Public reader discussion about Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad.
By windcocoa89
Mine is The Willow King by Meelis Friedenthal. It felt pretty slow and boring, but weirdly it still stuck with me. I read it in my own language first—there it’s called The Bees—and I feel like the English title fits more, so the vibe probably lands differently. I also noticed there are still a few things left hanging, and that kind of annoys me. On the other hand, I really got a feel for what life was like in the 1600s.
By VectorScarf
So what do people on here think of those two books? I’m kind of wondering if I’m the odd one out—like, I really loved Lord Jim (it’s one of my favorites), but I didn’t enjoy Heart of Darkness at all. I’m not saying it isn’t important or anything, but I honestly didn’t have fun reading it. Conrad’s writing isn’t super easy in either one, but it felt like Lord Jim matched that kind of unclear, messy feeling more for me. What do you all think? :)
By Orchid89
Maybe it’s easier to split things into two buckets: “modern” (like 1970 onward) and the classics. I’m really drawn to Dostoevsky, not just for the plots, but for the parts where the characters get into big, heavy stuff like God and suffering (Shatov/Ivan vibes from *The Possessed* and *The Brothers Karamazov*). I’ve just had a hard time finding newer authors who are as sharp and thought-provoking in the same way. Like, I recently read *Project Hail Mary*—it was a fun, solid book, but it didn’t really stick with me. I can mostly forget it. What I want is something I can’t stop thinking about, and with Dostoevsky I keep catching myself revisiting passages or mulling over the themes. To kick things off: Classics: Albert Camus, Herman Hesse Modern: Philip K. Dick Edit: Thanks for all the great suggestions and discussion—this seems like a really good community.
By WildHeron1980
If you’ve got passages or short stories with really good writing, please share them. Also, could you put the title of the work and the author in the post title?