Lord Jim

The reader will agree with Conrad that Lord Jim is just "one of us". And as one of us, a certain part of Jim must simply remain a secret. This engaging tale by the popular author of Nostromo, Victory and other delectable stories, despicts excruciating restoration of man´s honour and pride. It reflects both, the wors and the best in the complexities of human nature. Lord Jim personifies the mate of a stricken vessel, who is blamed for deserting his pilgrim passengers. After the opening gambit of fitting together the puzzle of jim, and as the shots begin to be fired, emerges the complete picture of a sensitive spirit who has shown the commpasion, sacrifice and enourance necessary to stand as a permanent literary hero, a befitting description rendered by the Noble laureate William Faulkner in his acceptance speech (1949)

Victory

Victory is an account of a rootless and reclusive male protagonist, Heyst, who rescues a young women, Lena, from a touring female orchestra, saving her from the molestations of a gross hotel-keeper, Schomberg. Heyst carries Lena to the percieved safety of his isolated island retreat. The affair, somewhat diffident on the hero´s part, is interrupted by the arrival of an outlandish retinue of deperadores who menace the defenseless couple, but are in fact looking for a hidden booty. Vicotry as stark and relentless psycho-erotic allegory, assumes many provocative forms: fastidiousness of its hero, regeneration and vitality of Lena, lewd and racous mid-life crisis in Schomberg, and sadomasochism and refined misogyny of the intruding desperadores. Conrad has poured (his writing skill and) heart into this simply un-put-down-able work.