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Summary: A classic Raj era tale
Review: A classic Raj era tale
Rating: 
Summary: Stunningly Overrated
Review: Am I missing something here? Apparently. I found Kipling's writing extremely stilted and archaic, in a bad way (not in a say, Shakespeare way). The characters were one-dimensional, and the plot was heaped with deus-ex-machinas. I had to struggle to get through every page, and force myself to read a designated amount each night in order to finish it (it took me almost a week, and it's not a long book). The writing is filled with colloquialisms and foreign expressions, and I had to constantly flip to the Endnotes to decipher the code, which was extremely inconvenient. I did learn something about India and its history, and I can't wait to read a better novel on the subject.
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Summary: If you're capable of thinking try this out.
Review: I first read this book-or tied to-when I was 10. Having already read "Nicholas Nickleby" and enjoyed it I hadn't expected "Kim" to be too hard. Halfway through the book I had to give up in disgust- it was too deep for me. Later on I came to love the book.It flung me into colonial India with all its native intrigue and wonder. We follow the journeys of an eleven year old boy,Kim or "Friend of all the World", a white brought up among the natives. We watch him travel around India with an old lama who becomes something like a fatherto KIm. The book is jam-packed with characters that will dazle you but that are still believable. People complain of the jargon Kipling uses; to me it was an added beauty, it made the atmosphere more tangible. Another thing I loved was the habit Kipling has of inserting verses before some chapters.At first you might not understand the relevance of the verse but the time you've finished the chapter you'll get it. This is a book that deserves to be respected, but also to be actally thought about, too.You have to have a certain amount of patience. Once you get over that, this book will enthrall you.
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Summary: A Great Book
Review: I loved the imagery in Kim. The vivid representation of live in India under the British, although idealized, creates a reading experience that surpasses most of Kiplings writing. The way in which he represented the clash of cultures and religions was well done although skewed by Kiplings own beliefs. Through these clashes Kim takes an image of its own, both beautiful as well as insightful.
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Summary: a mild but quite thorough story of initiation:
Review: Kim is honestly a fun book. This is not to say that there aren't lapses, tedious mirings that swirl around the overall ebullient excitment, but these stem more from an excess of the author's wordplay than from anything else. The story is on the surface rather quaint: Orphaned British tyke grows up alone in India, has the internal wits and capacity to learn basic survival skills and has the ambition and sense of humor to make something of a name for himself. From there he meets a 'holy man'--not one in the traditional sense of Western (or even Eastern) literature, but here is more of a true seeker, someone not pulled down by the conventions of organized religiousosity, but one moreso looking for a one-on-one understanding of God. There is a great deal of subtle and transmogrified mythologizing--the traditional fables bowled over by reality, the high, idealistic hopes often stunted in birth by more rational and everyday life concerns. Kim, street-smart and wise before his time, is fascinated by the holy man's honesty and feels some compelling need to accompany the man on his random journies.Kim is the story of two journies, certainly the holy man's as well as Kim's own, the reckoning with cultural identity and the east/west clash in a time of subterfuge and war. It is really a quite powerful story, dulled down at times by the author's seemingly ceaseless wonder, but for a tale marketed as being about a white European lost in the maze of turn-of-the-century India, there is a great deal that is very contemporary and an enormous amount of action and even betrayal. Give it a go and read it to your kids. There are many valuable life lessons Kipling makes an attempt to teach and many wrong paths he explains to us all about taking.
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Summary: A captivating clasic of Indian Literature
Review: Kim is probably one of the best books ever written on India and certainly within the league of E.M.Forster and Paul Scott. This little treasure describes India with a love and power of observation that is absolutely captivating and charming at the same time. Kim is a rogue like Huck Finn and Oliver Twist. He is the man for all opportunities and is called the "Friend of all Mankind". He is neither Hindu nor Muslim, he is neither Buddhist nor Christian. Given his background as the orphan son of a Irish military man and a local girl he is a little bit of everything. In Kim Kipling personifies all the good of Inida while playing down the contrasts, in particular the religious one; he shows us what India would have been like in an ideal situation of mutual tolerance. Apart from these philosophical considerations, Kim is simply a very well written book. Every passage betrays Kiplings background as a poet and sometimes passages really need to be reread for their beauty. His observations are striking and one realises from time to time that it is not the writers imagination about a period long gone; he was actually part of that period. One thing Kim is not: a childrens book. Like Siddharta ,a child may be the main character, but the book is far to philosophical and aimed observing intricate human behaviour to be of much interest to children. I would even maintain that Kim should not be the first book to read about India. However, one of the best reads I had in a long time.
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Summary: Chapter 1 has 99 footnotes!
Review: Maybe this is the way things were done a hundred years ago, but today, this book wouldn't get past the first reviewer. (Nor should it.) Read it for historical purposes, to see how bad novels used to be.
Otherwise, I recommend Laurie R. King's "The Game", instead -- or anything by her, for that matter. "The Game" follows Sherlock Holmes and wife Mary Russell in search of Kim, 30 years later.
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Summary: Splendid
Review: Rudyard Kipling has become somewhat of a controversial figure in today's politically correct and overwrought world. His notions of the White Man's Burden and the civilizing mission of England (and America) are well-known and often cited as evidence of a racist mindset and disposition. To be sure, like all people, Kipling was not perfect and held his fair share of prejudice. KIM, however, serves to bring out the basic humanity in Kipling's character. It is certainly one of his best works, if not the best. Kipling's great knowledge and love of India and its people shine through every page as do his way with words, his story-telling ability, and his cerebral depth. It is no wonder that KIM is the much-admired and favourite book of countless literary and political figures, both Indian and otherwise.
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Summary: A Great Classic
Review: So why am I writing a review of a book published in the early 1900s?
I hope some young people will read all the positive reviews and pick up the book and have a great time. No Stephen King or Dean Koontz wrote this. A wonderfully narrated book of a time that is not coming back. The language is smooth as flowing honey and the Indian words are used with the skill of one born and brought up there (Kipling was later sent to England to complete his schooling).
Enjoyable even after years and years.
I would recommend to buy the hardcover (Everyman Library) edition. A bargain at Amazon's prices
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Summary: A tug of war between Kipling's two minds
Review: Some say Kipling was an imperialist. Some say he was an Indophile. I think he was both at the same time. One Kipling was a polished and sophisticated part of the ruling class, the British. Another Kipling was a child, innocent of the artificial divisions of the society, fascinated by the color and splendour of the Jewel in the Crown, India. This novel at a subtle level, to me, represents a tug of war between the the two warring Kiplings. While the British elite Kipling is forced to believe in the good the Raj is doing to the poor rascals, the other Kipling has his doubts and frustrated by his inability to declare them freely, they find a veiled expression in Kim.
Kim is a Classic story of a boy's adventure in British India. There runs a background plot about "the great game", the spying war between the British and the Russian empires. Kim becomes a chain-man (spy) for the British and his native early years make him formidable in the profession. However more interesting is the other parallel story, that of friendship between Kim and a Tibetan lama and their wanderings together which also make this a road novel.
Kipling understands the oriental way of life and its philosophy. "Only chicken and Sahibs walk around without reason" he says. Through many such comments Kipling questions the western way of work, hurry and constant activity. As the lama says "to refrain from any action is best".
Lastly, one can not but wonder, how much Kim represents a fantacy of Kipling that he wanted to happen to himself. A few common facts between the story and Kipling's own life, for example his father's association with the Lahore Musuem, his own schooling experience etc are revealing. They almost make you hear Kipling sighing "I wish thus would have happened with me!"
Highly recommended.
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