Jim is a young English seaman who dreams of heroism, until a moment of failure on a ship in the East brands him with shame. Unable to escape his reputation, he drifts from port to port and finally to a remote settlement in the Malay world, where he earns trust and a new name. The story is told largely by Marlow, who tries to understand Jim and judge him fairly. It is a searching novel about honour, guilt, imagination and the longing to redeem oneself, written with Conrad's layered, shifting narration.
Quotes
He was one of us.
I am a great foe to favouritism in public life, in private life, and even in the delicate relationship of an author to his works.
There is nothing more enticing, disenchanting, and enslaving than the life at sea.
They wanted facts. Facts! They demanded facts from him, as if facts could explain anything.