Lord Jim

This is one of those books that I had to put down a couple of times previously because the protagonist’s flaw hit too close to home. Jim is so ashamed of his past cowardice that each time his identity is found out, he will travel farther away from the spreading Western colonies. A Western marauder eventually invades the Malay and Bugis community where he lives, and Jim has to bear the consequence of speaking up for the man in good faith. After so many years, this book is still one of my top favorites because Jim finally stops running and… show more.

I read Joseph Conrad from my earliest formative years. Sometimes thick, but always drawn on real time at sea, Conrad wrote from experience and touched a nerve for anyone drawn to adventure on the high seas. Lord Jim stands out for its layers of real life so sensitively drawn, from a young chandler’s boy competing in a small sloop to reach the ships just over the horizon, to a disgraced young officer who jumped ship prematurely, afraid. By the time Tuan Jim faces the high chief, he has achieved what all adventurers admire, arrival at the true self. I’ve loved… show more.