Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad

I downloaded this book on my phone and read it - even though it is tedious with the tiny screen. Lord Jim is, lucky for me, public domain, so it was free. Apparently I only download free books to my phone. Anyway, I started this book before I read 1Q84, but set it aside when I received that book for two reasons - 1. I wanted to read 1Q84 more, and 2. I was at a point in Lord Jim where it was a little slow and I wanted things to happen. I'm one of those readers that will start something and have to finish it, even if I don't really like it or enjoy it. I have to know what happens, even if it ends up being terribly written or horribly depressing. This was not the case with Lord Jim, and once I got over that slow bit, the story was a compelling read.

Some Background
I had read Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness in high school, and hated it, probably because I was being forced to read it, and in high school I was one of those go-through-the-motions kind of student. looking back though, I probably just didn't get it. I read it again in College and enjoyed it more, because I wanted to read it this time, and I was (probably!) more mature. I just read Heart of Darkness for a third time last year, as well as watched the movie Apocalypse Now, which is loosely based on Heart of Darkness. It is one of those books that one should read again as one ages, so that new perspectives can be brought to the table, and it really was a different experience each time. 

So, when I saw Lord Jim as an option for download in Google books, I of course downloaded it out of curiosity for what Joseph Conrad had to offer me again.

My thoughts on Jim
Jim is a character that I think almost everyone can relate to. He feels that he is a good man who made a mistake, and the mistake continues to follow him, to the point where he can't escape from the infamy of his act and the shame he feels regarding it. His name is tarnished; so he has to escape to a foreign land and live among foreign people, completely isolated, and simply stay there. Basically, he wants to live out his days where he can't be dogged by his act and his guilt by the outside world.

Honestly, no one person in the book is harder on Jim than he is on himself regarding the mistake that drives him into isolation. Conrad describes Jim's cowardice, which he ultimately overcomes through his experiences in this foreign land; by the end of the book, he is anything but a coward.

I think I see some of myself in Jim - an arbitrator and a generally good person who can be misunderstood. I also have trouble forgiving myself for my mistakes. That's what draws me to the character, even though at times he can be awfully irritating in his excuses and behavior - the narrator, Marlow, does not seem to like him much, but helps him out of a weird paternal bond with him. Conrad repeatedly describes him as "childlike" and "romantic", which of course are suitable - I would add that Conrad might as well say Jim is unrealistic in his expectations of himself and others, and naive in his dealings. 

What I like about Conrad, and common themes
I have only read two books by Joseph Conrad, but what I see in both:

• Westerners going to foreign lands, usually third world countries, in search of riches
• The setting of the river
• Nature as being ominous, the wild as being dangerous; a sense of unhinging of the surroundings. The people and the land are wild and therefore dangerous
• In Heart of Darkness, the narrator went to Africa; in this book, it was Southeast Asia
• A sense of a large world and of travel and adventure
• Impending doom and a feeling of no turning back; Characters being haunted by someone or something

I like that Conrad embeds little gems of wisdom right in the work without sounding too preachy - it fits well in the flow of the narrative. His descriptions, particularly of people and of the environment, are vivid and wonderful, but there are slow bits in the book to slog through. I thought the beginning was a little slow, but then it picked up nicely about 1/3 the way in. 

Lastly, the way the ending of the book is presented, as an epilogue, was smooth and nicely done, and kept the reader hooked until the end. when I reached the point right before the epilogue, I was like, wait, what happens to Jim?! the book teases you into thinking it's done with the narrative, but then you turn to the next chapter, and Conrad is like but wait! there's more! And the reader is relieved by that.

The Bottom Line
I got into a discussion about personal accountability and action versus inaction with my dad this weekend, and I recommended this book to him because I think it plays to those themes nicely. All in all, a worthwhile read if you can slog through the slow bits.