"Lordy lord," what to say about Lord Jim? In an era of short Tik Tok videos, Instagram feeds, and limited character Tweets, this novel, published on the cusp of the 20th Century, is a bit of a slog, at least at first as the reader slowly gets acclimatized to the denser sentences, weightier themes, slower pace, and stylistic narrative convention. It was choppy waters for me, and I put the book down on page 30 or so, only to give it another try after reading that it is considered one of the best 100 novels of its time. I'm glad I did because the book has its rewards if you put in the time, patience, and concentration. The story of Jim is told by Marlow, an older English seaman himself who encounters Jim at his trial, befriends him, and then helps him get on his feet again after facing official censure. Marlow's perspective and feelings towards Jim are ambivalent and Marlow's long tale, told to an audience of fellow seamen, is supplemented by other characters who at some point cross paths with Jim: his shipmates, the judges, employers, and ultimately the denizens of Patusan, including Jewel his wife, and Captain Brown and his men who intrude upon his rule in the book's final chapters. Critics praise Conrad for innovating the narrative voice of the novel beyond the first-person "I" perspective or the all-knowing, God-like, author's voice. But in Lord Jim this choice, perhaps intentional, distances Jim from the reader. He is and remains something of a mysterious cipher, and his inarticulate stammers do not help you get to know him better. But perhaps that is the point. He doesn't quite know himself. The novel grapples with existential and moral questions about man's highest aspirations and Platonic ideals, embodied by English "codes of conduct" and the crass realities of Darwinistic survival instincts personified by human emotions such as fear and panic. Conrad does not provide many answers to Marlow's obsession with the tale of Lord Jim and the existential questions it raises. Jim, ever a little elusive and mysterious, even to Jewel, is finally told by Marlow the secret reason why she should believe Jim when he says he will not leave, as other Westerners have, to return to his home. "He is not good enough." Then Marlow follows that with an even greater truth. "None of us is good enough." And I believe, that is the crux of this tale and perhaps one of the few concrete conclusions proffered. ( )