Lord Jim

Joseph Conrad

Jul 2018 · Oregan Publishing · Narrated by Mike Dolan

About this audiobook

Lord Jim is a novel by Joseph Conrad originally published as a serial in Blackwood's Magazine from October 1899 to November 1900. An early and primary event is the abandonment of a ship in distress by its crew including the young British seaman Jim. He is publicly censured for this action and the novel follows his later attempts at coming to terms with himself and his past.

Ratings and reviews

When I think of Joseph Conrad, I think of “Heart of Darkness,” a really depressing, but realistic short novel that shows that the true savages in the African Congo were the colonists. That’s the one he is most famous for. However, “Lord Jim” is the one that he thought was best. The story, “Lord Jim” is also told by the same sailor, Marlow, who had been the narrator of the “Heart of Darkness,” which ties the books together. Jim is the son of a British clergyman, a man with too many children to provide positions for so Jim had trained as a merchant seaman, hoping for adventure and dreaming of heroic deads. He had taken a position of first mate on a steamer transporting pilgrims to Mecca. His actions in, what they thought was an impending disaster, along with the captain and other officers, became part of an enquiry which all escape by leaving town except Jim. Jim, the one who was the least to blame was the only one to face the enquiry and give testimony, and he made no effort to defend himself or give any excuse. He was condemned and his certificate to sail was revoked. He accepted the verdict, greatly shamed by what he considered to be his unforgivable cowardice and moral failure. The book describes his life of trying to learn to live a life to escape the shame and begin to make up for his failure. He cannot face his family and leaves England for the Indies but his past continues to come up again and again. He eventually is only able to find some solace in service in a remote corner where he will have almost no contact with Westerners and have some chance to redeem himself in his own eyes as he attempts to help the villagers among whom he lives. While this book is also not a positive and uplifting tale, it is easier to digest than “Heart of Darkness.” In “Lord Jim,” Conrad stil shows a colonial mentality and prejudice against those who seem to be less “civilized,” but at the same time, there is a positive side to this story even if the end is not what you might hope. It shows a self-righteous society that is unable to understand and forgive the failings of others while ignoring the much greater failings in itself. But it also shows a man who, despite his failure, is willing to face himself and take responsibility for his actions, even if it seems that he may be taking too much responsibility. Here there is also a contrast between civilized and savage, but it is less black and white than in “Heart of Darkness.” There are savages among the natives and the colonizers but it is still the colonizers that come out the worst. And Jim, whom the colonials consider to be most reviled, comes out looking to be far better than they. While I would hesitate to give a general recommendation to “Heart of Darkness,” I would at least find it much easier to do so for “Lord Jim.”