Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad

This is a masterpiece of modernism and narrative structure, an essential novel about empire, an intricately crafted work and also... inconceivably dull. I read this because I had by some preserving miracle escaped reading Heart of Darkness for any course, and felt that as I am committed to studying English literature, I'm bound to read at least some Conrad to know what people are talking about. I was bored out of my mind. I can't find fault with anything, I just didn't find the story compelling in the least. None of the characters were interesting to me, maybe because my life experiences are probably the complete opposite of theirs. I could understand their motives and thoughts, but everything took so long and was so torturously drawn out and emotional. The language is also very beautiful in parts, but again, I didn't find it in the least stirring or interesting. My favourite parts were the digressions to tell the stories of people marginally involved, because they were short, lucid, and strikingly presented. The most I can say having finished it is that now I will at least have some idea what literary criticism that mentions Conrad is talking about.