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sidharthvardhan's review against another edition
3.0
Penance is useless. If you don't feel guilty, you won't do it. If you feel guilty, it won't be enough.
lanceschaubert's review against another edition
3.0
I honestly remember very little about this book SAVE but for the quadruple quotes.
That's right.
This book is full of people quoting people quoting people. And at times it looks like this.
Shannon, at trial, said, "So I was walking down the street and overheard Lord Jim say, 'Yeah, they're a bunch of jerks who are the kinds of people to walk straight into a bar and shout, "If any of you wants to fight, you come up to me and call me, 'You snollygoster lickspittle smellfungus.'"'"
And so on.
Which, I mean, if nothing else that's ambitious.
Three stars because I remember nothing else. I might give it another try, but then again...
That's right.
This book is full of people quoting people quoting people. And at times it looks like this.
Shannon, at trial, said, "So I was walking down the street and overheard Lord Jim say, 'Yeah, they're a bunch of jerks who are the kinds of people to walk straight into a bar and shout, "If any of you wants to fight, you come up to me and call me, 'You snollygoster lickspittle smellfungus.'"'"
And so on.
Which, I mean, if nothing else that's ambitious.
Three stars because I remember nothing else. I might give it another try, but then again...
donnaadouglas's review against another edition
2.0
'Lord Jim' is a novel about overcoming misfortune. It's titular character is involved in the unfortunate sinking of his ship at the beginning of the book, and spends the rest of the book trying to escape his past and build his future.
I found this book to be a little confusing at times. It's hard to figure out who's speaking to who, and the overabundance of side-stories distracts from the chronology of the central story, and often I had to read back in order to remind myself where and when the action was taking place.
I also discovered around chapter 16 that I hadn't a care in the world as to the fate of any of the characters, but I couldn't understand why. Perhaps I just don't know enough about the business of the sea.
I did like Conrad's use of imagery in this book, however. He was able to create very rich descriptions of people and places, and due to this I am still excited to read some of his other works in the future.
I found this book to be a little confusing at times. It's hard to figure out who's speaking to who, and the overabundance of side-stories distracts from the chronology of the central story, and often I had to read back in order to remind myself where and when the action was taking place.
I also discovered around chapter 16 that I hadn't a care in the world as to the fate of any of the characters, but I couldn't understand why. Perhaps I just don't know enough about the business of the sea.
I did like Conrad's use of imagery in this book, however. He was able to create very rich descriptions of people and places, and due to this I am still excited to read some of his other works in the future.
bupdaddy's review against another edition
3.0
I did this one as an audiobook (but *NOT* the version goodreads implies - they 'combined' editions and the audio version I listened to is gone. It's the version from librivox.org - if you haven't heard of it, but like audio books, I recommend the site - free versions of public domain books).
The version I listened to is downloadable at http://www.archive.org/details/lord_jim_librivox
Anyhoo, I listened to many sections twice, because my mind wandered, because Conrad can be like that for me, but I followed everything, and...
I don't think I get it. What's supposed to be the good part of this that makes it a classic? It's OK, I guess. I need someone to tell me what makes it good.
I added a star (would have been two instead of three), because of the reading. Stewart Wills' reading is perfect for an audio book - lots of good inflection...he keeps it just the right energy...but he doesn't try to make it into a one-man play starring Stewart Wills. It's still Conrad's writing that's front and center.
(As a cf., I tried Lord Jim as an audio book from my library, and that guy's voice was so affected - and constantly affected in different ways - that I couldn't finish it).
The version I listened to is downloadable at http://www.archive.org/details/lord_jim_librivox
Anyhoo, I listened to many sections twice, because my mind wandered, because Conrad can be like that for me, but I followed everything, and...
I don't think I get it. What's supposed to be the good part of this that makes it a classic? It's OK, I guess. I need someone to tell me what makes it good.
I added a star (would have been two instead of three), because of the reading. Stewart Wills' reading is perfect for an audio book - lots of good inflection...he keeps it just the right energy...but he doesn't try to make it into a one-man play starring Stewart Wills. It's still Conrad's writing that's front and center.
(As a cf., I tried Lord Jim as an audio book from my library, and that guy's voice was so affected - and constantly affected in different ways - that I couldn't finish it).
jwsg's review against another edition
2.0
And we're back to painfully slow, brooding, portentous literature with Lord Jim, after the brief respite that was The Secret Agent and a Room with a View. A friend of mine had got my hopes up when he compared Lord Jim to Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. I thought that meant a gripping and well-paced narrative. Turns out he was referring to the story arc of redemption shared by both novels.
In Lord Jim, we find ourselves reunited with Marlow, the narrator in Heart of Darkness. Here, Marlow recounts the tale of Jim, a young lad who has visions of a life of adventure and heroic deeds at sea. However, when Jim joins the rest of the white crew in abandoning the Patna when it threatens to sink, his self-image as the fearless and honourable sailor is shattered and he is wracked with guilt. He then spends the next few years moving from port to port to escape all reminders of his cowardly deed, until he finds love, honour and ultimately, redemption in isolated Patusan (apparently located somewhere in Sumatra).
In some ways, I can see why Lord Jim is hailed as a literary masterpiece. It's a text just calling out to be analysed. How it serves as a counterpoint to Heart of Darkness, where we encounter another European, albeit one who becomes corrupted and twisted while in the tropics. The story arc of redemption. As a statement on colonialism and civilisation as represented by the European tradition. It's certainly impressive to think that a non-native speaker of English - Conrad was born in Poland and probably only picked up English when he joined the British Merchant Navy at age 19 - managed to write this work. But perhaps it's precisely because Conrad was a non-native speaker that I feel his writing requires a lot of effort - like it required a lot of effort on the part of the writer to produce, and requires a lot of effort on the part of the reader to absorb. A little like Gustave Ascenbach in Thomas Mann's Death in Venice perhaps? Like Dickens' novels, Lord Jim was first produced in a serialised form. But I found its pace plodding and couldn't quite figure out what would compel readers to purchase the next installment the following week.
In Lord Jim, we find ourselves reunited with Marlow, the narrator in Heart of Darkness. Here, Marlow recounts the tale of Jim, a young lad who has visions of a life of adventure and heroic deeds at sea. However, when Jim joins the rest of the white crew in abandoning the Patna when it threatens to sink, his self-image as the fearless and honourable sailor is shattered and he is wracked with guilt. He then spends the next few years moving from port to port to escape all reminders of his cowardly deed, until he finds love, honour and ultimately, redemption in isolated Patusan (apparently located somewhere in Sumatra).
In some ways, I can see why Lord Jim is hailed as a literary masterpiece. It's a text just calling out to be analysed. How it serves as a counterpoint to Heart of Darkness, where we encounter another European, albeit one who becomes corrupted and twisted while in the tropics. The story arc of redemption. As a statement on colonialism and civilisation as represented by the European tradition. It's certainly impressive to think that a non-native speaker of English - Conrad was born in Poland and probably only picked up English when he joined the British Merchant Navy at age 19 - managed to write this work. But perhaps it's precisely because Conrad was a non-native speaker that I feel his writing requires a lot of effort - like it required a lot of effort on the part of the writer to produce, and requires a lot of effort on the part of the reader to absorb. A little like Gustave Ascenbach in Thomas Mann's Death in Venice perhaps? Like Dickens' novels, Lord Jim was first produced in a serialised form. But I found its pace plodding and couldn't quite figure out what would compel readers to purchase the next installment the following week.
chairmanbernanke's review against another edition
4.0
A great Conradian work, exploring identity and roles.
momomo's review against another edition
3.0
Part character study, part colonial adventure story, this masterfully written narrative is told in such a drawn-out and convoluted way that it's often more frustrating than enjoyable.
lukre's review against another edition
5.0
Conrad being Conrad: making you wonder what the hell is going on and all the while amazing you with his writing.
Miles ahead of Secret Agent, but not as perfect as Heart of Darkness
Miles ahead of Secret Agent, but not as perfect as Heart of Darkness
mbondlamberty's review against another edition
3.0
Another book I read for AP English and again another book I enjoyed studying more than reading it.
So much to be learned about the context of the book and the conditions in the world at the time. Not as memorable as Conrad's other work and it is hard to say I liked this given all the things that took place but still something that I do not regret having read.
So much to be learned about the context of the book and the conditions in the world at the time. Not as memorable as Conrad's other work and it is hard to say I liked this given all the things that took place but still something that I do not regret having read.