A review by david_rhee
Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad

3.0

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This adage can apply to the appreciation of literature. Lord Jim's complicated narration can be seen as sophisticated, cinematic, or perhaps needlessly jumpy and wearisome. Through storytelling, omniscient narrators, letters and also flipping the chronological order of events and falling often into digressions...and just when a somewhat linear storyline materializes a totally new character gets introduced...this can be uniquely refreshing or terribly aggravating. I was caught in the middle of those two impressions. I might digest this one for a little while longer. Apart from the unusual presentation, other themes also seem to crawl under the skin and brew slowly such as the ominous malevolent spirit which emerges in the hearts of men and of people groups no matter what the form of it becomes whether it is the savage oppression of one's poor or the civilizing efforts of colonizers. Conrad's language conjures up images of a sinister serpent gliding under dark waters, rhythmic and hypnotizing but awfully soaked with dread and ultimately disaster. That's a total compliment, too. It's an enviable talent to be able to write in foreboding tones and with elegant fury with great effect.