and delicately crafted, Lord Jim is a compelling meditation
on identity, guilt and lost honor.”
It honestly felt like work to get through this one. It took
me such a long time and a lot of concentration to keep up with it.
The story is told from multiple POV’s (which is something I
like), but it’s done in a way that confused me a lot. It’s not always clear what’s
happening when exactly or who’s telling a story in which someone else is talking.
There’s an astounding amount of quotation marks in this book. Captain Marlow
hops from one point in time to another, forgetting things he should explain and
thus explaining them much later in the novel and all the while rambling on.
I didn’t feel the urgency of the situation or even care for
the characters and what’s happening around them because it was so confusing. I
just didn’t care about the story or the characters.
I could not get involved in the story, there was no plot to
speak off and I didn’t particularly feel for the characters. It’s very
repetitive, slow and boring. Jim’s inner struggle does not require so many
pages.
We are supposed to feel sorry for Jim and then applaud and
congratulate him for how much he’s changed. I can’t. I just can’t. The choice
was simple and nothing can redeem him.
Worst of all, the story is incredibly racist. Absolutely cringe-worthy racist.
Worst of all, the story is incredibly racist. Absolutely cringe-worthy racist.
The writing-style is beautiful though. Conrad’s choice of
words is amazing.
2 STARS
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